Biosphere: The global sum of all ecosystems, including all life on Earth and the environments they inhabit.
Species: A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Population: A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.
Community: All the populations of different species living in the same area and interacting with each other.
Ecosystem: A community of living organisms (biotic factors) interacting with their physical environment (abiotic factors).
Biome: A large geographic area defined by its climate, plant, and animal species (e.g., deserts, forests).
Biotic factors: The living components of an ecosystem (e.g., plants, animals).
Abiotic factors: The non-living components of an ecosystem (e.g., sunlight, water, temperature).
Habitat: The natural environment where an organism lives.
Niche: The role or function an organism plays within its ecosystem, including its habitat, diet, and behavior.
Competition: The struggle between organisms for the same resources in an environment.
Predation: An interaction where one organism (predator) hunts and kills another (prey) for food.
Symbiosis: A close, long-term relationship between two species that live in direct contact.
Mutualism: A type of symbiosis where both species benefit.
Commensalism: A type of symbiosis where one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Parasitism: A type of symbiosis where one organism (parasite) benefits at the expense of another (host).
Endoparasitic: Parasites that live inside the host’s body (e.g., tapeworms).
Ectoparasitic: Parasites that live on the outside of the host (e.g., fleas, ticks).
Brood parasitism: A form of parasitism where one species relies on another to raise its young (e.g., cuckoos laying eggs in other birds' nests).
Autotrophs: Organisms that produce their own food using sunlight (photosynthesis) or chemical energy (chemosynthesis), e.g., plants.
Producers: Organisms, typically plants and algae, that make their own food and form the base of the food chain.
Heterotrophs: Organisms that cannot produce their own food and must consume other organisms for energy.
Herbivores: Animals that eat plants.
Carnivores: Animals that eat other animals.
Omnivores: Animals that eat both plants and animals.
Detritivores: Organisms that feed on dead organic matter (e.g., earthworms, vultures).
Food chains: A linear sequence showing how energy is transferred from one organism to another through feeding relationships.
Food webs: A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.
Trophic levels: The levels in a food chain or food web, representing the position an organism occupies (e.g., producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers).
Ecological pyramid: A diagram showing the relative amounts of energy, biomass, or number of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
Biomass: The total mass of living organisms in a given area or ecosystem.
Rule of 10%: In an ecosystem, only about 10% of the energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next; the rest is lost as heat.
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