Ecology Pt. 1

Abiotic Factors: are the nonliving aspects of the environment. They include factors such as sunlight, soil, temperature, and water. 

Biome: group of similar ecosystems with the same general type pf physical environment. 

Biosphere: part of Earth where all life exists, including land, water, and air.

Biotic Factor: living aspects of the environment, including organisms of the same and different species. 

Community: all of the populations of different species that live in the same area. 

Ecology: branch of biology that is the study of how living things interact with each other and with their environment.

Ecosystem: all of the living in a given area together with the physical factors of the non-living environment. 

Habitat: physical environment in which a species lives and to which it has become adapted. 

Microclimate: a small, specific area where the climate is different from the surrounding region. They affect the types of plants and animals. 

Population: all the organisms of the same species that live in the same area. 

Carrying Capacity: (K) the largest population size that can be supported in an area without harming the environment. 

Commensalism: symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits while the other species is not affected.  

Density-Dependent Factor: are factors that affect the size or growth of a population and vary with the population density. Examples are competition, predation, and disease. It helps regulate population sizes by increasing mortality or decreasing birth rates as the population becomes too large. 

Density-Independent Factor: are environmental factors that affect the size of a population regardless of the population's density. This is like natural disasters, weather conditions, and human activities. 

Ecological Succession: changes through time in the numbers and types of species that make up the community of an ecosystem. 

Exponential Growth: pattern of population growth in which a population starts out growing slowly but grows faster and faster as population size increases.