| A | B |
|---|
| population | organisms of a single species in a specific area |
| carrying capacity | the largest number of individuals of a species that an environment can support |
| biodiversity | variety of life in an area |
| biotic factors | living components of the environment |
| abiotic factors | nonliving components of the ecosystem |
| limiting factors | any abiotic or biotic factor that restricts the number or reproduction of a population |
| climate | average weather conditions in an area |
| ecology | the study of relationships among living organisms and their environments |
| ecosystem | a biological community and all of the abiotic factors that influence it |
| community | a group of interacting populations |
| biosphere | the portion of the earth that supports life |
| biome | a large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar communities |
| habitat | the area where an organism lives |
| niche | the role an organism has in the community; how it meets its needs for food, shelter, and reproduction |
| primary succession | the establishment of a community in an area of exposed rock with no topsoil |
| secondary succession | the changes in an area where the community was removed but the soil remained |
| pioneer species | the first species to begin growing in an area |
| climax community | a mature community where little change happens |
| emigration | the movement of individuals away from an area |
| immigration | the movement of individuals into an area |
| invasive species | nonnative species that was introduced into a community |
| pH | measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution - used to determine if a solution is acidic or basic |
| salinity | the amount of salt dissolved in water |
