| A | B |
|---|
| community | all the populations of organisms living close enough together for potential interaction |
| interspecific interactions | relationships with individuals of other species within the community |
| interspecific competition | populations of two different species compete for a limited resource |
| mutualism | interaction in which both species benefit |
| predation | interaction where one species kills and eat another |
| herbivory | consumption of plants or parts of plants by an animal |
| parasitism | orgainsms that live in/on another organisms causeing harm |
| +/+ interaction | both species in an interaction benefit |
| +/- interaction | one species benefits the other is harmed in an interaction |
| -/- interaction | both species are harmed in the interaction |
| coevolution | reciprocal evolutionary adaptions in two species caused byt heir interactions |
| commensalism | interaction in which one speciec benefits and the second neither benefits nor is harmed |
| +/0 interaction | commensal interaction |
| food chain | sequence of food transfer up trophic levels |
| producers | lowest trophic level autotrophs support all other trophic levels |
| primary consumers | herbivores organisms that consume the producers |
| secondary consumers | carnivores/insectivores consume the primary consumers |
| tertiary consumers | consume the secondary consumers |
| quaternary consumers | highest trophic level consume tertiary consumers |
| detritivores (decomposers) | derive their energy from dead materials produced at all levels |
| ecological niche | the sum of an organisms use of abiotic/biotic factors in its environment |
| detritus | dead material produced at all trophic levels |
| decomposition | breakdown of organic materialsinto inorganic ones |
| food web | netwrok if interconnected food chains |
| species diversity | number/relative abundance of different species in a community |
| keystone species | species whose impact on a communityis much greater than its biomass/abundance indicate |
| disturbances | events that damage a biological community |
| ecological succession | disturbed areas are colinized by species that are then replaced by other species |
| primary succession | sequence of species changes bigins in a lifeless area with no soil |
| secondary succession | occurs when disturbance destroys commuity bu leaves soil intact |
| invasive species | non-native species estblish themselves in an area at the expense of native species already there |
| biological control | intentional release of a species natural enemy to attack a pest population |
| ecosystem | all organisms of a community and the abiotic environment with which they interact |
| energy flow | passage of energy through the components of an ecosystem |
| chemical cycling | transfer of materials within an ecosystem |
| biomass | amount or living organic material in an ecosystem |
| primary production | amount of solar energy converted to chemical energy by the prodcers of a given area during a given time period |
| biogeochemical cycles | biotic and abiotic compoents of chemical cycles within an ecosystem |
| abiotic reservoir | where a particular chemical is stockpiled outside of living organisms |
| carbon cycle | movement of carbon through the organism/abiotic materials of an ecosystem |
| respiration | adds carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle |
| photosynthesis | removes carbon dioxide from air into organisms in carbon cycle |
| phosphorous cycle | movent of phosphate ions through ecosystem |
| phosphates | most common for of phosphate in abiota |
| nitrogen fixation | removes gaseous nitrogen from air forming ammonium |
| ammonium ions | nitrogen form convereted to nitrates in the soil |
| nitrifying bacteria | convert ammonium to nitrates |
| nitrates | NO3- ion formed by nitrifying bacteria |
| denitrifiers | convert nitrates back into free nitrogen |
