| A | B |
|---|
| adaptation | A physical or physiological feature that increases an organisms chance for survival. |
| autotroph | An organism that can make its own food ex. - plants photosynthesis. |
| carrying capacity | The maximum number of individuals of a particular species that can be supported by an ecosystem. |
| commensualism | A symbiotic relationship between organisms of a different species where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected. |
| competition | The act of organisms competing for available resources in an ecosystem such as food, water and shelter. |
| consumer | An organism that cannot produce its own food. |
| decomposer | An organism that causes organic matter to rot or decompose. |
| ecology | The study of relationships between organisms and their environment. |
| ecosystem | All the living and nonliving things in a given area with which an organism interacts. |
| community | All of the living things in an ecosystem. |
| evolution | The process by which organisms develop traits through the process of natural selection that allows them to adapt and survive in their environments. |
| food web | A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community. |
| habitat | The environment in which an organism normally lives. |
| herbivore | An organism that consumes only plants. |
| heterotroph | An organism that cannot make its own food. |
| introduced species | All plants and animals that are not native to an ecosystem. |
| mutations | Random alterations of an organisms DNA to produce new traits or characteristics. |
| mutualism | A relationship between organisms of a different species in which both organisms benefit. |
| native species | All plants and animals that are originally found in an existing ecosystem. |
| natural selection | through time the organisms that are the best adapted to their environment will survive and reproduce. |
| niche | A habitat in an ecosystem that is filled by an organism specifically adapted for that habitat. |
| parasitism | A relationship between organisms of a different species in which one organism benefits and another is harmed or killed. |
| predator | An organism that hunts another as a food source. |
| producer | An organism capable of producing their own food source. |
| species | A group of organisms that share similar features. |
| survival of the fittest | The organism that is best adapted to their ecosystem will be the organism who has the best chance of living in that ecosystem. |
| symbiosis | A close association between two different organisms in the same ecosystem. |
| abiotic | non-living factors in an ecosystem, - ex climate, soil, terrain. |
| biotic | Anything living in an ecosystem. |
| prey | An organism hunted by another as a food source. |
| biosphere | The part of Earth that supports life. |
| population | All the organisms of the same species that live in an area at the same time. |
| limiting factor | Anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population. |
| biotic potential | The highest rate of reproduction under ideal conditions. |
| exponential growth | the large a population gets the faster it grows. |
| population density | The number of individuals of one species found in a specific area. |
