BIOSPHEREChapter 3

VOCAB ONLY

http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/august2004/pages/dinobreath.html

Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits by living on or inside another which is harmed

parasitism

Principle that states no 2 organisms can occupy the same niche in the samehabitat at the same time.

Competitive exclusion principle

Symbiotic relationship in which

both organisms benefit from their close

associationmutualism

An “organism’s job” that includes what it eats, what eats it, where in the habitat it lives, how it acts, and when & how it reproduces?

niche

Symbiotic relationship in which oneorganism benefits but the other isneither harmed nor helped

commensalism

The scientific study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment

ecology

The portion of the Earth in which all life exists

biosphere

Organism that captures and eats another

predator

Group of organisms so similar that they can breed and produce fertile offspring

species

An organism that is captured and eaten by another

prey

A group of individuals that belong to the

same species that live together in an area

population

Another name for heterotrophs

consumers

Group of different populations that live together in an area

community

All the living things an ecosystem that an organism might interact with

Biotic factors

All the organisms that live in a place

PLUS their non-living environment

ecosystem

Another name for autotrophs

producers

Organisms that can make their own foodusing energy from sunlight or chemicalbonds in inorganic compounds

autotrophs or producers

All the non-living things such as climate, temperature, weather, soil type, or sunlight in an ecosystem that impact an organism

Abiotic factors

Organism that can’t make its own food and get energy from consuming other organisms

heterotrophs or consumers

Any relationship in which two specieslive closely together

symbiosis

Rate at which organic matter is created by producers

Primary productivity

Chemical substance organisms needto sustain life

nutrient

Process in which green plants useenergy from sunlight to producecarbohydrates

photosynthesis

A living thing

organism

Process in which some bacteria useenergy stored in the chemical bondsof inorganic compounds to makecarbohydrates in the absence of light

chemosynthesis

Series of steps in which organisms transfer energy through an ecosystemby eating and being eaten

Food chain

Interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another.

predation

Network of complex interactions linking all the food chains in an ecosystem food web

Organism that eats only plants

herbivore

Process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matterare passed from part of the biosphere to another

Biogeochemical cycle

Organism that eats only meat

carnivore

Process in which liquid water changes into a gas

evaporation

Organism that eats both plants and

meat omnivore

Process in which water from plant leaves evaporates into the atmosphere

transpiration

Organism such as mites, snail,earthworms, or crabs that eat deadplants or animals

detritivore

Process in which bacteria in soil convert nitrogen gas into ammonia

Nitrogen fixation

Organism such as bacteria or fungithat break down organic matter

decomposers

Each step in a food chain or web

trophic level

Process in which bacteria covert nitrates intonitrogen gas and released into atmosphere

denitrification

Nutrient which is scare or cycles slowlythat controls population growth

Limiting nutrient

Any necessity for life such as water, food, light, or space

resource

Relationship in which organismsattempt to use the same resource at the same time and place

competition