| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Organism | -a living thing |
| Habitat | -an environment that provides everything a organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce |
| Biotic Factors | -the living parts of a habitat |
| Abiotic Factors | -the nonliving parts of a habitat |
| Photosynthesis | -when plants and algae need water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide to make their food |
| Species | -a group of organisms that are physically similar and can mate with each other and produce offspring |
| Population | -all the members of one species in an area |
| Community | -all the different populations that live together in an area |
| Ecosystem | -a community of organisms that live in a particular area, and with their nonliving surroundings |
| Ecology | -the study of how things live and interact with each other and with their environment |
| Estimate | -an approximation of a number, based on reasonable assumptions |
| Birth Rate | -the number of births in a population in a certain amount of time |
| Death Rate | -the number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time |
| Immigration | -moving into of a population |
| Emigration | -moving out of a population |
| Population Density | -the number of individuals in an area of a specific size |
| Limiting Factor | -an environmental factor that causes a population to decrease |
| Carrying Capacity | -the largest population that an area can support |
| Natural Selection | -a characteristic that makes an individual better suited to its environment and may become common through a process |
| Adaptations | -the behaviors and physical characteristics that allow organisms to live successfully in it's environment |
| Niche | -the role an organism plays in its habitat, or how it makes its living |
| Competition | -the struggle for two organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource |
| Predation | -an interaction in which one organism kills and eats another for food |
| Predator | -the organism that does the killing |
| Prey | -the organism that gets eaten |
| Symbiosis | -a close relationship between two organisms that benefits at least one of the species |
| Mutualism | -a relationship in which both organism benefits |
| Commensalism | -a relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is unharmed |
| Parasitism | -a relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed |
| Parasite | -the organism that benefits |
| Host | -the organism that is harmed |
| Succession | -a series of predicable events that occur in a community over time |
| Primary Succession | -a series of changes that occur in an area where no organisms or soil exist |
| Pioneer Species | -the populate in an area in area |
| Secondary Succession | -a series of changes that occur where an ecosystem has been disturbed, but organisms and soil still exist |
| Environment | -includes all the living and nonliving thins that affect life in an area |
