Abiotic factors
nonliving (i.e. air, water, sunlight, temperature, weather, natural disasters)
Commensalism
one organism benefits, the other organism is unaffected
Mutualism
both organisms benefit from the interaction
Riparian Vegetation
a plant that grows on the sides of a river
Adaption
a certain characteristic or quality that helps the organism survive in its environment
Competition
organisms compete for resources in short supply
Natural Selection
the environment (or nature) selecting the traits that are best suited to survive
Survival of the Fittest
the traits that are best suited to the environment to survive. The most fit traits will be the ones most common to the population.
Biotic Factors
alive (i.e. humans, bacteria, animals, competition, predation, disease)
Ecology
the study of the complex relationships between an organism and biotic and abiotic factors
Parasitism
one organism benefits, the other organism is harmed, but not killed
Symbiosis
an interaction between two organisms that physically live near or on each other
Carrying Capacity
the maximum population size that an environment can sustain
Genetic Diversity
each individual of a population is not exactly identical
Predation
one organism kills and eats another organism