Biosphere
all the living things on Earth
Biomes
environments that have the same temperature and precipitation amounts throughout
Ecosystems
area where organisms interact with the living and non-living parts of their environment
Community
groups of organisms that live closely together in an ecosystem
Population
the amount of one specific species living in a community
Biotic Factors
all the living things in an environment
Abiotic Factors
all the non-living things in an environment
Symbiosis
a relationship between two different species that benefits at least one of the species
Mutualism
symbiosis where both species benefit
Parasitism
symbiosis where one species benefits at the expense of the other species
Commensalism
symbiosis where one species benefits and another is unaffected
Predation
when one organism feeds off another organism in the community
Food Chain
a line of feeding connections where each organism eats only one other organism
Food Web
a model of feeding connections where each organism can eat more than one other organism
Producers
organisms that make their own food
Consumers
organisms that eat other organisms
Biodiversity
the variety of species in an ecosystem or within a species
Adaptation
inherited characteristics that help organisms survive their environments
Evolution
adaptations in a species over time
Natural Selection
favorable traits become more common while less-favorable traits disappear
Carrying Capacity
the maximum number of organisms any environment can support
Density-Dependent Factors
factors that have an increasing effect as a population grows
Density-Independent Factors
factors that have the same effect on a population no matter its size