Environmental Chapter 5 Flashcard

Front

What is mutualism?

Back

A type of interspecific interaction where both species benefit from the relationship.

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What is predation?

Back

A symbiotic relationship where one organism (the predator) captures and eats another organism (the prey).

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What is commensalism?

Back

A type of interspecific interaction where one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

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What is parasitism?

Back

A symbiotic relationship where one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of another organism (the host).

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What is a climax community?

Back

A stable and mature ecological community that undergoes little or no change in species over time.

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What are density-independent factors?

Back

Environmental factors that affect population size regardless of the population's density, such as natural disasters.

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What are density-dependent factors?

Back

Factors that affect population size in relation to the population's density, such as competition and predation.

Front

How does drought affect grasshopper populations?

Back

Drought can lead to changes in food availability and habitat, potentially increasing or decreasing grasshopper populations.

Front

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

Back

A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass, while a food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains.

Front

What is ecological succession?

Back

The process by which ecosystems change and develop over time, often following a disturbance.