Ecology Vocab

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Limiting Factors

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Factors that restrict the growth, abundance, or distribution of a population within an ecosystem.

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Density Dependent Limiting Factors

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Factors whose effects on the size or growth of the population vary with the population density, such as competition, predation, and disease.

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Density Independent Limiting Factors

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Factors that affect population size regardless of the population's density, such as weather, natural disasters, and human activities.

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Carrying Capacity

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The maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain indefinitely, given the available resources.

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Biodiversity

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The variety and variability of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or the entire Earth, including the diversity of species, genetics, and ecosystems.

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Ecological Succession

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The process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.

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Primary Succession

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An ecological succession that occurs in an environment in which new substrate devoid of vegetation and other organisms is deposited, such as newly formed volcanic islands or glaciers.

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Secondary Succession

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An ecological succession that takes place in an area where a community has previously existed but has been disturbed or destroyed by a disturbance, such as fire or farming.

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Biotic

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Relating to or resulting from living organisms, especially in their ecological relations.

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Abiotic

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Non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment, such as sunlight, temperature, and water.