Organism Interactions in Ecosystems

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Ecosystem Noun

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[ee-koh-sis-tuhm]

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Ecosystem

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A biological community where living organisms interact with each other and their non-living physical environment as a system.

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Example: This image shows a pond ecosystem, where living things (biotic factors) like fish and plants interact with non-living things (abiotic factors) like water and soil.

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Organism Noun

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[or-guh-niz-uhm]

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Organism

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An individual living being, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or microorganism, capable of growth and reproduction.

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Example: This image shows a single-celled amoeba, which is a complete living organism, demonstrating that organisms can be made of just one cell.

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Population Noun

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[pop-yuh-ley-shuhn]

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Population

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A group of individuals of the same species living and interbreeding within a given geographical area at the same time.

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Example: A population is a group of the same type of organism living together in an area, like this huddle of Emperor penguins in Antarctica.

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Abiotic Factor Noun

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[ey-bahy-ot-ik fak-ter]

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Abiotic Factor

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A non-living chemical or physical component of an ecosystem that influences living organisms and their functions.

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Example: Sunlight and rain are abiotic, or non-living, factors that affect an ecosystem.

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Biotic Factor Noun

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[bahy-ot-ik fak-ter]

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Biotic Factor

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Any living or once-living component of an ecosystem that affects other organisms, including plants, animals, and fungi.

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Example: This image shows that biotic factors are all the living things in an ecosystem, including animals, plants, fungi, and even tiny bacteria.

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Carrying Capacity Noun

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[kar-ee-ing kuh-pas-i-tee]

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Carrying Capacity

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The maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment's available resources.

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Example: This diagram uses a bucket to show an environment's carrying capacity. Reproduction fills the bucket, but limiting factors like disease drain it, keeping the population stable.

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Photosynthesis Noun

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[foh-toh-sin-thuh-sis]

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Photosynthesis

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The process by which plants and other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.

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Example: This diagram shows how a plant uses energy from sunlight, water from the soil, and carbon dioxide from the air to create its food.

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Limiting Factor Noun

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[lim-i-ting fak-ter]

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Limiting Factor

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An environmental resource or condition that restricts the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or population.

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Example: The single loaf of bread is a limiting factor because there is not enough of it to feed all the hands reaching for it.

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Predator Noun

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[pred-uh-ter]

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Predator

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An organism that hunts, kills, and consumes other organisms, known as prey, for its source of food.

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Example: This image shows a predator, the fox, which has hunted and caught its prey, the fish, to eat for survival.

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Prey Noun

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[prey]

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Prey

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An organism that is hunted and killed for food by another organism, which is known as a predator.

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Example: This image shows a deer fleeing from a predator in a river, clearly illustrating the concept of prey as an animal being hunted.