Ecology Bio Vocab

a group of organisms belonging to the same species that live in a particular area; they can be described based on their size, density, or distribution.

• Population

• Ecosystem

• Population density

• Limiting Factor

• Carrying capacity

measures the number of individual organisms living in a defined space. (D = # of organisms/area)

• Population

• Ecosystem

• Population density

• Limiting Factor

• Carrying capacity

an environmental factor (biotic or abiotic) that prevents an organism or population from reaching its full potential of distribution or activity; they help to establish the carrying capacity of an environment

• Population

• Ecosystem

• Population density

• Limiting Factor

• Carrying capacity

the largest population that an environment can support at any given time

• Population

• Ecosystem

• Population density

• Limiting Factor

• Carrying capacity

consists of all of the organisms in a given area and the abiotic factors that affect them.

• Population

• Ecosystem

• Population density

• Limiting Factor

• Carrying capacity

limiting factors that operate more strongly on large populations than on small ones.

• Density-dependent Limiting Factors

• Density-independent Limiting Factors

limiting factors that are mostly abiotic. They occur regardless of how large the population is and reduce the size of all populations in the area in which they occur by the same proportion.

• Density-dependent Limiting Factors

• Density-independent Limiting Factors

an environmental factor that is not associated with the activities of living organisms; they may be chemical or physical

• Abiotic

• Biotic

an environmental factor that is associated with or results from the activities of living organisms; includes all living components of an ecosystem.

• Abiotic

• Biotic

the series of changes in an ecosystem when one community is replaced by another community as a result of changes in abiotic and biotic factors.

• Ecological succession

• Primary succession

• Secondary succession