Ecology and Ecosystem Concepts

Populations

• A group of organisms of different species living in the same area at the same time.

• A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at different times.

• A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

• A group of organisms living in different areas regardless of species.

Community

• A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.

• All the different populations of species that live together and interact in a specific area.

• A collection of ecosystems in a geographical region.

• The physical environment where organisms live.

Resource Availability

• The total number of individuals in a population

• The amount of essential materials (food, water, shelter, sunlight) present in a habitat

• The rate of reproduction in a species

• The diversity of species in an ecosystem

Carrying capacity

• The maximum number of individuals of a specific species that an environment can support long-term without damaging the ecosystem.

• The total biomass of all species in a given area.

• The number of species that can coexist in a specific habitat.

• The rate at which a population grows in a given environment.

Producer

• An organism that can make its own food using energy from the sun (photosynthesis).

• An organism that consumes other organisms for energy.

• An organism that decomposes dead matter.

• An organism that relies on external sources for food.

Consumer

• An organism that can make its own food using sunlight.

• An organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms to get energy.

• An organism that only eats plants for energy.

• An organism that decomposes dead matter for energy.

Symbiosis

• A close, long-term biological interaction between two different species living closely together.

• A type of competition between two species for resources.

• A process where one species benefits at the expense of another.

• A random interaction between species that does not affect their survival.

Decomposer

• An organism that produces energy through photosynthesis.

• An organism that breaks down dead plant and animal matter, recycling the nutrients back into the soil.

• An organism that consumes only plants for energy.

• An organism that lives in symbiosis with other organisms.

Biotic factors

• All the non-living parts of an environment.

• All the living or once-living parts of an environment.

• Only the plants in an ecosystem.

• Only the animals in an ecosystem.

Energy pyramid

• A visual, triangle-shaped model showing the flow of energy through an ecosystem. It shows that the amount of available energy decreases as you move to higher trophic levels.

• A circular diagram representing the distribution of species in an ecosystem.

• A bar graph illustrating the population of different species in a habitat.

• A linear chart depicting the growth rate of plants over time.