Ecosystem Organization
What level of ecology includes all living organisms in a specific area interacting with each other?
Ecosystem
What organisms capture energy from sunlight or chemicals to make their own food?
Producers (autotrophs)
What type of growth curve shows unlimited resources and exponential increase?
Exponential growth
What is the term for all interactions between organisms of different species in an ecosystem?
Community interactions
What is a community?
Populations of different species living in the same area
What organisms obtain energy by consuming other organisms?
Consumers (heterotrophs)
What is logistic growth?
Growth curve levels off at carrying capacity
What is mutualism?
What term describes all members of one species in a given area?
Population
What is the primary source of energy for nearly all ecosystems on Earth?
What is carrying capacity?
Maximum population size an enviornment can support
What is parasitism?
Benefits one organism while harming the other
What term describes interactions between organisms and their physical enviornment?
Ecology
What percentage of energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?
10%
What type of factor depends on population density?
Density-dependent factor
What is commensalism?
Benefits one organism and has no effect on the other?
What level of organization includes both biotic and abiotic factors interacting together?
Ecosystem
What happens to the most energy as it moves through trophic levels?
It is lost as heat
What type of factor affects populations regardless of density?
Density-independent factor
What type of species interaction occurs when two different species compete for the same limited resource, reducing the fitness of both populations?
Interspecific competition