Where am I?
a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.
Biome
an animal that primarily eats plants, such as fruits, seeds, leaves, grasses, roots, and bulbs
Herbivore
the study of how populations of organisms change over time and space, and how they interact with their environment.
Population
the impact of this factor increases as the population becomes more crowded, with examples including competition for resources, predation, disease, and parasitism
Density dependent limiting factor
a group of species that live in the same area and interact with each other and their environment
Community
an animal that primarily eats the flesh of other animals
Carnivore
the first organisms to colonize a new area or repopulate a disrupted ecosystem
Pioneer species
a factor that affects a population's size regardless of how dense that population is
Density independent limiting factor
an animal’s habitat, what it eats, how it interacts with other organisms and the environment
Niche
an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin
Omnivore
relationship where at least one species benefits
Symbiosis
a group of species with populations that are stable and fluctuate near the carrying capacity of their environment. They are characterized by low offspring mortality.
K-selected species
the environmental conditions in which an organism can survive
Habitat
a biological interaction where two or more species benefit from each other
Mutualism
a series of indirect effects that occur when a predator's actions in a food web impact lower levels of the food chain
Trophic Cascade
organisms that produce many offspring with a low chance of survival to adulthood
R-selected species
the study of how species are distributed in space, and how environmental and intrinsic factors influence that distribution
Ecological distribution
a symbiotic relationship where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of another organism, the host
Parasitism