roles and relationships
An organism’s role in its habitat — includes diet, behavior, and interactions.
What is a niche?
The predictable series of changes in a community over time."
"What is succession?"
The variety of life across species, genes, and ecosystems.
What is biodiversity?
The number of individuals of a species per unit area."
"What is population density?"
"An interaction in which both species benefit, such as bees and flowering plants."
"What is mutualism?"
An organism that provides resources to another, often in parasitism or mutualism.
what is a host
"Succession that occurs where soil already exists after disturbance (e.g., abandoned farmland)
What is secondary succession?"
More biodiversity usually makes ecosystems more able to recover after disturbance; this word describes that ability."
"What is resilience?"
Nonliving influences on an ecosystem such as rainfall, temperature, and soil type."
What are abiotic factors?"
One organism captures and eats another; example: owl eats a mouse."
"What is predation?"
"A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its community relative to its abundance."
What is a keystone species?
"Succession that starts on bare rock or cooled lava with no soil."
What is primary succession?"
"When a top predator is removed and herbivores increase, causing plant declines, this cascading effect occurs."
"What is a trophic cascade?"
A disruption to an established ecosystem commonly leads to changes in these."
What are populations (or community composition)?"
An interaction where one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed, e.g., barnacles on whales."
"What is commensalism?"
A species that colonizes and modifies the environment to allow later species to establish."
Correct response
What is a pioneer species
The first organisms to colonize harsh, bare environments and begin soil formation."
What are pioneer species?"
Multiple species can fill similar functional roles in a community; this redundancy helps stabilize ecosystem function."
"What is functional redundancy?
"When species avoid competition by using different times, places, or resources, this occurs."
What is resource partitioning (or niche differentiation)?"
This type of relationship often avoids immediate host death because the host is a long‑term resource."
What is parasitism?"
This strategy maximizes a parasite’s long‑term survival by exploiting but not killing the host quickly."
Correct response
What is long‑term resource exploitation
This relatively stable, mature community remains until a major disturbance occurs."
This relatively stable, mature community remains until a major disturbance occurs."
"A measure of how many different species live in an ecosystem; high values often support resilience
What is species richness (or biodiversity)?
An introduced species outcompetes a native species for the same niche; this principle explains the outcome."
What is competitive exclusion?"
"When two species use the same limited resource and one is driven out of the niche over time."
"What is competitive exclusion?"