BIOSPHERE Chapter 3 VOCAB ONLY http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/august2004/pages/dinobreath.html

Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits by living on or inside another which is harmed parasitism

mutualism Symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit from their close association mutualism An “organism’s job” that includes what it eats, what eats it, where in the habitat it lives, how it acts, and when & how it reproduces? niche

The scientific study of interactions between organisms and between Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither harmed nor helped commensalism The scientific study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment ecology

The portion of the Earth in which all life exists biosphere Organism that captures and eats another predator

An organism that is captured and eaten by another Group of organisms so similar that they can breed and produce fertile offspring species An organism that is captured and eaten by another prey

Another name for heterotrophs A group of individuals that belong to the same species that live together in an area population Another name for heterotrophs consumers

Group of different populations that live together in an area community All the living things an ecosystem that an organism might interact with Biotic factors

Another name for autotrophs All the organisms that live in a place PLUS their non-living environment ecosystem Another name for autotrophs producers

autotrophs or producers Organisms that can make their own food using energy from sunlight or chemical bonds in inorganic compounds autotrophs or producers All the non-living things such as climate, temperature, weather, soil type, or sunlight in an ecosystem that impact an organism Abiotic factors

heterotrophs or consumers Organism that can’t make its own food and get energy from consuming other organisms heterotrophs or consumers Any relationship in which two species live closely together symbiosis

Rate at which organic matter is created by producers Primary productivity Chemical substance organisms need to sustain life nutrient

photosynthesis A living thing Process in which green plants use energy from sunlight to produce carbohydrates photosynthesis A living thing organism

Series of steps in which organisms transfer energy through an ecosystem by eating and being eaten Food chain

Interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another. predation Network of complex interactions linking all the food chains in an ecosystem food web

Organism that eats only plants herbivore Process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from part of the biosphere to another Biogeochemical cycle

Organism that eats only meat carnivore Process in which liquid water changes into a gas evaporation

Organism that eats both plants and meat omnivore Process in which water from plant leaves evaporates into the atmosphere transpiration

Process in which bacteria in soil convert nitrogen gas into ammonia Nitrogen fixation

Organism such as bacteria or fungi that break down organic matter decomposers Each step in a food chain or web trophic level

denitrification Limiting factor Process in which bacteria covert nitrates into nitrogen gas and released into atmosphere denitrification Something that there’s not enough of that keeps the population from growing too big Limiting factor

Anything needed for life such as water, food, light, or space resource Relationship in which organisms attempt to use the same resource at the same time and place competition