pertaning to the non-living components of an environemnt (e.g., light, temperature, nutrients)
biomass
mass of organisms; standing crop
biotic
pertaining to the organisms in an environment
community
interacting populations of different species that occur in the same habitat
competition
an interaction between two orgnisms that simultaneously require the same resource
decomposer
organisms that obtain their energy and nutrietns by degrading organic matter
ecological pyramids
a graphic representation of the trophic structure of an ecosystem in which numbers or biomass are represented in a pyramid, with the producer level forming the base and successive levels of consumers above it
ecosytem
the organisms and non-living componets of the physical enivronment at a particular site
food web
a graphic representation of the interconnected feeding relationships among organims in a community
habitat
the physical space occupied by an organism
niche
the ecological role of a species in an environment (characterized by both biotic an abiotic elements)
predation
an interaction between organisms in which one organism (prey) is consumed by the other (predator)
prey
an organism that is killed for food by another organism
predator
an organism that kills other organisms for food
priamary consumer
organisms for feed on prducers; herbivores
producer
autotrophs; priamrly photosynthetic organisms that synthesize organic substances from inorganic materials
secondary consumer
organism that eat other consumers; carnivores
trophic level
position in the food chain
trophic structure
the organization of a community based on the feeding relationships of the component populations