Download Chapter Fourteen Vocabulary

Chapter Fourteen Vocabulary
14.1
habitat: combined biotic and abiotic factors found in the area where an organism lives.
ecological niche: all of the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive,
stay healthy, and reproduce in an ecosystem.
competitive exclusion: theory that states that no two species can occupy the same niche at the
same time.
ecological equivalents: organisms that share a similar niche but live in different geographical regions.
14.2
competition: ecological relationship in which two organisms attempt to obtain the same resource.
predation: process by which one organism hunts and kills another organism for food.
symbiosis: ecological relationship between members of at least two different species that live in
direct contact with one another.
mutualism: ecological relationship between two species in which each species gets a benefit from
the interaction.
commensalism: ecological relationship in which one species receives a benefit but the other species
is not affected one way or another.
parasitism: ecological relationship in which one organism benefits by harming another organism.
14.3
population density: measure of individuals in a defined area.
population dispersion: way in which individuals of a population are spread out over an area of
volume.
survivorship curve: graph showing the surviving members of each age group over a population over
time.
14.4
immigration: movement of individuals into a population.
emigration: movement of individuals out of a population.
exponential growth: dramatic increase in population over a short period of time.
logistic growth: population growth that is characterized by a period of slow growth, followed by a
period of exponential growth, followed by another period of almost no growth.
carrying capacity: number of individuals that the resources of an environment can normally and
consistently support.
population crash: dramatic decline in the size of a population over a short period of time.
limiting factor: environmental factor that limits the growth and size of a population.
density-dependent limiting factor: environmental resistance that affects a population regardless of population
density.
density-independent limiting factor: environmental resistance that affects a population that has become overly
crowded.
14.5
succession: sequence of biotic changes that regenerate a damaged community or start a community in previously
uninhabited area.
primary succession: establishment and development of an ecosystem in an area that was previously uninhabited.
pioneer species: organism that is the first to live in a previously uninhabited area.
secondary succession: reestablishment of damaged ecosystem in an area where soil was left intact.