Unit 9: Ecology

Front

What is a food web?

Back

An illustration that uses arrows to show the many possible directions in which matter and energy can pass through the organisms in an ecosystem.

Front

What is the order of ecological succession?

Back

The sequence of changes in species composition in an ecosystem over time, often represented as stages such as C, D, A, B.

Front

What happens to energy as you move up a food chain?

Back

The amount of energy decreases.

Front

Define mutualism.

Back

A relationship between two organisms in which both organisms benefit.

Front

What is commensalism?

Back

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Front

What is parasitism?

Back

A relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of another.

Front

What is a food chain?

Back

A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Front

Define ecological succession.

Back

The process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.

Front

What is a trophic level?

Back

Each step in a food chain or food web, representing a different level of energy transfer.

Front

What is an ecosystem?

Back

A community of living organisms interacting with their physical environment.