ECOLOGY VOCABULARY

Abiotic: physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.

Sentence: water is obviously a crucial and highly variable abiotic factor for every living organism.

Biotic: relating to or resulting from living organisms.

Sentence: any living part of an environment is a biotic element.

Symbiosis: a close, prolonged association between two or more different biological species

Sentence: we examine the fascinating symbiosis between a flower and a bee

Mutualism: relationship in which both organisms benefit

Sentence: there are many relationships between humans and animals that come close to mutualism

Parasitism: relationship in which one organism benefits and one is harmed

Sentence: a flea living off of a dog’s body is an example of parasitism

Commensalism: relationship in which one organism is benefited, while the other is left unharmed

Sentence: a remora attaching itself to a shark for transportation purposes is a prime example of commensalism.

Heterotroph: an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients

Sentence: humans are heterotrophs, because they cannot make food themselves like plants.

Decomposer: an organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter

Sentence: a more dramatic decomposer is a fat, reddish earthworm called the lob worm

Herbivore: an animal that feeds on plants.

Sentence: cows and sheep are herbivores.

Carnivore: an animal that feeds on other animals.

Sentence: lions and tigers are carnivores

Omnivore: an animal or person that eats a variety of food of both plant and animal origin.

Sentence: brown bears are omnivorous, eating anything that they can get their paws on.