ECOLOGY Crossword

The study of the relationships/interactions between organisms and to their physical surroundings
A term that describes all the living and nonliving things in a certain location
Non-living physical and chemical elements in an ecosystem (examples: air, water, sunlight, soil)
An organism that consumes other animals for food
The maximum number of individuals in a single population that an ecosystem can sustain at a given time
The interaction where individuals of the same or different species fight for limited resources
An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead or decaying matter
A drawing that shows how energy from the sun moves through the biotic factors in an ecosystem
Describes the change in the size of the population over time
A species that other species in an ecosystem largely depend on. If they were removed, the ecosystem would drastically change
A symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit
The process where organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and pass their genes/traits to their offspring
A group of organisms of the same species living in the same geographic area
A type of species interaction where one organism, the predator, consumes another organism, the prey
The number of individuals of a species in an environment divided by the total land area, or water volume, of that environment
A type of symbiotic relationship where one organism, the parasite, benefits, and the other organism, the host, is harmed
An organism's role in an environment (example: how it uses its resources and relationships between other organisms)
A group of two or more populations of different species inhabiting the same location at the same time
A symbiotic relationship between organisms, where one organism benefits from the relationship and the other is not benefited or harmed
A community of plants and animals that is considered stable, because the members of that community are the best adapted to their environment
The gradual process by which ecosystems change and develop over time
The variety and variability of life in an ecosystem
Species that are non-native to an ecosystem and whose presence causes harm
The dying out of a species
An interconnected chain of organisms related to energy transfer that indicates which are predators and which are prey in relation to another