an organism's role in a ecosystem which is determined by: what it eats, lives and how it interacts with other organisms in the ecosystem

track the changes in organisms or populations of organism

long-term monitoring

an organism that needs to eat another organism to get energy

when there are at least 2 or more organisms who want the same thing- they fight over it. Ex resources

position the organisms in within the food web

chemical substance that can cause harm/damage.

plants, trees, ect.

consumes meat

how living organisms are spread out in an area

ecologists build a pyramid of numbers to include the same organisms as in a food chain

starting point to compare change in the environment. Ex. Permanent plots/study area

Evaporation, Condensation, precipitation, transpiration repeat

consumes meat and producers

when a non-native species grows and thrives in an environment

Vulture, hyena, magpie, and racoon

when humans or a natural disaster destroys a community or ecosystem, requires less time t reach climax community

calculation of the total area of land and water needed to supply all of the materials and energy that you use as well as absorb all of the waste you produce

consumes producers

bioaccumulation

A food chain follows one path of energy and materials between species. A food web is more complex and is a whole system of connected food chains. In a food web, organisms are placed into different trophic levels.

when a ecosystem has a large diversity of species where they thrive but it still envolves and changes over time

resources of nature are being renewed at least as quickly as they are used and that all wastes are able to be completely absorbed

way/method to check the condition (health) of an ecosystem by comparing results of investigation done at different times

ecologist