Ecology Vocabulary Con’t Part 3
Biotic Factors
Living factors that affect the environment
Abiotic Factors
Non-living factors that affect the environment.
Niche
Pronounced “Neesh” or “Nitch”
Competition
Symbiosis
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
Predator/Prey
Your habitat plus your role in it (a
relationship)
Mother/Child or Predator/Prey
When organisms fight over the limited
resources in an area such as food and shelter
2 organisms that depend on each other (they
have a niche in a relationship)
Includes: Mutualism, Commensalism, and
Parasitism
(+/+)
Both organisms help each other (win/win)
Insects (pollinators) & Flowers
Shark & Remora fish
Lichen (algae-producer/fungus-decomposer)
(+/o)
One organism gets helped and the other not
affected (harmed or helped)
Bird nest/Tree
Barnacle/Whale
Clown fish / Sea anemone
(+/-)
One benefits (parasite) and one is harmed
(host) but not necessarily killed
Tick (parasite)/Dog(host)
Mistletoe(parasite)/Deciduous Tree(host)
Predator hunts, kills, and eats prey
Cats/Mice
Fox/Rabbit