Chapter 2

all the members of a species that inhabit a particular geographic area at a certain time

• accelerating growth that keeps doubling itself over time; produces a "J" shaped curve when the population is graphed against time
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a factor that limits the growth of a population in an ecosystem (e.g. limiting factor of bats is that they need caves to roost in)

• the size of a population that can be supported for an infinite time by using the available resources and ecosystem services
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the way an organism occupies a role in an ecosystem, including all necessary biotic and abiotic factors

an organism that kills and consumes other organisms (e.g. lynxes consume hares, the lynx is the predator)

an organism a predator will kill and consume as food (e.g. lynxes consume hares, the hare is the prey)

a symbiotic relationship that both species benefit from (e.g. coral and algae; the algae provides the coral with up to 90% of its nutrients and the coral provides protection for the algae)

an organism whose niche is dependant on a close association with a larger organism (who usually becomes a host for other organisms, e.g. brain-worms use deer to lay eggs in for a more safe and efficient reproduction cycle)

two or more organisms, of the same or different species, competing for the same resources

use of a resource that does not cause long-term damage to it or the ecosystem it was obtained from

the period of time required for a population to double in size

a measure of the impact an organism or population has on the environment as determined by energy consumed, land used, and waste produced

a pattern of activity that causes the function of an ecosystem to decline

use of Earth's resources (e.g. water, land) at levels that could be continued forever

the benefits sustainable ecosystems provide organisms (including humans) with

the changing of non-desert land into desert land, possibly as a result of climate change or unsustainable farm/water use

a popular type of tourism, that is nature-based, sensitive to the health of an ecosystem, and involves recreational activities provided by sustainable ecosystems (e.g. a boat ride to see dolphins)