Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Identify and list abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem.

Define niche.

Describe the process of natural selection as it operates to refine the fit between organism, habitat, and niche.

Describe predator-prey, parasite-host, competitive, mutualistic, and commensalistic relationships.

Differentiate between a community and an ecosystem.

Define the roles of producer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, parasite, and decomposer.

Describe energy flow through an ecosystem.

Relate the concepts of food webs and food chains to trophic levels.

Explain the cycling of nutrients such as nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus through an ecosystem.

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