a representation of several overlapping food chains in an ecosystem; includes the flow of energy from the Sun through producers to consumers and decomposers through multiple pathways
food web
ability to maintain ecological processes over long periods of time; ability of an ecosystem to maintain its structure and function over time
sustainability
the unique role or job of an organism in an ecosystem
niche
a process that develops a biotic community in a previously uninhabited and barren habitat with little or no soil
primary succession
a state of balance
equilibrium
dominant community of plants and animals that come to live in an area
climax community
a variety of organisms in an ecosystem or biome
biodiversity
the changing sequence of communities that live in an ecosystem during a given time period
ecological succession
a process started by an event that reduces an already established ecosystem to a smaller population of species
secondary succession
first organisms to live in an area
pioneer species
nonliving factors in the environment; physical rather than biological; do not come from living organisms
abiotic
a community of interacting living organisms and the physical environment that they live in
ecosystem
living factors in the environment
biotic
a condition or resource that keeps a population at a certain size
limiting factor
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