AP Biology Unit 8: Ecology Latest Version 100% Correct

AP Biology Unit 8: Ecology Latest Version 100% Correct abiotic Nonliving; referring to the physical and chemical properties of an environment. biological augmentation An approach to restoration ecology that uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem. biological magnification A process in which retained substances become more concentrated at each higher trophic level in a food chain. biomass The total mass of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat. biomes Any of the world's major ecosystem types, often classified by temperature and precipitation bioremediation The use of organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems. biotic Pertaining to the living factors—the organisms—in an environment. carrying capacity The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources, symbolized as K. chaparral A biome characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers; dominated by dense, spiny evergreen shrubs climate The long-term prevailing weather conditions at a given place. commensualism A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed. competition Competition for resources between individuals of two or more species when resources are in short supply. competitive exclusion The concept that when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population. decomposer An organism that absorbs nutrients