Ecology terminology

1. the particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions to which an organism or population responds
5. the living components of an ecosystem, organisms, their interactions or their waste which directly or indirectly affect other organisms.
7. the change in community along an environmental gradient due to factors such as changes in altitude, latitude, tidal level, distance from shore/coverage by water
8. the position an organism occupies in the food chain or a group of organisms in a community which occupy the same position on a food chain
12. the conversion of energy into biomass over a given period of time, it is measured per unit area per unit time
13. non-living, physical factors that influence an organism or ecosystem (e.g. temperature, sunlight, pH...)

2. the maximum size of a population determined by competition for limited resources
3. a group of organisms sharing common characteristics that can breed to produce fertile offspring
4. a group or population living and interacting with each other in a common habitat
6. a collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions
9. the environment in which a species normally lives
10. a community and the physical environment it interacts with
11. the process of change over time in an ecosystem involving pioneer, intermediate and climax communities