Ecology

Ecology

Industry: Biology

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Ecology

host

Biology; Ecology

An organism that provides food or shelter for another organism.

Organisms suffer from disease when their normal function is impaired by some genetic disorder, or more often from the activity of a parasite or other organism living within them. Many diseases are ...

specialist

Biology; Ecology

Organism which has adopted a lifestyle specific to a particular set of conditions. Contrast with generalist.

predator

Biology; Ecology

Organism which hunts and eats other organisms. This includes both carnivores, which eat animals, and herbivores, which eat plants.

pathogenic

Biology; Ecology

Organism which causes a disease within another organism.

saprophyte

Biology; Ecology

Organism which feeds on dead and decaying organisms, allowing the nutrients to be recycled into the ecosystem. Fungi and bacteria are two groups with many important saprophytes.

niche

Biology; Ecology

The portion of the environment that a species occupies, defined in terms of the conditions under which an organism can survive, and the presence of other competing organisms.