Ecological Community in AP Biology

Definition

An ecological community is a group of different species that live together and interact in a specific habitat or ecosystem.

Related terms

Niche: This refers to the role or function that an organism plays within its environment.

Ecosystem: This is a larger concept that includes not only the living organisms (biotic factors) but also non-living components (abiotic factors) such as water, soil, light, temperature etc.

Biodiversity:

This term refers to the variety of life forms present in any given ecosystem. It can be measured on several levels including genetic diversity within a species, diversity between different species and diversity of ecosystems.