Keystone Ecology Practice Test 2025 - Free Ecology Practice Questions and Study Guide

In ecological terms, a single organism is referred to as an "individual." This term emphasizes the uniqueness of each living organism within a particular species. In ecology, understanding each individual is crucial because studies often focus on population dynamics, individual behaviors, and interactions within ecosystems.

While the term "specimen" can refer to a single example of an organism, it is typically used in the context of a sample that has been collected for study, which may not accurately convey the concept of an organism living in its natural environment. "Entity" is a more general term that may refer to any defined unit or thing, lacking the specificity that "individual" provides in the context of biology. The term "specie," while it may seem close, is actually a misspelling of "species," which refers to a group of similar organisms capable of interbreeding, rather than a single organism. Therefore, "individual" is the most appropriate term for describing a single organism in ecological contexts.