| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Ecological Succession | Process of gradual change from one community of organisms to another. |
| Primary Succession | Ecological sucession that begins in a place that does not have soil. |
| Pioneer Community | First community of organisms to move into a new environment. |
| Secondary Succession | Ecological succession that begins in a place that already has soil and was once the home of living organisms. |
| Climax Community | Community that has reached the final stage if ecological succession. |
| Biome | Large geographic area with similar climates abd ecosystems; the six most common are tundra, taiga, temperate forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and desert |
| Tundra | Cold, dry, treeless biome located at latitudes surrounding the north pole and has winter 6-9 months long. |
| Taiga | Cold region of cone-bearing evergreen trees that lies just below the tundra and is the world's largest terrestrial biome |
| Temperate Deciduous Forest | Biome that lies at latitudes below about 50 degrees in both the northerrn and southern hemispheres, usually has four distinct seasons, and supports a wide variety of plants and animals. |
| Tropical Rain Forest | Hot, wet, equatorial biome that contains the largest number of species. |
| Grassland | temperate and tropical regions that recieve between 25 cm and 75 cm of precipitation each year and are dominated by climax communities of grasses |
| Desert | Driest biome on earth; recieves less than 25 cm of rain reach year and supports little plant life. |
| Plankton | Miscroscopic algae, plants, and other organisms that float in warm, sunlit waters near the surface of freshwater lakes and ponds. |
| Estuary | Area where a river meets the ocean that contains a mixture of freshwater and saltwater and serves as mursery for many species of ocean fish. |
| Intertidal Zone | Portion of the shoreline that is covered with water at high tide and exposed to the air at low tide |
| Canopy | Top of the forest & consists of leafy branches. Shades the ground below & provides homes for birds, insects, mammals and other organisms |
| Understory | Shrub layer - Beneath canopy & above forest floor |
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