3rd Grade Lady Bug Study Guide

Terms	Definitions
Ecologist	studies organisms and their relationships with their surroundings
Habitat	an area or environment where a plant or animal lives
Adaptation	a structure or behavior that helps an organism survive in its surroundings.
Life Cycle	the stages of growth and development that a plant or animal goes through in its lifetime
Metamorphosis	the change in form that some animals (the ladybug for example) go through during their life cycle.
Physical Adaptation	a STRUCTURE that helps an organism survive in its surroundings (example: ducks webbed feet)
Behavioral Adaptation	a behavior that helps an organism survive its surroundings (example: learning how to hunt.)
Hibernation	a deep winter sleep in which an animal's body activities slow down and they can live off of stored food.
Migration	the long-distance journey from one place to another that some animals make as seasons change.
Camouflage	the shape, color, or pattern of an animal that helps it blend in with its surroundings.
Mimicry	is when one animal looks like another animal so it can avoid being eaten or catch something to eat.
Instinct	a behavior an animal inherits from its parents. (It is NOT learned.)
Learned Behavior	a behavior that an animal develops by observing other animals or by being taught.
Predator	an animal that hunts and kills other organisms for food.
Prey	the organism that is hunted by a predator.
Consumer	an animal that eats living organisms, plant or animal.
Decomposers	break down dead plants and animals to make smaller pieces that can be used again by living things.
Herbivores	animals that eat only plants.
Carnivores	animals that eat meat (other animals).
Omnivores	animals that eat both plants and animals.
Population	a group of organisms of the same kind that lives in the same place
Community	all of the populations that live together in the same place.
Ecosystem	all the living and nonliving things that interact with each other in an environment.
Terrestrial	living or growing on land.
Aquatic	living or growing in, on, or near the water
Interdependent	depending on other living things to survive.
Life Cycle of a Lady Bug