1.
abiotic: nonliving parts of the environment
2.
autotroph: an organism that produces its own food; the source of energy for all other living things on Earth
3.
biome: large groups of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms; examples include the tundra, taiga, temperate forest, chaparral, tropical rain forest, desert, temperate grassland, tropical savanna grassland, and polar and high-mountain ice
4.
biosphere: all of Earth's ecosystems, collectively; the biologically inhabited portions of Earth, including all of the water, land, and air in which organisms survive
5.
biotic: the living parts of the environment
6.
Carrying Capacity: the largest population of single species that an area can support
7.
decomposer: an organism, generally a bacterium or fungus, that consumes dead organisms and organic waste
8.
ecology: the study of how living things interact with one another and with their environment
9.
ecosystem: all the living and nonliving things that interact in a specific area; a subdivision of the environment
10.
heterotroph: organism that cannot make its own food; a consumer
11.
Homeostasis: the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment even when the external environment changes
12.
limiting factor: any factor in the environment that limits the size of a population
13.
niche: the specific role played by an organism in its ecosystem
14.
population: all the individuals of a single species that live in a specific area
15.
scavenger: a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
16.
secondary succession: a type of change that occurs when a disturbance empties an existing habitat without destroying the soil
