 | Term | Definition |
| |
ecology |
study of organisms and how they interact with their environment |
| |
biotic |
all of the organisms that live and interact together |
| |
abiotic |
physical factors of the enviroment (nonliving) |
| |
population |
a group of invidivuals that live together in the same space at the same time |
| |
community |
all of the populations of different species that live and interact together |
| |
ecosystem |
made up of organisms and their abiotic environment |
| |
biosphere |
the part of earth where life exists |
| |
producers |
organism that makes its own food |
| |
consumers |
organisms that eat other organisms |
| |
carnivore |
organisms that eat other organisms |
| |
herbivore |
eats only plants |
| |
omnivore |
eat both plants and animals |
| |
decomposers |
organisms that break down dead things into simpler nutrients |
| |
scavengers |
animals that feed on the bodies of dead animals |
| |
food chain |
represents how the energy in food molecules flow from one organism ro the next |
| |
food web |
shows what animals eat and who eats them, but in a little more complex fashion than the food chain |
| |
energy pyramid |
represents loss of energy at each level of the food pyramid |
| |
habitat |
environment in which an organism lives |
| |
niche |
an organisms way of life within its ecosystem |
| |
limiting factor |
when one or more resources in an environment becomes scarce |
