| A | B |
|---|
| abiotic | non-living things in an ecosystem (ex. soil, water, energy, physical space) |
| biosphere | all the earth's ecosystems together |
| biotic | interacting living things in an ecosystem |
| carrying capacity | the number of organisms of a species that an ecosystem can support |
| community | populations combined to make a community |
| competition | struggle for resources among organisms |
| ecology | study of how organisms interact with living and non-living things around them |
| environment | all living and non-living things around an organism |
| habitat | a species-specific environment or home (ex. fields, forests, ocean, etc.) |
| limiting factors | factors in the environment that limit the size of a population |
| population | all the organisms of a species that live in the same area |
| predator | kill and eat other organisms. This is an important biotic factor that can limit a population size |
| prey | the organisms killed for food |
| ecological niche | the role the species plays in its environment. Only one species can occupy a niche at a time or competition results |
| autotroph | makes their own food (ex. green plants) |
| biodiversity | the degree that species vary in an ecosystem (having many different species in an ecosystem) |
| carnivore | heterotrophs; eat other animals |
| consumer | a heterotroph, has to "consume" or eat something else for energy--cannot make its own food |
| decomposer | eats wastes and dead organisms, they recycle |
| ecological succession | a series of changes that a habitat goes through as it changes into another type of habitat (ex. fire in a forest) |
| energy pyramid | shows the transfer of energy through the food chain or web (energy is lost as you go from producer to consumers) |
| food chain | a representation that identifies the specific feeding relationships among organisms |
| food web | shows complex feeding relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers |
| herbivore | eat plants and are heterotropic |
| heterotroph | acquire food by eating others |
| host | what parasites live off of |
| parasite | live on or in a live host organism and either share or eat its nutrients |
| producer | autotrophs; self-feeders |
| scavenger | consumer that eats dead organisms. Nature's "clean-up crew!"--they are not decomposers |
| deforestation | destruction of forests by humans |
| direct harvesting | destruction or removal of species from their habitat or home |
| energy flow | the movement of energy through the ecosystem--Starts with the sun to producer to consumer to decomposer |
| nonrenewable | resources that cannot be renewed (ex. fossil fuels, minerals, etc) |
| pollution | harmful change in chemical make-up of the soil, water, or air |
| renewable resource | Earth's resources that can be renewed (ex. food, solar energy, water) |
| water cycle | water evaporates from surface of land, rises into the atmosphere, collects as clouds and returns as precipitation |
| fossil fuel | fuels formed from the remains of organisms that lived millions of years ago (ex. gas, coal, oil). |
| global warming | an increat in Earth's average surface temperature caused by an increase in greenhouse gases |
| industrialization | the process of converting an economy into one in which large-scale manufacturing is the primary economic base |
| nuclear fuel | energy source resulting from the splitting of atoms |
| ozone shield | layer of gases in upper atmosphere that protects the Earth from some of the sun's radiation |
| technology | all of the practical scientific knowledge that has been used to meet human needs |
| trade-off | compromise |
| acid rain | rain that is more acidic than normal |
| global warming | increase in Earth's average surface temperature caused by increased greenhouse gases. |
| ozone depletion | reduction in protective ozone layer caused by coolants and propellants released in atmosphere |
| ecosystem | ecological system; any portion of the environment |
| sustainable ecosystem | a forest that is selectively harvested |
| symbosis | relationship in which 2 species live closely together |
| commensalism | symbiotic relationship between two organisms where one benefits and other is neither harmed nor helped |
| mutualism | symbiotic relationship where both species benefit from it |
| parasitism | symbiotic relationship where one organism lives in or on other organism and harms it |
| soil nutrients | K, P, N: nutrients in the soil |
