| A | B |
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| ecology | scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment and surroundings |
| biosphere | contains the combined portions of the planet-including-land, water etc |
| species | a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring a |
| population | groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area |
| communities | assemblages of different populationsthat live together in a defined area |
| ecosystem | coll. of all the organisms that live in a paticular place aloing with their environment |
| biome | group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities |
| sunlight | main source of energy for life on earth |
| autotrophs | captures energy from sunlight or chemicals and use that energy to produce food |
| chemosynthesis | when organisms use chemical energy to produce carbos |
| heterotrophs | organisms that rely on other organisms for there energy and food supply |
| consumers | heterotrophs |
| herbivores | obtain energy by eating only plants |
| carnivores | eat animals |
| omnivores | both plants and animals |
| detritivores | feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter |
| decomposers | breaks down organic matter |
| food chain | a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eater |
| food web | more complex interactions then a food chain |
| trophic level | each step in a food chain- 1st-producers-2nd-3rd or higher- consumers |
| ecological pyramid | a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or web |
| biomass | the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level |
