| A | B |
|---|
| ecosystem | all the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment |
| community | all the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem |
| consumer | organism that cannot create energy-rich molecules but obtains its food by eating other organisms |
| abiotic | nonliving, physical features of the environment, including air, water, sunlight, soil, temperature, and climate |
| biotic | features of the environment that are alive or were once alive |
| commensalism | a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is not affected |
| carnivore | an organism that consumes other animals for energy |
| habitat | place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival |
| herbivore | an organism that consumes only plants for energy |
| omnivore | an organism that consumes plants and animals for energy |
| decomposer | an organism that breaks down dead and decaying matter for energy |
| limiting factor | anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought |
| mutualism | a type of symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit |
| parasitism | a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other organism is harmed |
| population | all the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species |
| producer | organism that uses an outside source of energy to create energy-rich food molecules |
| symbiosis | any close relationship between species |
| predator | a consumer that captures and eats other consumers |
| prey | organism that is captured by a consumer |
| food chain | model of a single feeding relationship in an ecosystem |
| food web | model of all the feeding relationships in an ecosystem |
| energy pyramid | a diagram to show how energy is distributed within an ecosystem |
| energy resource | a resource that provides energy such as fossil fuels |
| natural resource | a resource that is used by humans, such as minerals or water |
| material resource | a resource that is used to make things such as wood or minerals |
| nonrenewable | a resource that cannot be replaced in a short enough amount of time once it is used |
| renewable | a resource that can be replaced by nature such as food crops |
| conservation | the wise use and protection of natural resources |
| niche | the role an organism plays within an ecosystem |
| primary consumer | an organism that eats first in a food chain; eats producers |
| secondary consumer | an organism that eats second in a food chain; eats primary consumers |
| tertiary consumer | an organism that eats third in a food chain; eats secondary consumers |
| natural hazard | a disaster caused by nature that can have an affect on ecosystems; ex. floods, droughts, fires, hurricanes |
| competition | two or more organisms or populations fighting for the same resources (food, water, space) |
| watershed | an area of land that catches rain and snow and where water flows downward into a specific river, stream, lake, or aquifer |
| aquifer | underground area where groundwater is stored |
| groundwater | precipitation (rain, snow or sleet) that seeps into the soil below ground |
| surface water | precipitation that runs over the land into lakes, rivers, and streams or other places above ground |
| soil | the material found on the surface of the earth that is composed of organic and inorganic material |
| permeability | how freely water passes through rock and soil |
