| A | B |
|---|
| Ecology | The study of organisms and their interactions with the environment |
| species | organisms that live in the same area and can breed to produce offspring |
| biosphere | all the areas on earth where life can exist |
| population | a group of the same species in the same area |
| community | all the living things in a given area |
| ecosystem | all the living things, plus abiotic factors in a given area |
| biome | a large area with the same climate |
| autotroph | organism that makes its own food |
| producer | organism that makes its own food |
| photosynthesis | the process of using light energy to make sugar |
| chemosynthesis | the process of using chemical energy to make sugar |
| consumer | an organism that must eat something to obtain energy |
| herbivore | animals that eat only plants |
| carnivore | animals that eat only meat |
| omnivore | animals that eat both plants and meat |
| detritivore | creatures that eat decaying plant matter |
| decomposer | organisms that break down dead plant and animal material |
| food chain | a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy |
| food web | an interconnected group of food chains |
| trophic level | one step in a food chain |
| ecological pyramid | a graphic that shows energy or biomass in each trophic level |
| biomass | the amount of living material in an area |
| heterotroph | any creature that must eat food to obtain energy |
