| A | B |
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| climate | the average yearly temperature and precipitation in a particular region; climate is determined by latitude, the trapping of heat by the atmosphere, the amount of precipitation, transport of heat by winds and ocean currents, and the shape and elevation of the landmass. |
| latitude | the position of a location on Earth relative to the location of the equator; measured in degrees north or south of the equator. |
| upwelling | the mixing of sea water when cold water sinks and then rises again when it gets warmer. |
| regulator | organisms that can regulate their internal conditions, even when there are wide fluctuations in the external environment are; also known as “warm-blooded” organisms. |
| conformer | organisms that cannot regulate their internal conditions and must change as their external environment changes; also known as “cold-blooded” organisms. |
| ozone | a molecule composed of 3 atoms of oxygen; it protects and shields the organisms on Earth from ultraviolet radiation from the sun; destruction of ozone molecules is reversible. |
| Greenhouse Effect | a natural phenomenon in which heat is retained in the atmosphere by a blanket of greenhouse gases; greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide and water vapor; life on Earth would not be possible without the greenhouse effect. |
| disturbance | an event that changes a community by removing organisms from it or altering the availability of resources; disturbances can be natural or can be man-made. |
| ecology | the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment. |
| biosphere | the combined portions of the planet in which all life exists, including land, water and air. |
| biotic | the living components of the environment; includes all of the living things that affect an organism. |
| abiotic | nonliving factors that influence or affect an ecosystem. |
| acclimation | the process an organism goes through when adjusting to a change in an abiotic factor |
| adaptation | a genetic change in a species or population that occurs over many generations |
| habitat | the location in which a species lives; where a species finds food, water, space & shelter |
| niche | the role a species plays in its habitat; a species’ way of life |
| autotroph | an organism that is capable of using energy from the environment to make its own food in the form of molecules of glucose |
| heterotroph | organism that is not capable of producing molecules of glucose and that must consume other organisms |
| trophic level | a step in a food chain that indicates the organism’s position in the sequence of energy transfers throughout the food chain. |
