| A | B |
|---|
| ecology | study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and their physical environment |
| habitat | the place where a particular population of species lives |
| species diversity | the number of species within an ecosystem |
| succession | the regular progression of species replacement |
| primary succession | succession that occurs on land where nothing has grown before |
| secondary succession | succession in areas of previous growth |
| primary productivity | the amount of organic material that the photosynthetic organisms of an ecosystem produce |
| producers | organisms that produce their own food |
| consumers | organisms that obtain energy by consuming plants and/or other organisms |
| herbivores | plant eaters |
| carnivores | meat eaters |
| omnivores | animals that are both carnivores and herbivores |
| detritivores | obatin their energy from organic wastes and dead bodies |
| food chain | path of energy through the trophic levels of an ecosystem |
| biomass | the dry weight of tissue and other organic matter |
