| A | B |
|---|
| ecology | study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and their environment |
| habitat | the place where a particular population of species lives |
| abiotic factors | nonliving parts of the environment |
| succession | the regular progression of species replacement, change in the community over time |
| primary succession | succession that occurs on land where nothing has grown before (i.e. after volcanic eruption) |
| secondary succession | succession in areas of previous growth (i.e. after housing development) |
| biotic factors | living parts of the environment |
| 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 |
| niche | role an organism plays in the environment |
| food web | interconnected food chains |
| ecological pyramid | shows the total mass of organic matter (biomass) at each trophic level |
| scavengers | organisms that feed on dead organisms-type of detrivore |
| biosphere | region of earth that supports life |
| ecosystem | organisms and the abiotic factors in an area |
| biomes | major type of ecosystems based on temperature and rainfall |
| conservation | protection, management and renewal of natural resources |
| symbiosis | close relationship between two different types of organisms |
