| A | B |
|---|
| adaptation | helps an organism survive in its enviornment or to reproduce |
| biogeography | study of where organisms live |
| biome | group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms |
| canopy | leafy roof formed by tall trees |
| carnivore | animal that eats only other animals |
| climate | average, year-after-year conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds, clouds in an area |
| coniferous tree | trees that produce their seeds in CONES and have needle-shaped leaves |
| consumer | organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms |
| continental drift | hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface |
| deciduous tree | trees that shed (loose/drop) their leaves and grow new ones every year |
| decomposer | organism that breaks down dead organisms into smaller chemicals; good for soil and water |
| desert | area/region with fewer than 25centimeters of rain per year; evaporation is more than precipitation |
| dispersal | movement of organisms from one place to another |
| energy pyramid | shows amount of energy moved from one feeding level to another in a food web |
| equilibrium | opposing forces in a system are equally balanced or stable (not changing/moving) |
| estuary | a coastal inlet or bay where fresh water from rivers mixes with salty ocean water |
| exotic species | species (animals) that are carried to a new location by people |
| food chain | a series of events in which one organism EATS another |
| food web | pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem; shows the feeding patterns in a habitat. |
| grassland | area populated by grasses that gets 25 to 75 centimeters of rain each year. |
| herbivore | animal that eats only PLANTS. |
| intertidal zone | area on a seashore between the highest high-tide and lowest low-tide. |
| native species | species (animals) that have naturally evolved (lived) in an area. |
| neritic zone | SHALLOW (not deep) ocean water from the low-tide line out to the edge of the continental shelf |
| niche | organism's special role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living |
| omnivore | animal that eats BOTH plants AND animals. |
| permafrost | soil (ground/dirt) that is frozen all year; tundra climate region |
| pioneer species | first species to populate (live) in an area |
| primary succession | changes that occur in an an area where no ecosystem had existed. |
| producer | an organism that can make its OWN food |
| savanna | tropical grassland with scattered clumps of trees; found near equator in tropical wet & dry climates |
| scavenger | a carnivore that feeds on DEAD organisms |
| secondary succession | changes that occur AFTER a disturbance in an ecosystem |
| species | group of similar organisms whose members can mate with one another and produce fertile babies |
| succession | series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time |
| tundra | polar climate region (Alaska/Canada/Russia). Short, cool summers and VERY COLD winters. |
| understory | layer of shorter plants that grow in the shade (under) of a forest canopy |
| ecosystem | all the living and nonliving things that interact in a particular area. |
| habitat | the place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs. |
| biotic factors | the living parts of an ecosystem (plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, worms). |
| abiotic factors | the nonliving parts of an ecosystem (water, soild, sunlight, oxygen, temperature). |
| population | all the members of one species in a particular area. |
| society | a closely related population of animals that work together for the benefit of the whole group. |
| community | all the different populations that live together in a community. |
| ecology | the study of how all the living organisms interact with each other and their environment. |
| levels of organization | organism-population-community-ecosystem |
| ecology | the study of how all the living organisms interact with each other and their environment. |
| biomass | the total amount of living matter and the remains of dead organisms in an area. |
| decay | the brak down of material in biomass by bacteria and other decomposers (heat is released) |
| nitrogen fixation | decomposers make nitrogen so that other organisms can use it. Organisms cannot use free nitrogen from the air. |
