| A | B |
|---|
| Ecology | the study of how organisms interact with the living and non-living environment |
| environment | every living and non-living thing that surrounds an organism |
| biotic factors | all the living things in an environment |
| abiotic factors | all the non-living things in an environment |
| habitat | Each living thing has its own specific environment |
| population | All organisms of a species that live in the same area |
| community | Many populations combined |
| biosphere | the portion of our planet in which life is found |
| competition | the struggle for resources among organisms |
| limiting factors | Factors that limit the size of a population |
| carrying capacity | The maximum number of organisms that an ecosystem can support |
| niche | The role that each species plays in the ecosystem |
| Food Chains | used to represent relationships between predator and prey |
| autotrophs | the photosynthetic organisms that make their own food |
| heterotrophs | acquire food by eating other organisms |
| herbivores | eat only plants |
| carnivores | meat eaters |
| decomposers | break down wastes and dead bodies |
| Scavengers | feed on dead organisms but do not kill them |
| Parasites | organisms that live and feed on or in their host |
| food web | shows the many interconnected food chains that exist in an ecosystem |
| energy pyramid | shows the transfer of energy through a food chain |
| decomposition | breaking down wastes and dead organisms into raw materials |
| Biodiversity | a measure of the degree to which species vary within an ecosystem |
| succession | a scientific fact that environments will change over time |
