click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ecosystems
Vocabulary Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
producers | organisms that make their own food using the Sun's energy (plants) |
consumers | organisms that must eat other organisms to survive |
decomposers | organisms that break down dead matter |
predators | animals that hunt to eat |
prey | animals that are hunted |
carrying capacity | the maximum amount of plants and animals that an area can support |
parasite | feeds on and harms its host organism |
behavioral adaptation | a change in an organism's behavior that helps it survive |
structural adaptation | an organism's physical structure that helps it survive in its environment |
protective coloration | when an animal is the same color as its background (camouflage) |
protective resemblance | when an animal has the same color AND shape of its envorinment |
biotic | living organisms in an ecosystem |
abiotic | nonliving features in an ecosystem |
natural events | when things happen in nature that are not caused by humans |