click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ecosystems Vocab
Vocabulary related to ecosystems and food chains
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| instinct | a behavior that an animal is born with |
| decomposer | living things that get energy from breaking down dead plants and animals |
| omnivore | an animal that eats both plants and animals |
| carnivore | an animal that eats only other animals |
| herbivore | an animal that eats only plants |
| consumer | living things that eat plants and animals to get their energy |
| producer | living things that make their own food |
| food chain | a food relationship between plants and animals in the environment |
| migration | a long journey animals make when seasons change |
| learned behavior | a behavior that is taught |
| adaptation | how an animal's body or behavior helps it survive |
| mimicry | when an animal looks like something else in its environment |
| behavioral adaptation | something an animal does that helps it survive |
| shelter | a place where an animal raises its young and protects itself from the weather and its enemies |
| hibernation | when an animal goes into deep winter sleep |
| physical adaptation | how animal looks that hepls it survive |
| camouflage | an animal's color that helps it blend into it environment |
| ecosystem | all of the living and nonliving things in an environment |
| habitat | the place where an animal lives |
| terrestrial | dry land environment |
| aquatic | wet land environment |
| population | a group of organisms that are the same kind and live in the same place |
| community | all of the populations of living things that live together in the same evironment |
| organism | a living thing |
| prey | an animal that is hunted by other animals |
| predator | an animal that hunts other animals |