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PssaScienceGlossary
Question | Answer |
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ecosystem | A community of living organisms and their interrelated physical and chemical environment. |
environment | The total of the surroundings influencing each living being's existence, including physical, biological and all other factors; the surroundings of a plant or animals including other plants or animals, climate and location. |
homeostasis | The tendency for a system to remain in a state of equilibrium by resisting change. |
abiotic | A nonliving factor or element (e.g., light, water, heat, rock, energy, mineral). |
biomes | A community of living organisms of a single major ecological region. |
niche | The role played by an organism in an ecosystem; its food preferences, requirements for shelter, special behaviors and the timing of its activities (e.g., nocturnal, diurnal), interaction with other organisms and its habitat. |
Consumer | Those organisms that obtain energy by feeding on other organisms and their remains. |
Decomposer | An organism, often microscopic in size, that obtains nutrients by consuming dead organic matter, thereby making nutrients accessible to other organisms; examples of decomposers include fungi, scavengers, rodents and other animals. |
Shredder | Through chewing and/or grinding, microorganisms feed on non-woody coarse particulate matter, primarily leaves. |
Dichotomous | Divided or dividing into two parts or classifications. |
Pest | A label applied to an organism when it is in competition with humans for some resource. |
Integrated pest management | A variety of pest control methods that include repairs, traps, bait, poison, etc. to eliminate pests. |