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PssaScienceGlossary
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 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. |