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Ecosystems
Term | Definition |
---|---|
ecosystem | all the living and nonliving things in an area |
terrestrial ecosystem | a land-based ecosystem |
aquatic ecosystem | a water- based ecosystem |
forest | an ecosystem that contains many trees |
grassland | an ecosystem that has fertile soil covered with tall grasses |
estuary | a body of water in which fresh water from a river meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean |
salt marsh | a flat area of land where salt water overflows |
producer | a living thing that makes its own food |
photosynthesis | the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria use energy from the sunlight to make their own food |
consumer | a living thing that gets energy by eating other living things |
decomposer | a living thing that gets energy by breaking down wastes and dead plants and animals |
herbivore | a consumer that eats only plants |
carnivore | a consumer that eats only animals |
omnivore | a consumer that eats both plants and animals |
food chain | a model that shows the path of energy as it flows from one living thing to the next |
food web | a model that shows how several food chains connect together |
predator | an animal that hunts other animals for food |
prey | an animal that is hunter by other animals for food |
biotic factors | the living factors in an ecosystem |
abiotic factors | the nonliving factors in an ecosystem. |
ocean | A large body of salt water. |
brackish | a mix of salty and fresh |
lake | large bodies of freshwater surrounded by land |
pond | small bodies of freshwater surrounded by land |
tide | rise or fall of ocean water |
competition | the demand for a resource by two or more organisms |
interact | to come into contact with and affect each other |