Word | Meaning |
Decomposer | "Feeds on" dead or decaying matter; bacteria, fungi, mold |
Carnivore | A consumer that eats only meat and/or flesh from animals |
Herbivore | A consumer that eats only plants and plant parts |
Consumer | Organisms that eat producers |
Producer | Bottom of the food chain; green plants |
Biotic factors | Living parts of an ecosystem |
Ecosystem | All of the living and non-living parts in a certain area that live and depend on one another |
Grassland | A biome that contains a few small trees and tall grasses |
Taiga | Biome below the tundra; long winters, broad belt of evergreen trees |
Deciduous forest | Forest with broad leaf trees; leaves change colors and fall off |
Coniferous Forest | Forest with mostly evergreen trees that produce cones |
Abiotic Factors | Non-living parts of an ecosystem (air, water, temperature, soil, etc.) |
Estuary | Water that is a mix of fresh water and salt water |
Symbiosis | Name given when two or more organisms live in or on one another |
Mutualism | A relationship where organisms live together and both of them benefit |
Parisitism | Relationship where organisms live together and one benefits,but the other is harmed |
Commensalism | Relationship in which organisms live together and one is helped, but the ohter is not affected at all |
Photosynthesis | Process whereby green plants make their own food |
Oxygen | Gas released by green plants into the air |
Carbon Dioxide | Gas that animals breathe out that is needed by plants to make their food |
Omnivores | Consumers that eat both plants and animals |
Habitat | The "home" used by a population of animals |
Predator | An organism that eats other organisms in order to live |
Prey | An organism that is eaten by another organism |
Deforestation | The clearing of forested land |