Term | Definition |
ecosystem | all of the living and nonliving things in an area and their interactions |
community | made up of all the organisms that live in the same place |
population | a group made up of the same type of individuals in the same ecosystem |
habitat | the physical part of the ecosystem that meets the needs of an organism |
niche | the role of an organism |
producer | any living thing that makes its own food |
consumer | an animal that eats plants or other animals to get energy |
decomposer | a living thing that breaks down wastes and the remains of plants and animals for energy |
food chain | the transfer of food energy in a sequence of living things |
herbivore | a consumer that eats only plants |
carnivore | a consumer that eats other animals |
omnivore | a consumer that eats BOTH plants and animals |
food web | shows the relationships among different food chains; uses arrows to show who eats what |
natural resource | materials found in nature that are used by living things |
renewable resource | natural resources that can be replaced |
nonrenewable resource | natural resources that AREN'T replaced easily |
pollution | happens when harmful substances mix with water, air, or soil |
conservation | use of less of something to make its supply last longer |
endangered species | organisms who whole population is at risk of dying out |
predator | an animal that hunts other animals |
prey | an animal that is hunted or eaten |
green energy | energy generated using renewable resources |