Question | Answer |
These are the nonliving factors of the environment | Abiotic |
The different layers of gases that extend from the surface of the Earth into space | Atmosphere |
This is an organism that obtains its energy from inorganic substances or from the sun | Autotroph |
Number and variety of living organisms; includes genetic, species, and ecological types | Biodiversity |
A pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic and abiotic compartments of an ecosystem | Biogeochemical Cycle |
This is the total amount of all living things within a specific area. | Biomass |
This is a group of plants and animals in the same region that have adapted together to the region's environment. | Biome |
These are all the living organisms on earth. | Biotic |
This is an organism that gets energy by eating meat, living or dead. | Carnivore |
The maximum population which an area can maintain indefinitely. | Carrying Capacity |
These are the general weather conditions of an area over a long period of time. | Climate |
This is the interaction of two organisms where one is helped and the other is neither helped nor harmed. | Commensalism |
These are the groups of plants and animals that interact within an ecosystem. | Community |
This occurs when 2 or more organisms or populations in a community rely or need similar limiting resources. | Competition |
Land areas that are close to a body of water or groundwater, or land areas that are flooded regularly; they support vegetation adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. | Wetlands |
This is the plant life of a region; it often refers to the ground cover provided by plants | Vegetation |
An ecosystem dominated by lichens, mosses, grasses, and woody plants. It is generally found at high latitudes. It is described as having a marshy surface where mosses, lichens, berries and low shrubs grow with mucky soil and permafrost underneath. | Tundra |
This is a term use to describe an ecological community in which moisture and temperature are high. | Tropical |
This is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain - what it eats, and what eats it. | Trophic Level |
This is a type of pollution associated with increases of water temperatures in a stream, lake, or ocean due to the discharge of heated water from industrial processes, such as the generation of electricity. | Thermal Pollution |
This is a term used to describe a region between polar zones and the tropics with warm summers, cold winters and sufficient precipitation to support its species. | Temperate |
This is a northern hemisphere habitat with wet soil. | Taiga |
This is an interdependent relationship between two different species. | Symbiosis |
This is the set of skills and abilities necessary for an organism to live. | Survival |
This is the regular progression of species replacement that occurs after a disturbance, such as natural disaster, or during the establishment of a new habitat. | Succession |
This is a type of photochemical air pollution that is a result of the interaction of sunlight with certain chemicals in the atmosphere. This type of air pollution is very hazardous to you health. | Smog |
An animal that eats the dead remains and wastes of other animals and plants. | Scavenger |
A tropical grassland with sparse trees. | Savanna |
This is one of the seven major biomes in which rainfall amounts are high and flora and fauna vary greatly; at least one-half of the the world's species are contained in these and primary productivity is extremely high. | Rain Forest |
This is an organism that supplies matter and energy, also known as an autotroph. | Producer |
An animal that is killed and eaten by another animal. | Prey |
This is an animal that lives by preying on other animals. | Predator |
Water for a given biome. | Precipitation |
This is the way in which a species' population grow and shrink over time. | Population Dynamics |
The number of individuals of a species per unit area. | Population Density |
All the individuals of a species that live together in one place at the same time | Population |
This is the permanently frozen stratum below the artic tundra. | Permafrost |
This is an organism which feeds on, but usually does not kill, a larger organism. | Parasite |
This is an organism obtains energy by eating both plants and animals. | Omnivore |
These are organisims that are brought into a new environment, sometimes accidently, sometimes on purpose; and have no natural enemies or controls. | Non-native Species |
This is the role of a species in an ecosystem, consisting of such things as what it eats, when it eats, and where it lives. | Niche |
This is the interaction of two organisms where both benefit. | Mutualism |
This is an example of mutualistic symbiosis between the organisms of fungus and a photosynthetic alga. | Lichen |
This is an organism that gains energy by eating only plants. | Herbivore |
The area where an organism lives its life including the living and nonliving factors. | Habitat |
One of several types of terrestrial biomes, where grasses form the predominant vegetation, usually mixed with herbs and sometimes with shrubs, but usually without trees. | Grassland |
This H2O contains no significant amounts of salt. Access to this is a critical issue for the survival of many species, including humans, especially in desert or otherwise arid areas. | Freshwater |
A representation of the linkages between food chains in a community. | Food Web |
This is a path for the transfer of matter and energy through an ecosystem by eating and being eaten. | Food Chain |
The thin zone along a coastline where freshwater systems and rivers meet and mix with a salty ocean (such as a bay, mouth of a river, salt marsh, lagoon). | Estuary |
This is the biotic and abiotic factors that act upon organisms and affect their survival. | Environment |
This display graphically shows the energy that is available at each trophic level in a a food chain. | Energy Pyramid |
Populations and abiotic factors with which they interact in the setting of a community. | Ecosystem |
This is the study of organisms and their interactions with the environment. | Ecology |
This is characterized by the transition in species composition of a biological community, often following an ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in an area virtually barren of life. | Ecological Succession |
An extremely dry period where water is far below typical levels. | Drought |
This is a heterotrophic organism that consumes dead or decayed tissue and helps to recycle nutrients in an ecosystem | Detritivore |
Arid region that receives less than 10 inches of precipitation annually. | Desert |
This is the act of exhausting, or using up, a resource. | Depletion |
This is a limiting factor of a population that does not depend on the population density. These factors are usually abiotic factors. | Density Independent Limiting Factor |
This is a limiting factor of a population in which large, dense populations are more strongly affected than small, less crowded ones. | Density Dependent Limiting Factor |
This is the removal of trees and the conversion of forest lands to farmlands, logged areas, or cities. | Deforestation |
This is an organism that breaks down and gains nutrients from dead organisms. | Decomposer |
This is a plant that loses all its leaves during a particular season each year. Different pigments in the leaf are revealed as the leaves die and fall. | Deciduous |
This law states that, in any process, energy is neither created nor destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another. | Conservation Of Energy |
This is the process of preserving or protecting a natural resource. | Conservation |
This is a classification of plant growth within a cold, wet biome known as a taiga; the plants in this are cone-bearing gymnosperms. | Coniferous Forest |