2 Flashcards
estuary
found where the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of an ocean
intertidal zone
located on the shore between the highest high-tide line and the lowest low-tide line
neritic zone
region of shallow water found below the low-tide line and extending over the continental shelf
producer
an organism that can make its own food
consumer
an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
herbivore
consumers that only eat plant
carnivore
consumers that only eat animals
omnivore
consumers that eat both plants and animals
scavenger
a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
decomposers
break down biotic wastes and dead organisms and return the raw materials to the ecosystem
food chain
a series of events in which one organism eats another and contains energy
food web
consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
evaporation
the process by which molecules of liquid water absorb energy and change to a gas
condensation
the process by which a gas changes to a liquid
precipitation
rain, snow, sleet, or hail
nitrogen fixation
the process of changing free nitrogen into a usable form of nitrogen
climate
the average annual temperature and amount of precipitation in an area that determines it biome
biome
a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
desert
an area that receives less than 25 centimeters of rain per year.
rain forest
forests in which large amounts of rain fall year-round
emergent layer
the tallest layer of the rain forest
canopy
up to 50 meter tall trees form a leafy roof called the canopy
understory
below the canopy, trees and vines that are about 15 meters tall form the understory
grassland
an area that is populated mostly by grasses and other non-woody plants
deciduous trees
trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each year
boreal forest
dense forests found in upper regions of the Northern Hemisphere
coniferous trees
trees that produce their seeds in cones and have leaves shaped like needles
tundra
extremely cold and dry
permafrost
frozen soil in the tundra
biogeography
the study of where organisms live and how they got there
continental drift
the movement of the continents
dispersal
the movement of organisms from one place to another
exotic species
an organism that is carried into a new location by people
