Biomes Flashcards
Energy pyramid
a model that shows the available amount of energy in each trophic layer in an ecosystem
Food web
a model that shows many different feeding relationships among living things
Decomposer
organisms which carry out the process of decomposition by breaking down dead or decaying organisms
Food Chain
a model that shows one set of feeding relationships among living things
Coniferous
plants that produce reproductive organs called cones
Consumer
an organism that eats other living things to get energy; an organism that does not produce its own food (related word: consume)
Biome
a major ecological community such as grassland, tropical rain forest, or desert
Deciduous
(of a tree or shrub) shedding its leaves annually.
“sun-loving deciduous trees like aspen”
INFORMAL
(of a tree or shrub) broadleaved.
denoting the milk teeth of a mammal, which are shed after a time.
“this is the period when the deciduous teeth are being shed”
Ecology
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings
Cycle
a process that repeats (related word: cyclic)
Nitrogen Cycle
a process in which nitrogen in the atmosphere enters the soil and becomes part of living organisms then eventually returns to the atmosphere
Biotic factors
the living parts of an ecosystem
Water Cycle
the continual movement of water between the land, ocean, and the air
Abiotic Factor
non-living factors in an ecosystem
Producer
an organism that makes its own food; an organism that does not consume other plants or animals
