Ecosystems Flashcards
Organism
A living thing.
Habitat
An environment that provides the things a specific organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce.
Biotic factor
A living or once living part of an organisms habitat.
Abiotic factor
A non living part of an organisms habitat.
Population
All the members of one species living in the same area.
Community
All the different populations that live together in a certain area.
Ecosystem
The community of organisms that live in a particular area, along with their non living environment.
Limiting factor
An environmental factor that causes a population to decrease in size.
Resources
Things found in nature that enhance the lives of plants, animals, and humans.
Density
The measurement of how much mass of a substance is contained in a given volume.
Producer
An organism that can make its own food.
Consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms.
Decomposer
An organism that gets energy by breaking down biotic waste and dead organisms and returns raw material to the soil and the water.
Food chain
A series of events in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten.
Food web
The pattern of overlapping feeding relationships or food chains among the various organisms in an ecosystem.
