Ecosystems Flashcards
Biotic factors
All of the living parts in an ecosystem
Abiotic factors
All of the non living parts in an ecosystem
Cycle
A process that repeats
Prey
An animal that hunts and eats another animal
Producer
An animal that makes it’s own food; an animal that does not eat other animals.
Deciduous forest
A forest that loses it’s leaves every year
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.
Water cycle
the continual movement of water between the land, ocean, and the air.
Succession
the progressive replacement of one community by another until a climax community is established.
Carbon cycle
a natural cycle in which carbon compounds, mainly carbon dioxide, are incorporated into living tissue through photosynthesis and returned to the atmosphere by respiration, decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.
Biome
a major ecological community such as grassland, tropical rain forest, or desert
Energy pyramid
a model that shows the available amount of energy in each trophic layer in an ecosystem.
Consumer
an organism that eats other living things to get energy; an organism that does not produce its own food (related word: consume).
Decomposer
organisms which carry out the process of decomposition by breaking down dead or decaying organisms
Conifers
a type of plant with needle-like leaves that uses cones to reproduce.
