Ecosystems Vocabulary

Question 1

Biotic

Answer 1

The living components of an ecosystem.

Question 2

Abiotic

Answer 2

The non-living components of an ecosystem. Example: Wind, Sun, Water, etc

Question 3

Organism

Individual

Answer 3

A single living thing.

Question 4

Population

Answer 4

A group of organisms of the same species in an ecosystem.

Question 5

Community

Answer 5

A group of different populations interacting in an ecosystem.

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

All the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which they interact.

Question 7

Biome

Answer 7

A region of land with characteristic climate, soil and organisms.

Question 8

Weather

Answer 8

Describes the conditions of the atmosphere in a certain area for a short period of time. Weather changes constantly.

Question 9

Climate

Answer 9

Describes the average weather that an area has over a long period of time. Climate does not generally change (can change over years).

Question 10

Biosphere

Answer 10

The areas on and around Earth that can sustain life.

Question 11

Atmosphere

Answer 11

The air, in the biosphere, that surrounds Earth.

Question 12

Lithosphere

Answer 12

The solid mineral material, in the biosphere, on Earth.

Question 13

Hydrosphere

Answer 13

The water, in the biosphere, on Earth.

Question 14

Niche

Answer 14

The role of an organism in an ecosystem.

Question 15

Producer

Answer 15

Plants that use energy from the sun to make nutrients they need to survive.

Question 16

Consumer

Answer 16

Organisms that eat food made by producers.

Question 17

Herbivore

Answer 17

An animal that eats only plant material.

Question 18

Carnivore

Answer 18

An animal that eats only other animals.

Question 19

Omnivore

Answer 19

An animal that eats other animals and plant material.

Question 20

Predator

Answer 20

An organism that catches and eats other organisms of a different species.

Question 21

Prey

Answer 21

An organism that is caught and eaten by another organism of a different species.

Question 22

Scavenger

Answer 22

An organism that eats dead or decaying plant or animal matter.

Question 23

Decomposer

Answer 23

Organisms that break down the cells of dead or waste materials and absorb their nutrients.

Question 24

Food Chain

Answer 24

A sequence of feeding relationships among living organisms, as they pass on food energy.

Question 25

Energy Flow

Answer 25

The movement of energy, which originally comes from the sun, from one organism to another.

Question 26

Food Web

Answer 26

The network of feeding relationships among organisms.

Question 27

Symbiosis

Answer 27

An interaction between two organisms of different species living in close proximity that lasts over time.

Question 28

Parasitism

Answer 28

A symbiotic relationship in which one of the partners is harmed and the other benefits.

Question 29

Mutualism

Answer 29

A symbiotic relationship in which both partners benefit.

Question 30

Commensalism

Answer 30

A symbiotic relationship in which one partner benefits and the other is indifferent.

Question 31

Energy Pyramid

Answer 31

A pyramid showing the number of organisms at each level of a food chain.

Question 32

Succession

Answer 32

The process by which new species gradually replace old species in an ecosystem.

Question 33

Native species

Answer 33

a species that naturally lives in an area

Question 34

Fish stocks

Answer 34

The population of a species of fish in a given area

Question 35

Wetlands

Answer 35

Lands that are saturated with water such as marshes and swamps

Question 36

Watershed

Answer 36

an area of land in which water from rain or melting snow drains downward into the same body of water