Interactions of Organisms in Ecosystems Flashcards
carbon dioxide
a gas used by plants during photosynthesis to make food
carnivore
an animal that only eats meat
community
all the populations of organisms that live in an ecosystem at the same time
consumer
a living thing that gets its energy by eating other living things as food
decomposer
a living thing that breaks down dead organisms for food
energy
the ability to cause changes in matter
flow of energy
energy that is passed from one organism to another in a food chain
food web
the interactions among many different food chains in a single ecosystem
habitat
a place in an ecosystem where a population lives
herbivore
an animal that only eats plants
omnivore
an animal that eats both plants and other animals
organism
an individual living thing such as a plant, animal, or bacteria
photosynthesis
the chemical process in which plants and other organisms combine carbon dioxide and water, using energy from the Sun, to produce sugar and oxygen
predator
an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals
prey
an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food
Producer
a living thing that makes its own food
Sun
where energy comes from to start all food chains
community
group of interdependent organisms living in the same region
compete
the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources
Ecosystem
the living and nonliving things that interact in an environment
environment
the things, both living and nonliving, that surround a living thing
fossil
the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been excavated from the soil
interaction
the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)
interdependence
how living and non-living things depend on one another
niche
An organism’s particular role/job in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living
overpopulation
The number of organisms in an area is too much and the animals start to perish or die because of little food or diseases
paleontologist
Scientist that studies fossils
population
a group of organisms of the same kind that live in the same place
species
a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring
