Unit 6: Biomes & Ecology Vocabulary (ADV)

Abiotic

All the non-living things in an ecosystem.

Autotroph/producer

An organism that produces its own food from raw materials and energy.

Aquatic Biome

Divided into freshwater and marine regions; freshwater regions have low salt concentration.

Biome

A large area characterized by its vegetation, soil, climate, and wildlife.

Biotic

All the living things in an ecosystem.

Carnivore

Organisms that eat meat.

Carrying Capacity

Largest population an environment can support over a period of time.

Climate

Describes the average weather conditions of a particular place over a 30 year period.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where individuals of one species benefit, while individuals of the other species do not benefit and are not harmed.

Community

Organisms that live together in an ecosystem.

Competition

Two or more organisms trying to use the same limited resources at the same time.

Coniferous

A tree that produces cones and usually has leaves that stay green all year.

Deciduous

Trees or shrubs that lose their leaves.

Decomposer

Organisms that break down dead organisms.

Detrivore

A heterotroph that feeds on dead and decomposing organic matter.

Ecology

The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments.

Ecosystem

A community of organisms and the abiotic factors in the environment.

Energy Pyramid

Triangular diagram showing the loss of energy at each level of the food chain.

Estuary

A partially enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean.

Food Chain

A diagram that shows how the energy flows from one organism to the next.

Food Web

A complex diagram showing the transfer of energy pathways in an ecosystem.

Habitat

The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.

Herbivore

Consumers that eat plants.

Heterotroph/consumer

Organisms that get food from an outside source.

Interdependence

All organisms in an ecosystem depend upon each other.

Latitude

A measurement of a location north or south of the Equator.

Limiting Factor

Things that keep a population from growing.

Matter cycling

Matter cycles between air, soil, plants and animals; includes the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit.

Niche

The way an organism interacts with the biotic and abiotic environment.

Omnivore

Consumers that eat plants and meat.

Organism

A living thing.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of another.

Predator

Organisms that eat other organisms.

Prey

Organisms that are eaten by other organisms.

Population

Individuals of the same species in the same area at the same time.

Scavenger

Consumers that eat dead organisms.

Resources

All the materials available in our environment that organisms need to survive.

Symbiosis

Any association between two organisms living in close association with each other.

Terrestrial Biomes

Many of Earth’s biomes are terrestrial, or land-based and characterized by temperature and rainfall.