Habitats and Ecosystems

Flashcards about Habitats and Ecosystems

Organisms

Living things, such as plants, animals, and bacteria.

Habitat

The place where an organism lives and that provides everything it needs to survive.

Biotic Factors

Living factors in a habitat, including partners for mating, organisms to eat, and competitors for food and shelter.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living factors in a habitat, which include water, light, wind, soil, and temperature.

Adaptations

Characteristics that assist organisms to survive and reproduce in their habitat.

Environment

All the things that affect a plant or animal in its habitat.

Ecology

The study of the interactions between living things and their environment.

Biosphere

The place where all life as we know it exists, consisting of the surface of the Earth and its atmosphere.

Ecosystem

A system formed by organisms interacting with each other and their non-living surroundings in a balanced way.

Interdependent

Organisms that depend on each other for survival.

Symbiosis

Two different kinds of organisms that live together.

Commensalism

A relationship where one organism benefits and the other is not affected.

Mutualism

An interaction where both organisms benefit from the relationship and neither is harmed.

Parasitism

A relationship where one organism (the parasite) lives on or in another organism (the host), obtaining food and shelter but often harming the host.

Predators

Animals that eat other animals.

Prey

The animal that is eaten by a predator.

Competitors

Animals that eat the same sort of food and live in the same habitat, leading to competition for resources.

Producer

Organisms that produce their own food.

Consumers

Animals that cannot make their own food and must consume plants or other animals.

Herbivores

Consumers that eat only plants.

Photosynthesis

A process that uses energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen.

Carnivores

Consumers that eat only other animals.

Omnivores

Consumers that eat both plants and animals.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down the remains of dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil.

Scavengers

Animals that find dead animals or plants and eat them, breaking them into smaller bits.

Primary consumers

Herbivores that eat plants, algae, and other producers.

Secondary consumers

Animals that eat herbivores.

Tertiary Consumers

Animals that eat secondary consumers.

Apex Predator

A top predator in a food chain with no natural predators except humans.

Food Chain

A possible path that energy may take as it moves through the ecosystem.

Food Web

Made up of all of the food chains in an ecosystem.

Extinction

When every individual of that species has died.

Fuel Reduction Burning

Regular burning to reduce amount of fuel available for a fire

Biological control

Using one type of organism to control the numbers of another type of organism

Endangered species

Close to extinction and very small numbers remain.

Vulnerable species

Experiencing a rapid population decline and are in danger of becoming extinct if the drop in numbers continues.

Rare species

Have low numbers and are often spread out over a large area. Although the populations may be small, they are not decreasing.

Sustainably managed forests

Provide timber both now and into the future, protect forest environments to maintain biodiversity, provide benefits for the local community.

Urban farming

A food growing system that is located in cities or towns.

Urbanisation

When more cities are built and more people go to live in them