Ecology and Ecosystems Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering ecological factors, levels of organization, habitat and niche, feeding interactions, consumer types, and symbiotic relationships.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living components of an ecosystem, such as temperature, water, soil, light, and pH, that directly impact organism survival and ecosystem function.

Biotic Factors

Living components of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria, that interact with each other and abiotic factors.

Organism

An individual living thing, representing the first level of ecological organization.

Population

A group of the same species living in the same area.

Community

All populations living in a specific area.

Ecosystem

A community of organisms combined with its abiotic environment.

Biome

Similar ecosystems across regions.

Biosphere

All ecosystems on Earth combined.

Habitat

A place or part of an ecosystem occupied by an organism (where it lives).

Niche

The role an organism plays in its ecosystem, including what it eats, what eats it, how it reproduces, and its activities.

Producer (Autotroph)

An organism that creates its own food and serves as basic food sources, such as plants, trees, and bacteria.

Consumer (Heterotroph)

An organism that cannot create its own food and consumes other heterotrophs and autotrophs.

Herbivores

Plant-eating consumers, such as deer and rabbits.

Carnivores

Meat-eating consumers, such as lions and eagles.

Omnivores

Consumers that eat both plants and animals, such as bears and humans.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead matter, such as fungi and bacteria.

Scavengers

Organisms that eat dead organisms, such as vultures and hyenas.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit, such as a bee pollinating flowers.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits and the other is unaffected, such as birds nesting in trees.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits and the other is harmed, such as ticks feeding on mammals.