8Th Science

Front 1

process of gradual change from one community of organisms to another

Back 1

ecological succession

Front 2

ecological succession that begins in a place that does not have soil

Back 2

primary succession

Front 3

first community of organisms to move into a new environment

Back 3

pioneer community

Front 4

ecological succession that begins in a place that already has soil and was once the home of living organisms

Back 4

secondary succession

Front 5

community that has reached the final stage of ecological succession

Back 5

climax community

Front 6

large geographic areas with similar climates and ecosystems; the six most common are tundra, taiga, temperate forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and desert

Back 6

biomes

Front 7

cold, dry, treeless biome located at latitudes surrounding the north pole and that has winters six to nine months long

Back 7

tundra

Front 8

cold region of cone-bearing evergreen trees that lies just below the tundra and is the world's largest terrestrial biome

Back 8

taiga

Front 9

biome that lies at latitudes below about 50 degrees in both the northern and southern hemispheres, usually has four distinct seasons, and supports a wide variety of plants and animals

Back 9

temperate deciduous forest

Front 10

hot, wet, equatorial biome that contains the largest number of species

Back 10

tropical rain forest

Front 11

temperate and tropical regions that receive between 25 cm and 75 cm of precipitation each year and are dominated by climax communities of grasses

Back 11

grasslands

Front 12

driest biome on Earth; receives less than 25 cm of rain each year and supports little plant life

Back 12

desert

Front 13

microscopic algae, plants, and other organisms that float in warm, sunlit waters near surface of freshwater lakes and ponds

Back 13

plankton

Front 14

area where a river meets the ocean that contains a mixture of freshwater and salt water and serves as nursery for many species of ocean fish

Back 14

estuary

Front 15

portion of the shoreline that is covered with water at high tide and exposed to the air at low tide

Back 15

intertidal zone