Interdependence Of Plants And Animals

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Ecosystem

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an area where living and non-living things interact with each other and their environment

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Ecology

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the study of ecosystems

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Ecologist

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scientist who studies ecosystems

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Biotic

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the living parts of an ecosystem (e.g., plants and animals)

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Abiotic

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the non-living parts of an ecosytem (e.g., soil, temperature, sunlight, climate)

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Limiting Factors

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such as soil, temperature, sunlight, climate, and water LIMIT the number of organisms that can live in a population

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Forest

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ecosystem that contains a large amount of trees, shrubs, and other woody plants (e.g., temperate deciduous forests, coniferous forests, tropical rain forests)

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Grassland

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ecosystem that contains primarily grasses and is usually flat or has gently rolling hills (e.g., prairies, savannahs, plains)

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Desert

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ecosystem that receives very little rainfall, typically sandy with few plants and has extreme temperatures

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Arctic Tundra

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ecosystem that has extremely cold temperatures, few plants and animals, and the ground is frozen for most of the year

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Taiga

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a biome (larger than an ecosystem) located south of tundra ecosystems with extremely cold temperatures, but characterized by pine (conifer) forests

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Coniferous

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used to describe trees that do not lose all of their leaves in the fall/winter and remain evergreen year round (e.g., most pine trees, bald cypress, holly trees)

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Deciduous

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used to describe trees that lose all of their leaves in the fall/winter (e.g, hickory, beech, maple)

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Marine

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the ocean can be considered one very large ecosystem; ecologists often study smaller ecosystems within the ocean (e.g., coral reef)

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Wetlands

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land areas that are wet all or part of the year (e.g., ponds, lakes, streams, marshlands, bogs)

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Estuary

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a body of water found in areas where freshwater and salt water mix

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Community

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all the populations that live in the same area

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Population

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a group of organisms of the same species living in the same place

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Habitat

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the physical space occupied by a population; made up of 4 parts - food, water, shelter, space

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Niche

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an organisms role or lifestyle within its habitat (e.g., a raccoon is a nocturnal, omnivorous predator who makes its nest in hollow trees or ground burrows)

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Producers

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organisms that use energy from the sun to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis (e.g., plants)

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Consumers

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organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms; there are primary, secondary, and sometimes tertiary consumers; they are organized into several groups

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Herbivores

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consumers that eat only plants (e.g., cotton tail rabbit)

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Carnivores

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consumers that eat only animals (e.g., red tailed hawk)

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Omnivores

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consumers that eat both plants and animals (e.g., black bear)

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Scavengers

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carnivores that eat only dead animals, often leftovers from other carnivores (e.g., turkey vulture)

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Decomposers

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an organism that gets energy by breaking down nutrients in dead organisms (e.g., fungi, bacteria, earthworms, and certain insects like roly poly's)

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Host

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an organism that is infected by a parasite (e.g., deer)

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Parasite

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an organism that must live on or inside another organism in order to get energy (e.g., tick)

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Predator

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an organism that eats other, smaller organisms (e.g., owl)

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Prey

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an organism that is eaten by other organisms (e.g., mouse)

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Food Chain

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the path of energy as it flows from one organism to the next

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Food Web

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a diagram of several connected food chains

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Carbon Cycle

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describes how carbon moves through the environment and living things (e.g., co2 is released into the air by plants through the process of photosynthesis)

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Nitrogen Cycle

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describes how nitrogen moves through the environment and living things (e.g., decomposers release nitrogen into the air through the process of decomposition)

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Photosynthesis

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process by which plants use light from the sun to make food for themselves; during this process carbon dioxide is taken in and oxygen is released from the plant

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Adaptation

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special traits that help living organisms survive in its environment; these adaptations may be physical or behavioral (e.g., rabbits have large ears to hear predators from great distances)

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Competition

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a struggle between 2 or more organisms for food, shelter, or other resources

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Deforestation

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the clearing of forest lands

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Pollutant

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a substance that causes pollution

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Pollution

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an unwanted change in the environment that is created by a pollutant

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Endangered Species

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an organism in danger of becoming extinct