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38 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
ecosystem |
all the living and nonliving things in an area and their interactions |
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biotic element |
something that grows changes, and makes other living things; Includes both, organisms that are currently alive, as well as organisms that were once alive (dead organisms); |
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abiotic element |
an object/thing that is not alive; Examples: air, water, soil, sunlight; |
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organism |
any living thing; (examples include: a plant, an animal, a bacteria, a virus) |
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habitat |
a place that provides all the things an organism needs to live |
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adaptation |
a structure or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment |
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producer |
organism that makes its own food for energy |
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consumer |
organism that cannot make its own food |
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carnivore |
an animal that eats other animals for food |
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herbivore |
a consumer that eats only plants |
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omnivore |
an organism that eats both plants and animals |
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decomposer |
organism that gets its energy by breaking down wastes and dead organisms |
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excrete |
to separate and eliminate from an organic body |
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nitrogen cycle |
repeated movement of nitrogen through the environment in different forms |
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niche |
a special role that a species fills in its habitat |
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individual |
a single member of a population of organisms |
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population |
a group of organisms of one species that live in an area at the same time |
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community |
the group of all populations in an area |
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food chain |
a series of steps by which energy moves from one type of living thing to another |
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food web |
a diagram that combines many food chains into one picture |
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predator |
a consumer that hunts and eats other animals |
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prey |
an animal that is hunted by others for food |
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nocturnal |
active at night |
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competition |
the struggle among organisms for the same limited resources |
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grazing animal (graze) |
herbivores that usually feed on grass |
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symbiosis |
a long-term relationship between two different organisms where one organism is always helped. The other organism might be harmed, helped, or not affected. |
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parasite |
an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. |
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thrive |
to grow or develop well |
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perish |
to die or be destroyed |
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environment |
all of the conditions surrounding an organism |
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impact |
direct effect or change on |
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carrying capacity |
the population size an environment can feed and support |
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oxygen (O2) |
a gas produced by plants during photosynthesis that animals use for respiration |
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carbon dioxide (CO2) |
a gas produced by animals during respiration that plants use to make food, water and oxygen |
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carbon cycle |
The movement of carbon on Earth by the processes of respiration and photosynthesis. (Oxygen is often involved in the processes in which carbon dioxide moves. This give-and-take of oxygen and carbon dioxide has many paths through an ecosystem.) |
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respiration |
(breathing in and out) The process by which animals use oxygen and food to make energy and carbon dioxide |
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photosynthesis |
The process where plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce food (sugar) and therefore release oxygen. |
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Plants and Animals roles in the carbon and oxygen cycles |
Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Animals take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. |