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Ecology Vocabulary
Vocabulary Term
ecology
community
estuary
biotic
ecosystem
Book Definition
The study of the interactions between
organisms and their environment
All of the populations of different species
that live and interact in an area
An area where fresh water from streams
and rivers spills into the ocean
Describes living factors in the environment
A community of organisms and their
nonliving environment
A hot, dry biome inhabited by organisms
adapted to survive high daytime
temperatures and long periods without rain
deciduous forest Describes trees with leaves that change
color in autumn and fall off in winter
A treeless wetland ecosystem where such
marsh
plants a cattails and rushes grow
Describes nonliving factors in the
abiotic
environment
The part of the Earth where life exists
biosphere
desert
tundra
taiga (coniferous
forest)
swamp
population
permafrost
marine biome
A far-northern biome characterized by
long, cold winters, PERMAFROST, and
few trees
Coniferous forests are found in areas with
long, cold winters and short, cool summers.
Consist mainly of evergreen trees.
A wetland ecosystem in which trees and
vines grow
A group of individuals of the same species
that live together in the same area at the
same time
The permanently frozen ground below the
soil surface in the arctic tundra
Describes an ecosystem based on salty
water
herbivore
A consumer that eats plants
prey
An organism eaten by another organism
biome
A large region characterized by a specific
type of climate and certain types of plant
and animal communities.
A diagram (picture or words) that
represents how the energy in food
molecules flows from one organism to the
food chain
My Definition
Picture
Ecology Vocabulary
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niche
An organism’s way of life and its
relationships with its abiotic (nonliving)
and biotic (living) environments
symbiosis
A close, long-term association between
two or more species
eutrophication
Abundance of nitrogen in water causes
algal growth that, when dies, kills other
organisms due to lack of oxygen
carnivore
A consumer that eats animals
food web
A complex diagram representing the many
energy pathways in a real ecosystem
carrying
capacity
The largest population that a given
environment can support over a long
period of time
mutualism
A symbiotic relationship in which both
organisms benefit
omnivore
A consumer that eats a variety of
organisms
energy pyramid
A diagram shaped like a triangle that
shows the loss of energy at each level of
the food chain
commensalism
A symbiotic relationship in which one
organism benefits and the other is
unaffected
succession
The gradual re-growth or development of a
community of organisms over time
scavenger
An animal that feeds on the bodies of dead
animals
habitat
The environment where an organism lives
predator
An organism that eats other organisms
parasitism
A symbiotic association in which one
organism benefits while the other is
harmed