Download Ecosystems Vocabulary

Ecosystems Vocabulary
 system – a group of parts that work together as a unit.
 stability – the condition that exists when the changes in a system over time cancel
each other out
 ecosystem – groups of living things and the environment they live in
 population – a group of the same species living in the same place at the same
time
 community – all the populations that live in the same area
 habitat – an environment that meets the needs of an organism
 niche – the role or part played by an organism in its habitat
 producer – a living thing, such as a plant, that makes its own food
 consumer – a living thing that eats other living things for energy
 decomposer – a living thing that feeds on the wastes of plants and animals or on
their remains after they die
 energy pyramid – a diagram that shows how much food energy is passed from
one organism to another along a food chain
 food web – a diagram that shows how food chains connect and overlap
 climate – the average temperature and rainfall of an area over many years
 diversity – variety
 salinity – the amount of salt in water
 intertidal zone – a narrow strip, along the shore, that is covered with water
during high tide and exposed during low tide
 near-shore zone – ocean zone that starts at the low-tide mark and goes out into
the ocean
 open-shore zone – the deep parts of the ocean, located far from shore