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Science Vocabulary- Ecosystems
ecosystem
All the living and nonliving things in an environment, including their interaction
with each other.
abiotic factor
A nonliving part of an ecosystem. Examples are water, minerals, sunlight, air,
climate, and soil.
biotic factor
A living part of an ecosystem. Examples are animals, plants, fungi, protists,
and bacteria.
population
All the members of one species in an area.
ecology
The study of how living and nonliving things interact.
community
All the living things in an ecosystem.
habitat
The place where a plant or animal naturally lives and grows.
niche
The role of an organism in a community.
food chain
The path of energy in food from one organism to another.
food web
The overlapping food chains in an ecosystem.
herbivore
An animal that eats plants, algae, and other producers.
carnivore
An animal that eats another animal.
omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals.
predator
An animal that hunts another animal for its food.
prey
A living thing that is hunted for food.
scavenger
A meat-eating animal that feeds on the remains of dead animals.
symbiosis
A relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over time.
mutualism
A relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits both.
parasitism
A relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism and
benefits from that relationship while the other organism may be harmed by it.
commensalism
A relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits one without
harming the other.
limiting factor
Anything that controls the growth or survival of a population.
Science Vocabulary- Ecosystems
carrying capacity
The maximum population size that an area can support.
endangered species
A species that is in danger of becoming extinct.
extinct
A species that has died out completely.
threatened species
A species that is in danger of becoming endangered.
producers
Any of the plants and algae that produce oxygen and food that animals need.
consumers
Any animal that eats plants or eats other plant-eating animals.
decomposers
Any of the fungi or bacteria that break down dead plants and animals into
useful things like minerals and rich soil.
primary consumers
In a food chain, it is an animal that feeds on plants/producers. These animals
are only herbivores.
secondary
consumers
In a food chain, it is a carnivore that feeds only upon herbivores.
tertiary consumers
A carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other
carnivores. It feeds only on secondary consumers.
biomes
One of Earth’s large ecosystems, with its own kind of climate, soil, plants, and
animals.
grassland
A biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life. Prairies are one
kind of grassland region.
taiga
A cool forest biome of conifers, in the upper Northern Hemisphere.
desert
A sandy or rocky biome, with little precipitation and plant life.
deciduous forest
A forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each Autumn.
tropical rainforest
A hot biome near the equator, with much rainfall and a wide variety of life.
tundra
A large, treeless plain in the arctic regions, where the ground is frozen all
year.
estuaries
A partly enclosed coastal body of water containing a mixture of salt and fresh
water (brackish water). It has one or more rivers or streams flowing into it
and a free connection to the open sea.