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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.