Download ECOLOGY VOCABULARY • habitat-‐ The specific environment

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ECOLOGY VOCABULARY habitat-­‐ The specific environment where an organism lives based on what the organisms requires to survive. Defined by how much water, oxygen, and food is required by an organism. producer(s)-­‐ organisms that convert the sun’s energy into stored food. i.e. make food by photosynthesis. •
food-­‐ a diagram that uses arrows to show who eats and whom AND shows the direction the energy in the ecosystem is moving/flowing. •
population-­‐ a group of the same species of organisms living in a specific habitat or location. Example: all the Canis lupus living in Yellowstone National Park •
ecosystem-­‐ the living organisms (biotic) and the physical (abiotic) environment in an area •
photosynthesis-­‐ process used by producers to convert the sun’s energy into stored food. Requires: carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight •
decomposers-­‐ organisms that break dead and waste matter into nutrients. Examples: fungi, bacteria. •
. carrying capacity-­‐ largest population of a species that can survive long-­‐term based on resources available. •
predator-­‐ organism that kills another in order to eat it. •
prey-­‐ organisms that is killed an eaten by another organism. •
predation-­‐ describes what a predator does. •
biome-­‐ area defined by interaction of climate, geography, plant and animal life •
scientific name-­‐ two word name consisting of genus and species names . Example: scientific name for all humans is Homo sapiens. Homo is the genus name and sapiens is the species name. •
consumers-­‐ organisms that do not make food; eat other organisms •
primary consumers-­‐ organisms that eat producers •
secondary consumers-­‐ organisms that eat primary consumers •
tertiary consumers-­‐ organisms that eat secondary consumers. •
energy pyramid-­‐ diagram showing the relationship in a food web. Illustrates that only 10% of the energy is passed from one level to the next. 90% of the energy is used by the organisms to survive.