Download 1) Chapter 21 - Ecology Vocabulary

1/30/17
Chapter 21 – Ecology Vocabulary
Ecology – study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem – all the living organisms in an area, as well as the nonliving parts of their environment.
Community of organisms – producers, consumers, and decomposers that interact with each
other and their surrounds
Biosphere – part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth’s crust, the atmosphere,
and all the water on the Earth’s surface.
Biotic factor – the living parts of an ecosystem.
Abiotic factor – the nonliving parts of an ecosystem including soil, temperature, water, and sunlight
Population – a group of the same type of organisms living in the same place at the same time.
Community – all the populations that live in an ecosystem.
Habitat – place where an organism lives, provides the food, shelter, moisture, temperature, and other
factors required for the organism’s survival.
Niche – the role of an organism in its ecosystem refers to the unique way an organism survives, obtains
food and shelter, and avoids danger.
Limiting Factor – anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving
features of an ecosystem such as predators or drought.
Producer – an organism that can make its own food by photosynthesis or chemosysthesis
Consumer – an organism that obtains food by eating other organisms
Decomposer – an organism that breaks down tissue and releases nutrients and carbon dioxide into the
ecosystem