Terms : Hide Images
| 7556535 | ecology | scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment | |
| 7556536 | biosphere | part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air | |
| 7556537 | species | group of similar organisms that can breed and produce similar offspring | |
| 7556538 | population | group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area | |
| 7556539 | community | assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area | |
| 7556540 | ecosystem | collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place; together with their nonliving environment | |
| 7556541 | biome | group of ecosystems that have the same climate and and dominant communities | |
| 7556542 | autotroph | organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called a producer | |
| 7556543 | producer | organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called an autotroph | |
| 7556544 | photosynthesis | process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugars | |
| 7556545 | chemosynthesis | process by which some bacteria use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates | |
| 7556546 | heterotroph | organism that obtains energy from the food it consumes; also called a consumer | |
| 7556547 | consumer | organism that relies on other organisms for its energy and food supply; also called a heterotroph | |
| 7556548 | herbivore | organism that obtains energy by only eating plants | |
| 7556549 | carnivore | organism that obtains energy by eating animals | |
| 7556550 | omnivore | organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals | |
| 7556551 | detritivore | organism that feeds on plant and animal remains ad other dead matter | |
| 7556552 | decomposer | organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter | |
| 7556553 | food chain | series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten | |
| 7556554 | food web | network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem | |
| 7556555 | trophic level | step in a food chain or food web | |
| 7556556 | ecological pyramid | diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter within each trophic level in a food chain or food web | |
| 7556557 | biomass | total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level | |
| 7556558 | biogeochemical cycle | process in which elements, compounds, or other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another | |
| 7556559 | evaporation | process by which water changes from a liquid into an atmospheric gas | |
| 7556560 | transpiration | loss of water from a plant through its leaves | |
| 7556561 | nutrient | chemical substance that an organism requires to live | |
| 7556562 | nitrogen fixation | process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia | |
| 7556563 | denitrification | conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas | |
| 7556564 | primary productivity | rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem | |
| 7556565 | limiting nutrient | single nutrient that either is scarce or cycles very slowly, limiting the growth of organisms in an ecosystem | |
| 7556566 | algal bloom | an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers that results from a large input of a limiting nutrient |
