Terms : Hide Images
| 7562830 | weather | condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place | |
| 7562831 | climate | average, year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region | |
| 7562832 | greenhouse effect | natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases | |
| 7562833 | polar zone | cold climate zone where the sun's rays strike Earth at a very low angle | |
| 7562834 | temperate zone | moderate climate zone between the polar zones and the tropics | |
| 7562835 | tropical zone | warm climate zone that receives direct or nearly direct sunlight year round | |
| 7562836 | biotic factor | biological influence on organisms within an ecosystem | |
| 7562837 | abiotic factor | physical or nonliving factor that shapes an ecosystem | |
| 7562838 | habitat | area where an organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factors that affect it | |
| 7562839 | niche | full range of physiological and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions | |
| 7562840 | resource | any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food, or space | |
| 7562841 | competitive exclusion principle | ecological rule that states that no two species can occupy the same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time | |
| 7562842 | predation | interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism | |
| 7562843 | symbiosis | relationship in which two species live closely together | |
| 7562844 | mutualism | symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit | |
| 7562845 | commensalism | symbiotic relationship in which one member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed | |
| 7562846 | parasitism | symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism (the host) and consequently harms it | |
| 7562847 | ecological succession | gradual change in living communities that follows a disturbance | |
| 7562848 | primary succession | succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists | |
| 7562849 | pioneer species | first species to populate an area during primary succession | |
| 7562850 | secondary succession | succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil | |
| 7562851 | biome | group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities | |
| 7562852 | tolerance | organism's capacity to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor | |
| 7562853 | microclimate | climate within a small area that differs significantly from the climate of the surrounding area | |
| 7562854 | canopy | dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall rainforest trees | |
| 7562855 | understory | layer in a rain forest formed by shorter trees and vines | |
| 7562856 | deciduous | tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year | |
| 7562857 | coniferous | trees producing seed-bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like needles | |
| 7562858 | humus | material formed from decaying leaves and other decaying matter | |
| 7562859 | taiga | biome in which the winters are cold but summers are mild enough to allow the ground to thaw | |
| 7562860 | permafrost | layer of permanently frozen subsoil in the tundra | |
| 7562861 | plankton | tiny, free-floating organisms that occur in aquatic ecosystems | |
| 7562862 | phytoplankton | algae and other small, photosynthetic organisms found near the surface of the ocean and forming parts of plankton | |
| 7562863 | zooplankton | tiny animals that form part of the plankton | |
| 7562864 | wetland | ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year | |
| 7562865 | estuary | wetland formed where rivers meet the ocean | |
| 7562866 | detritus | particles of organic matter that provide food for organisms at the base of an estuary's food web | |
| 7562867 | salt marsh | temperate-zone estuary dominated by salt-tolerant grasses above the low-tide line and by seagrasses unser water | |
| 7562868 | mangrove swamp | coastal wetland dominated by mangroves, salt-tolerant woody plants | |
| 7562869 | photic zone | well-lit upper layer of the oceans | |
| 7562870 | aphotic zone | permanently dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone | |
| 7562871 | zonation | prominant horizontal banding of organisms that live in a particular habitat | |
| 7562872 | coastal ocean | marine zone that extends from the lowtide mark to the end of the continental shelf | |
| 7562873 | kelp forest | coastal ocean community named for its dominant organism - kelp, a giant brown alga | |
| 7562874 | coral reef | diverse and productive environment named for the coral animals that make up its primary structure | |
| 7562875 | benthos | organisms that live attached to or near the ocean floor |
