Vocabulary Book: Ecosystems

Definition: The study of relationships between organisms and their physical environment

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Ecology

Definition: The world in which an organisms lives is its environment. It includes the living or biotic factors and non-living or abiotic factors.

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Environment

Definition: An organism, such as green plants, that makes its own food by photosynthesis.

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Producer

A producer will convert light energy into chemical energy (sugar) through the process of photosynthesis.

Definition: Organisms such as animals that can not make their own food. They eat other animals or plants to obtain the energy and nutrients they need to survive.

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Consumer

Consumers

(Animals)

Producers

(Plants)

Definition: A community interacting with the non-living parts of its environment.

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Ecosystem

Definition: Large geographic areas that have similar climate and ecosystems.

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Biome

Definition: A model used to show how energy from food passes from one organism to another.

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Food Chain

Definition: A model used to describe a series of overlapping food chains.

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Food Web

Definition: Any biotic or abiotic fact that restricts the number of individuals in a population

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Limiting Factor

The lack of water is a limiting factor when it limits the growth and development of plants.

Definition: The number of individuals per unit of living space.

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Population Density

Definition: The physical location where an organism lives.

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Habitat

Definition: The role of an organism in the ecosystem. Another definition is how an organisms makes its living in a habitat.

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Niche

Definition: A nonliving thing in an ecosystem. Abiotic factors can determine the number and types of organisms in an ecosystem.

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Abiotic Factor

Water

Rocks Temperature

Light

Abiotic Factors

Definition: The living, or once living, that directly or indirectly affect an organisms and it surroundings.

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Biotic Factor

Fish

Bacteria Algae

Plants

Biotic Factors