Ecology Vocab

Question 1

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Answer 1

Ecosystem

Question 2

any living component that affects the population of another organism, or the environment.

Answer 2

Biotic Factor

Question 3

non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.

Answer 3

Abiotic Factor

Question 4

an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form

Answer 4

Organisms

Question 5

a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding

Answer 5

Species

Question 6

a particular section, group, or type of people or animals living in an area or country.

Answer 6

Population

Question 7

an interacting group of various species in a common location

Answer 7

Community

Question 8

the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism

Answer 8

Habitat

Question 9

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

Answer 9

Natural Selection

Question 10

the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

Answer 10

Evolution

Question 11

an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide

Answer 11

Producers/Autotrophs

Question 12

an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances.

Answer 12

Consumers/heteratrophs

Question 13

the living organism that eats the producers, which are the plants

Answer 13

Primary consumer

Question 14

eat primary consumers

Answer 14

Secondary Consumer

Question 15

a carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers.

Answer 15

Tertiary Consumer

Question 16

an animal that feeds on plants.

Answer 16

Herbivores

Question 17

an animal that feeds on flesh

Answer 17

Carnivores

Question 18

an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.

Answer 18

Omnivores

Question 19

an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material.

Answer 19

Decomposers

Question 20

a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food

Answer 20

Food Chain

Question 21

a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

Answer 21

Food web

Question 22

a graphical model of energy flow in a community.

Answer 22

Energy Pyramid