Ecology Vocab List

Question 1

Biotic

Answer 1

Describes living factors in the environment.

Question 2

Abiotic

Answer 2

Describes the nonliving part of the environment, including water, rocks, light, and temperature.

Question 3

Population

Answer 3

A group of organism of the same species that live in a specific geographical area.

Question 4

Community

Answer 4

All of the populations of species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other.

Question 5

Biosphere

Answer 5

The part of earth where life exists.

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

A community of organisms and their abiotic, or nonliving environment.

Question 7

Herbivore

Answer 7

A organism that eats only plants.

Question 8

Carnivore

Answer 8

An organism that eats animals.

Question 9

Omnivore

Answer 9

An organism that eats both plants and animals.

Question 10

Food chain

Answer 10

The pathway of energy transfer through various stages as a result of the leading patterns of a series of organisms .

Question 11

Food web

Answer 11

A diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.

Question 12

Energy pyramid.

Answer 12

A triangular diagram that shows an ecosystems loss of energy, which results as energy passes through the ecosystem’s food chain.

Question 13

Carrying capacity

Answer 13

The largest population that an environment can support at any given time.

Question 14

Prey

Answer 14

An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism.

Question 15

Predator

Answer 15

An organism that eats all or part of another organism.

Question 16

Mutualism

Answer 16

A relationship between two species in which both species benefit.

Question 17

Commensalism

Answer 17

A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.

Question 18

Parasitism

Answer 18

A relationship between two species in which one species, the parasite, benefits from the presence of the parasite.

Question 19

Producers

Answer 19

An organism that can make its own food by using energy from its surroundings.

Question 20

Decomposes

Answer 20

An organism that gets energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms or animal wastes and consuming or absorbing the nurtients.

Question 21

Desert

Answer 21

An area that has little or no plant life, long periods without rain, and extreme temperatures; usually found in hot climates.

Question 22

Tundra

Answer 22

A treeless plain found in the Arctic, in the Antarctic, or on the tops of mountains that is characterized by very low winter temperatures and short, cool summers.

Question 23

Temperate deciduous forest

Answer 23

A type of forest characterized by trees that seasonally shed their leaves. The trees of deciduous forests usually produce nuts and winged seeds.

Question 24

Tropical rainforest

Answer 24

A tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches and marked by lofty broad-leaved evergreen trees forming a continuous canopy.

Question 25

Coniferous forest

Answer 25

A type of forest characterized by cone-bearing, needle-leaved trees

Question 26

Savana

Answer 26

A grassland that often has scattered trees and that is found in tropical and subtropical areas where seasonal rains, fires, and drought happen.

Question 27

Temperate grassland

Answer 27

A division of a larger biome grouping of grasslands that includes tropical savannas. Both biome types are characterized by a dominance of grasses, yet temperate grasslands differ significantly from savannas.