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ecosystem components
Vocabulary from Science Explorer, Ch. 17, sections 1 and 2
42
Science
7th Grade
03/21/2007

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Term
ecosystem
Definition
all the living things and nonliving things that interact in an area
Term
biotic factors
Definition
a living part of an ecosystem
Term
abiotic factors
Definition
a nonliving part of an ecosystem
Term
habitat
Definition
the place where an organism lives that provides the things the organism needs
Term
species
Definition
a group of similar organisms whose members can mate with one another and produce fertile offspring
Term
niche
Definition
an organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living
Term
producer
Definition
an organism that can make its own food
Term
consumer
Definition
an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
Term
herbivore
Definition
an animal that eats only plants
Term
carnivore
Definition
an animal that eats only other animals
Term
omnivore
Definition
an animal that eats both plants and animals
Term
scavenger
Definition
a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
Term
decomposer
Definition
an organism that breaks down large molecules from dead organisms into small molecules and returns important materials to the environment
Term
food chain
Definition
a series of events where one organism eats another and obtains energy
Term
food web
Definition
the pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
Term
energy pyramid
Definition
a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
Term
biogeography
Definition
the study of where organisms live
Term
continental drift
Definition
the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface
Term
dispersal
Definition
the movement of organisms from one place to another
Term
native species
Definition
a species that naturally evolved in an area
Term
exotic species
Definition
a species that is carried to a new location by people
Term
climate
Definition
the average conditions of temperature, precipitation, wind and clouds in an area over time
Term
biome
Definition
a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
Term
canopy
Definition
a leafy roof formed by tall trees
Term
understory
Definition
a layer of shorter plants that grow in the shade of a forest canopy
Term
desert
Definition
a region that receives less than 25 centimeters of rain per year
Term
adaptation
Definition
a characteristic that helps an organism survive in its environment and reproduce
Term
grassland
Definition
an area populated by grasses that gets 25 to 75 centimeters of rain each year
Term
savanna
Definition
a tropical grassland with scattered clumps of trees; found in the tropical wet-and-dry climate zone close to the equator
Term
deciduous tree
Definition
a tree that sheds its leaves and grows new ones each year
Term
coniferous tree
Definition
a tree that produces its seeds in cones and has needle-shaped leaves
Term
tundra
Definition
an extremely cold, dry biome
Term
permafrost
Definition
permanently frozen soil that is found in the tundra climate region
Term
estuary
Definition
a habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean
Term
intertidal zone
Definition
the area between the highest high-tide line and the lowest low-tide line
Term
neritic zone
Definition
the region onf shallow ocean water over the continental shelf
Term
community
Definition
all the different organisms that live together in an area
Term
equilibrium
Definition
a state in which opposing forces in a system are equally balanced or stable
Term
succession
Definition
the series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time
Term
primary succession
Definition
the changes that occur in an area where no ecosystem had existed
Term
pioneer species
Definition
the first species to populate an area
Term
secondary succession
Definition
the changes that occur after a disturbance in an ecosystem
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