NAME:
PERIOD:
ECOLOGY VOCAB
Match the letter of the definition that best matches the term.
____ 1. Ecosystem
A. Major biological community occurring over a large area.
____ 2. Biome
B. Any living thing.
____ 3. Habitat
____ 4. Population
C. Study of interactions of living organisms w/each other & their
environment.
D. Large area that includes living & nonliving factors.
____ 5. Biodiversity
E. Used by scientists to express relationships between variables.
____ 6. Succession
F. Nonliving components in ecology.
____ 7. Organism
G. Specific place where a particular population of a species lives.
____ 8. Community
H. An organism’s role or job in an ecosystem.
____ 9. Ecology
I. Process of one community replacing another.
____ 10. Biosphere
J. Living components in ecology.
____ 11. Niche
K. Anywhere on earth or in the atmosphere that supports life.
____ 12. Abiotic
L. All interacting organisms in an area.
____ 13. Biotic
M. Number of species living w/in an ecosystem.
____ 14. Models
N. All members of a species that live in 1 place, at 1 time & breed.
Write the numbers next to the ecological levels of organization from smallest to largest.
____ 15. Ecosystem
____ 18. Cell
____ 21. Organ System
____ 16. Population
____ 19. Organism
____ 22. Tissue
____ 17. Organ
____ 20. Community
____ 23. Biosphere
Draw an illustrated timeline representing the succession that occurs after a forest fire has burned all of the
vegetation in an area. Use the descriptions to guide you in showing succession.
Barren land from a fire.
Weeds/grass/small shrubs.
Small trees/large bushes.
Large trees.
Write the letter that best answers the question below.
_____ 24. An ecosystem is defined by the
a. organisms living in a particular area.
b. climate of the region.
c. community and physical aspects of the area.
d. pioneer species that occupy the area.
_____ 25. A typical organism that might occupy a forest in the southeastern United States is a
a. cactus.
b. wolf.
c. deer.
d. polar bear.
_____ 26. A measure of how many different species live in an ecosystem is its
a. ecology.
b. biodiversity.
c. biology.
d. abiotic factor.
Read the passage below. Then answer the questions that follow. Some of the terms/phrases may be used
more than once.
The place where a particular population of a species lives is its habitat. The many different species
that live together in a habitat are called a community. An ecosystem, or ecological system, consists of a
community and all the physical aspects of its habitat, such as the soil, water and weather. The physical
aspects of a habitat are called abiotic factors, and the living organisms in a habitat are called biotic factors.
The number of species living within an ecosystem is a measure of its biodiversity. Succession is the
process of the replacement of one kind of community by another at a single place over a period of time.
_______________________________
27. all living organisms in a habitat
_______________________________
28. number of species living within an ecosystem
_______________________________
29. change in a community’s characteristics over time
_______________________________
30. deer, squirrels, and rabbits living together in a forest
form this
_______________________________
31. an ecological system
_______________________________
32. soil, water, and weather are examples of these
_______________________________
33. place where a population lives
_______________________________
34. all species of freshwater fish that live together in a lake
form this
_______________________________
35. consists of a community and abiotic factors