Ecology Vocabulary
abiotic - Describes the nonliving part of the environment, including water, rocks, light, and temperature.
biotic - Describes living factors in an ecosystem. Also includes once-living things.
autotroph - An organism that makes its own food. Also called primary producers (autotroph means "self-feeders").
heterotroph - An organism that cannot make its own food. Also called primary consumers because they eat primary
producers (autotrophs).
camouflage - A type of adaptation where one species has evolved to blend into its surroundings. It is when an organism
looks like its environment. It is helpful for both predator and prey (also called cryptic coloration).
commensalism - A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits (+) and the other is
neither harmed nor benefited (0). It is a type of symbiosis (+/0).
competition - The struggle between organisms to survive as they try to use the same resources such as food, water,
shelter, territory and mates.
ecosystem - The system formed by interactions among living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) parts of the environment.
endangered species - A group of organisms in danger of becoming extinct (gone forever) if the situation is not improved;
population numbers have dropped below the critical number of organisms.
energy pyramid - A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food
chain or food web.
food web - A diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.
food chain - A diagram of a series of organisms illustrating the feeding relationship and energy flow from one organism
to the next in an ecosystem.
herbivore - A consumer that gets energy from eating producers, a plant eater.
carnivore - A consumer that gets energy by eating only consumers, an animal eater.
omnivore - A consumer that can eat both plants and animals to get energy.
mimicry - An adaptation of some species to resemble another species for protection from predators or other
advantages.
mutualism - A relationship between two organisms of different species in which both species benefit. It is a type of
symbiosis (+/+).
parasitism - A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits (the "parasite", +) and the
other is harmed (the "host", -). It is a type of symbiosis (+/0).
predation - An interaction between species in which one species, the predator, eats the other, the prey.
producer - An organism that can make its own food (also called an "autotroph").
consumer - A organism that gets energy by feeding on other organisms.
symbiosis - A relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other.
biomes - A large ecosystem characterized by the interaction of living organisms, climate, and geographical features.
estuary - A place freshwater such as a river meets the ocean, forming an area of brackish water and has unique species
that live there.
decomposer - An organism that gets energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms or animal wastes and
consuming or absorbing the nutrients.
prey - An animal caught, killed, and eaten by another animal as food.
tundra - A cold, dry biome in the arctic and polar zones with short growing seasons. It is characterized by permanently
frozen soil, called "permafrost", and dwarf woody shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens.
taiga - A cool forest biome on the edge of the temperate zone made up of dense evergreen forests of coniferous trees,
also called a temperate northern boreal forest.
savanna - A tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees, large herbivores, and three distinct seasons based
primarily on rainfall, maintained by occasional fires and drought.
desert - A hot, dry (arid) biome inhabited by organisms adapted to survive high daytime temperatures and long periods
without rain.
marine - Aquatic biomes that cover over 70% of the earth and include oceans, seas, coral reefs and kelp forests. It covers
over 71% of Earth's surface and is divided into the pelagic zone (open oceans), photic zone (1-300 feet; area where light
penetrates), benthic zone, and the abyssal zone.
freshwater - Aquatic biomes with a very low salt concentration (less than 2%). Includes ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and
wetlands.
temperate deciduous forest - A forest biome with four seasons, many different plants and trees that shed leaves in the
fall and grow new ones in the spring. Most are in the temperate zone (Example: Georgia)
pollution - Any harmful chemical or waste material discharged into the water, soil, or air.
grasslands - A biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life. It is characterized by low-to-moderate rainfall,
highly fertile soil and a temperate climate with hot summers and cold winters. Animals include mice, rabbits, gophers
(prairie dogs), giraffes, gazelles, buffalo, antelope, bison. Examples include prairies, steppes, and savannas.
mountains - An biome with a high elevation. The change in climate causes different plants and animals to live at
different elevations. It is cooler at the top of a mountain.
tropical rain forest - A biome with warm temperatures, lots of rainfall, poor soil and the greatest diversity of plants and
animals of any land biome. Located in the tropical zone at or near the equator. The top layer of trees, called the canopy,
covers the understory and forest floor.
scavenger - A consumer that feeds on the bodies of dead or dying animals for energy.
plankton - Microscopic organisms that float and drift at the surface of an aquatic habitat such as the ocean. They are the
base of most aquatic food chains and can be called phytoplankton or zooplankton.
deforestation - The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.
combustion - Burning a substance as a fuel (wood, fossil fuels). It releases a gas called carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.
evaporation - The change of a substance from a liquid to a gas.
transpiration - The evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant.
precipitation - Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.
condensation - The physical change in matter from a gas to a liquid.
organism - A living thing made of one or more cells that can live on its own. All living things can be called organisms
(includes fungi, plants, animals, bacteria and protists).
species - A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.
population - A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area.
community - All the different populations that live together in an area.
ecology - The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment.
biosphere - All the parts of the planet that are inhabited by living things; sum of all Earth's ecosystems.
coevolution - The process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other.
parasite - An organism that lives on or in a host and causes harm to the host.
host - An organism from which a parasite takes food or shelter.
hydrologic cycle - The continuous circulation through which water in the hydrosphere moves; water cycles from the
ocean to the air and back again. Processes include such evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and
surface and groundwater runoff.
succession - The gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement
of one community by another until a stable climax is established.
pioneer species - The first species to populate an area during primary succession, or the formation of a new community
(Examples: lichens and moss).
decomposition - The breakdown of dead matter and waste into simple compounds.
limiting factors - Any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence, numbers, reproduction, or distribution of
organisms.
carrying capacity - The largest number of individuals of a population that a given environment can support.
immigration - The movement of individuals into a population.
emigration - The movement of individuals out of an area.
adaptation - A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce.
predator - An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.
coral reef - A diverse ocean ridge made up of the skeletal remains of tiny sea animals called corals.