Ecosystems Review Sheet
Know these vocabulary terms.
 Ecosystems- groups of living things and the nonliving
environment in which they live
 Biome - a major ecological community type (as tropical rain
forest, grassland, or desert)
 Biotic- the living parts of the ecosystem including plants,
animals, trees, flowers, and birds
 Abiotic- the nonliving parts of the ecosystem including
things such as soil, the climate, and amount of rainfall
 Individual-a single organism in a community
 Population-a group of organisms of the same species living in
the same place
 Community- all of the populations that live in the same area
 Niche-the role of an organism within a particular habitat. It
includes things such habitat, climate, the types of food an
organism eats, and when an organism eats
 Habitat-place in an ecosystem where each population lives
 Producers – organisms that produce their own food through
photosynthesis
 Consumers- organisms that must get energy from eating
other organisms
 Herbivores- consumers that eat only plants
 Carnivores- organisms that eat only other animals
 Omnivores- organisms that eat both plants and animals
 Decomposers-organisms such as fungi, bacteria, termites,
earthworms and mushrooms that get energy by breaking
down nutrients in dead organisms
 competition- a contest between organisms for limited
resources
 food chain- shows the path of energy as it flows from one
organism to the next
 Food web- a diagram of several connected food chains
 Predator- an organism that eats other organisms in order to
live
 Prey- the organism that is eaten
 Terrestrial – living or growing on land
 Aquatic - Living or growing in, on, or near the water
 Estuary – place where fresh water and salt water meet
Key Ideas to Understand
 Organisms depend on the nonliving resources in an
ecosystem to survive.
 The Sun provides the energy for all living things on Earth.
 The amount of light, the temperature, and the soil
composition determine the number of organisms that an
ecosystem can support. These nonliving resources are called
limiting factors because they limit the number of organisms
living in an ecosystem.
 Humans affect natural habitats in many ways. Trees can be
cut down. Habitats are cleared to make way for roads or
homes. Pollution from fertilizers and pesticides can destroy
ecosystems. All of these actions lead to habitat reduction.
Think About This
You should be able to describe and compare your terrarium and
aquarium ecosystems. You should also be able to identify the
living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) parts of both ecosystems and
describe a simple food chain for each ecosystem. Finally, you
should be able to name producers, consumers and decomposers
and describe the relationships between the different organisms.