Ecology & Biome Vocabulary
Create a table in your lab notebook with these headings. You
will use the front and back of a page. There are vocabulary
words underlined, the definition column should be the largest.
You may choose to draw a picture or list examples.
Word
Definition
Organism
Any living thing
Abiotic
Not living
Examples
rocks,
water, sun
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Levels of Ecological Organization
- way of grouping like things ecologically
Biosphere
Parts of the Earth needed to support life,
top portion of Earth’s crust, all waters on
Earth and the surrounding atmosphere
Biome
Large area of land that has similar weather and
organisms: examples include desert, tropical
rainforest, freshwater, saltwater and grassland
Ecosystem
Consists of all
the living and
nonliving factors
of the
environment.
Abiotic
nonliving things in an environment (Never
living); soil, water, temperature, wind.
Air
Biotic
living or once living (dead) things in an
environment; plants and animals.
Community
All the populations in an ecosystem
(includes different species).
Ex. All the seals, sharks, whales, and
seaweed by a corral reef
Population
All organisms in an ecosystem that
belong to the same species.
(all the same kind of organism in an area)
Ex. School of fish or a flock of birds
Organism
Any living thing. Ex. Plant, animal,
fungi, bacteria etc.
Producer
Organisms (plants) that use
the sun to make food
(photosynthesis)
Consumer
Organism that cannot make
their own food, eat other
organisms.
Decomposer: organism
that breaks down wastes
and dead plants and
animals
Plants use decomposer
waste as fertilizer
Fungi (mushrooms),
bacteria, worms
Habitat
Where an organism lives
Forest – habitat of a wolf
Microhabitat – small habitat within a larger one
Decaying tree – habitat for insects
Niche
How an organisms survives.
• Obtains food & shelter
• Finds mate & cares for young
Adaptation
A change developed over many generations that help an
organism to survive. Animals depend on these features to
help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes, withstand
weather, and attract mates. Examples include: gills in fish,
hollow bones in birds, xylem in plants, the shape of a bird's
beak, color of the fur, the thickness of the fur, the shape of
the nose or ears
Biological Diversity, AKA
Biodiversity
Variety of organisms in an area
• More Biodiversity = healthy or stable
ecosystem, like Tropical Rainforest
• Less Biodiversity = unstable or fragile
ecosystem, like Tundra
Biomes
• 6 Major Terrestrial Biomes (land)
–
–
–
–
–
–
Tundra
Taiga
Deciduous Forest
Tropical Rain Forest
Desert
Grasslands
• 2 Major Aquatic or Marine Biomes (water)
– Salt Water (Ocean, Reef, Shoreline)
– Fresh Water (Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, swamps)
Make the headers below to fill in as each
biome is discussed. Climate, plants, and
animals should be the biggest columns.
Biome Location
Climate:
Temperature,
Rainfall, soil
Plants
Animals
Tundra
Located near North Pole (Alaska)
Extremely cold
Little precipitation, but limited drainage
Soil is frozen, called “Permafrost”
Low biotic diversity
Simple vegetation (plants)
Short season of growth and reproduction
Treeless
Plants: lichen, moss, grass, small shrubs
Animals: insects and migratory birds in summer,
hawks, snow owls, mice, arctic hares, reindeer
Tundra
Taiga (TI guh)
Largest Biome
South of the Tundra
Long cold, snowy winters and Short warm, rainy,
humid summers
Plants: Coniferous forest (cone bearing)
Animals: Moose, lynx, shrews, bears, foxes
Deciduous Forest
•Eastern U.S., Russia, Japan, New Zealand,
Southeastern Australia
•4 distinct seasons
•Deciduous trees (have leaves that change
color that they lose in the Fall)
•Lots of decomposition on forest floor: insect
diversity
•Plants: Oak, maple, and hickory trees
•Animals: Bald eagles, coyote, platypus,
squirrel, deer
Tropical Rain Forest
Near the equator
Warm temperatures and lots of precipitation
Temperature doesn’t vary much night and day
Little nutrients in soil because of competition
of abundance of plant life
Very diverse plants and animals (Coconut
trees)
Desert
Driest Biome
Rain quickly evaporates or drains
away
Animals: Few large animals,
kangaroo rat, scorpions (Most
nocturnal and burrowing because
extreme temperatures
Few plants: cacti, joshua tree
Sandy soil with little organic matter
Grasslands
Located in mid and western U.S.
Thin soil and a season with little rain
Plants: grasses, small shrubs, few trees
Animals: kangaroo, zebra, wildebeest, lion
Freshwater
Rivers, streams, creeks, lakes and ponds
algae, moss, plankton, alligators, turtles
Salt Water
Ocean (Light & Dark zones), coral reef, seashore
Starfish, crab, sharks, whales, fish, seaweed, kelp
Intertidal zone
Biome Collage
• Choose a biome to draw and color. Include an example of each
vocabulary word in your biome and label each word.
– Biosphere
– Ecosystem
– Abiotic
– Biotic
– Community
– Population
– Organism
– Producer
– Consumer
– Decomposer
– Niche
– Microhabitat
– Adaptation
Abiotic
Biosphere
Fresh Water
Biome
Population