ECOLOGY VOCABULARY
WORDS
Ecology

the study of organisms and their environment
Ecosystem

Organisms and their interactions in their environment
Food Chain

A community of organisms where each member is
eaten in turn by another member.
Food Web

A community of organisms where there are several
interrelated food chains.
Producer


An organism that can produce it’s own food
Example: Plants
consumer

An organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants
or other animals.
decomposer

An organism, usually bacteria or fungus, that breaks
down the cells of dead plants and animals into
simpler substances.
predator

Any organism that exists by preying on other
organisms (the organism that does the hunting)
prey

An animal that is hunted or seized for food
Endangered


An organism that threatened with extinction
Examples: pandas
Extinct


Organism that are no longer in existence / died out
Example: Dinosaur
Population

All the organisms in a specific area
Limiting Factor


A factor that controls a process, such as organism
growth or species population size.
Examples – food, space, sunlight, water availability
Carrying Capacity

Number of individuals who can be supported in a
given area
Herbivore


An organism that eats only plants
Example: Deer
Omnivore

An organism that eats both plants and animals
Carnivore


An organism that eats only other animals
Example: Tiger