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Ecology Glossary
Abiotic: the non-living component of the environment (light, temperature,
humidity, etc.)
Biodiversity: variety of different kinds of living things
in an area
Biome: major regional ecological community of plants and
animals
Biotic: live component of environment
Carnivore: animal that eats meat
Consumer: animal that gets food by eating
Decomposer: organism that uses dead material as energy source;
bacteria and fungi
Detrivore: organism, other than bacteria and fungi, that
feeds on dead organic matter
Ecology: the study of the interactions between organisms
and their environment
Environment: surroundings including other plants and animals
Ecosystem: an area where living things interact with each
other and their physical environment
Food chain: diagram showing the flow of energy from producers
to consumers. The original food source is always plants and ends
with carnivores, detrital feeders, and decomposers.
Food web: the connections among food chains
Habitat: the place where an organism lives
Herbivore: animal that eats plants
Niche: functional role of a species in the community, including
activities and relationships
Nutrient cycle: transfer of nutrients between living and
non-living things
Omnivore: animal that eats both plants and animals
Population: group of the same kind of organisms living in
the same place
Producer: plant that makes sugar (via photosynthesis)
Secondary substances: organic chemicals produced by plants
and used for chemical defense
Species diversity: relates the density of organisms of each
type present to the number of species in a habitat
Trophic level: classification according to feeding relationship
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