Ecosystems Essential Vocabulary

Vocabulary List for Ecosystems abiotic factor: a nonliving part of an ecosystem adaptation: a change in order to fit a new situation or use aquatic: of or relating to water biome: one of Earth’s largest ecosystems biotic factor: a living part of the ecosystem carnivore: an animal that eats other animals commensalism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits one without harming or helping the other

community: all the living things in an ecosystem consume: to use up or absorb consumer: any animal that eats plants or other plant-eating animals decay: to become decomposed, rot, or break down deciduous forest: a forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each autumn decomposer: any of the fungi or bacteria that break down dead plants and animals into useful things like minerals and rich soil

ecosystem: all of the living and nonliving things in an environment and how they interact with each other energy pyramid: a diagram that shows how much energy is passed from each level to the next in a food chain environment: the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates estuary: the place where the sea meets the mouth of a river; salt and fresh water mix food chain: the path of the energy in food from one organism to another food web: the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem grassland: a biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life; prairies are one kind

habitat: the place where a plant or animal naturally lives and grows herbivore: an animal that eats plants, algae, and other producers interdependence: a reciprocal relationship between two items and how they depend on each other mutualism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits both omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and animals organism: any living thing that can carry out its life on its own

parasitism: a relationship in which one organism lives in or on another and benefits while the other is harmed photosynthesis: the process in which plants make food by using water from soil, carbon dioxide from air and energy from sunlight population: all the members of one species in an area predator/prey relationship: the relationship of animals that hunt or are being hunted primary consumer: an animal that eats plants, an herbivore producer: any of the plants or algae that produce oxygen and food that animals need

salinity: salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water salt marsh: an area of coastal grassland that is regularly flooded by seawater secondary consumer: an animal that eats smaller plant-eating animals symbiosis: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over time terrestrial: of or relating to the earth, land tertiary consumer: an animal that is at the topmost level in a food chain, eats other carnivores tropical rain forest: a hot, humid biome near the equator, with much rainfall and a wide variety of life