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Term |
Definition |
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Describing a non-living component of an environment containing organisms; also called inorganic |
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An organism that produces food molecules inorganically by using light by photosynthesis. This organism does not require outside sources of organic food energy for survival. Autotrophs are primary producers in all food webs. |
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| A region subjected to and affected by a common set of climatic conditions, like a tropical rain forest or a tundra | |
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Animal and plant life of a region |
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Describing a living thing |
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| An organism that consumes living animals or parts of living animals | |
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Relationship between two species in which only one species benefits whereas the other is unaffected |
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An organism that eats other organisms for food. Also called heterotrophs, different kinds of comsumers include carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores |
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An organism that feeds on dead material or excrement, breaking down complex organic compounds into simple organic or inorganic ones that are then available to enter the food web as nutrients |
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Microscopic bubbles of oxygen gas in a solution |
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All of the interactions between living and non-living entities within a community |
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| River mouth entering the sea where fresh water and salt water mix and where tidal effects are felt. It usually contains abundant life forms. | |
| Single path taken as different organisms consume other organisms for energy | |
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Interaction of all of the food chains in a particular habitat to form a complex feeding system. This is different from a food chain in that an organism may have multiple food sources instead of only one. |
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A localized area within a biome that is usually a home to (an) organism(s), like a freshwater pond or a woodland |
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| An organism that consumes plants or photoplankton for energy; also known as a primary consumer | |
| Any living organism that obtains its energy from organic substances produced by other organisms | |
| A living organism that is being fed on by another organism (called the parasite) | |
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Matter other than plant or animal; inorganic matter is not alive and may not contain carbon; sometimes called abiotic |
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| Association between two organisms of different species whereby both benefit from the relationship; also called symbiosis | |
| An organism that eats both plants and animals | |
| Relating to or derived from an organism | |
| A living individual plant, animal, fungus, protist, archebacterium, or enbacterium | |
| An organism that feeds on or in another organism (called the host) | |
| Scale from 0-14 used to measure the alkalinity or acidity of a substance; 7 is neutral, below 7 is acid, and above 7 is alkaline | |
| A consumer organism that feeds on prey | |
| An organism that is consumed by a predator | |
| An organism that occupies the second trophic level in a food chain; these organisms are herbivores and feed directly on producers | |
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Organisms, such as plants or photoplankton, that produce their own food; also called autotrophs |
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| Concentration of dissolved salts found in a sample of water; measured as total amount of dissolved salts in parts per thousand | |
| An organism that feeds on dead organisms | |
| Position occupied by a species or group of species in a food chain | |
| A measure of the cloudiness of water caused by suspended particles |
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