abiotic - Nonliving: The abiotic factors of the environment include light, temperature, and atmospheric gases.
atmosphere - The air or climate in a specific place.
autotroph - An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances, using light or chemical energy. Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria are autotrophs.
autotrophic - Capable of self-nourishment;
biodiversity - The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region.
biotic - Of or having to do with life or living organisms.
carnivores - A flesh-eating animal.
carrying capacity - the maximum size of a population that can be supported by an environment.
consumer - A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.
decomposer - An organism, often a bacterium or fungus, that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter
decomposition - The act or result of decomposing
deforestation - To cut down and clear away the trees or forests from.
diversity - The fact or quality of being diverse; difference.
ecology - The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments.
ecosystem - a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical 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
global warming - An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause climatic change
habitat - The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs
herbivore - An animal that feeds chiefly on plants.
heterotroph - An organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition.
nutrient - any substance that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue
nutrition - the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues
organic - compounds that contain hydrogen, carbon and usually hydrogen.
inorganic - compounds that is not an organe compound; usually do not contain carbon
ozone shield -
parasite - An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing
pesticide - A chemical used to kill pests, especially insects
photosynthesis - the process by which organic compoundsare synthesized from inorganic carbon in the presence of light.
population - All of the organisms inhabiting a specified area.
predator - An organism that lives by preying on other organisms.
prey - One that is defenseless, especially in the face of attack; a victim.
producer - A photosynthetic green plant or chemosynthetic bacterium, constituting the first trophic level in a food chain; an autotrophic organism.
scavenger - An animal, such as a bird or insect, that feeds on dead or decaying matter.
solar energy - energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy
species - An organism belonging to such a category
succession -
symbiosis - A close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member
