Abiotic
a factor that is not alive and has never lived - examples are water, light, temperature, wind patterns, rocks, soil, pH, and pressure
Biotic
a factor that has lived or is living - examples are plants and animals
Ecosystem
a community of different but interdependent interacting living organisms and their non-living environment
Energy
the force that enters an ecosystem, passes through one or more of the organisms of the community and is then lost back into the ecosystem
Food oxidation
a destructive process that occurs when food is exposed to oxygen causeing loss of nutritional value and changes in chemical composition
Habitat
the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism
Limiting factors
a factor that controls an environmental process - particularly the growth or abundance as well as the distribution of a population
Niche
the particular area within a habitat occupied by an organism
Species
a class of individuals having some common characteristics or qualities
Thermal energy
the rise in temperature of an object due to the motion of its atoms and molecules
Aquatic Ecosystem
An ecosystem that is located in bodies of water.
Food Chain
A diagram that represents how energy in food flows from one organism to the next in an ecosystem.
Food web
A diagram showing several interrelated food chains and the organisms that make them
Terrestrial Ecosystem
An ecosystem that is found on land.