Ecosystems Vocabulary

Ecosystem

all of the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem as well as the interactions among them

Biotic Factor

the living parts of an ecosystem

Abiotic factor

the nonliving parts of an ecosystem

Habitat

the place where an organism lives

Niche

an organism's role in it's environment

Species

a group of organisms that share most characteristics and can breed with one another

Population

all the organisms of a species that live in the same place at the same time

Community

all the populations of organisms in an ecosystem

Producer or autograph

an organism that produces it's own food

Photosynthesis

the process by which plants use the energy of sunlight to make their own food

Chemosynthesis

the process by which most marine organisms use the energy stored in chemicals to make their own food

Consumer or heterotroph

an organism that cannot make it's own food

Decomposer

an organism that gets its energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms and the wastes of living things

Trophic level

each feeding level in an ecosystem

Food chain

a series of organisms in which each feeds on the one at the next lower level

Food web

a network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem