producer
an organism that can make its own food
consumer
an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
herbivore
a consumer that eats only plants
carnivore
a consumer that eats only animals
omnivore
a consumer that eats both plants and animals
scavenger
a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
decomposer
an organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms
food chain
a series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy
food web
the pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
energy pyramid
a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
adaptation
helpful characteristic
niche
the role of an organism in its habitat
competition
the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource
predation
an interaction in which one organism kills another for food
predator
the organism that does the killing in a predation interaction
prey
an organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
symbiosis
a close relationship between two species that benefits (helps) at least one of the species
mutualism
a relationship between two species in which both species benefit
commensalism
a relationship between two species in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
parasitism
a relationship in which one organisms lives on or in a host and harms it
parasite
the organism that benefits by living on or in a host in a parasitism interaction
host
the organism that a parasite lives in or on in a parasitism interaction
organism
a living thing
habitat
an environment that provides the things an organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce
biotic factor
a living part of an organism's habitat
abiotic factor
a nonliving part of an organism's habitat
photosynthesis
the process in which organisms use water along with sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their own food
species
a group of organisms that are physically similar and can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce
population
all the members of one species in a particular area
community
all the different populations that live together in an area
ecosystem
the community of organisms that live in a particular area, along with their nonliving surroundings
ecology
the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment
producer
an organism that can make its own food
consumer
an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
herbivore
a consumer that eats only plants
carnivore
a consumer that eats only animals
omnivore
a consumer that eats both plants and animals
scavenger
a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
decomposer
an organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms
food chain
a series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy
food web
the pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
energy pyramid
a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
adaptation
helpful characteristic
niche
the role of an organism in its habitat
competition
the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource
predation
an interaction in which one organism kills another for food
predator
the organism that does the killing in a predation interaction
prey
an organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
symbiosis
a close relationship between two species that benefits (helps) at least one of the species
mutualism
a relationship between two species in which both species benefit
commensalism
a relationship between two species in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
parasitism
a relationship in which one organisms lives on or in a host and harms it
parasite
the organism that benefits by living on or in a host in a parasitism interaction
host
the organism that a parasite lives in or on in a parasitism interaction
organism
a living thing
habitat
an environment that provides the things an organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce
biotic factor
a living part of an organism's habitat
abiotic factor
a nonliving part of an organism's habitat
photosynthesis
the process in which organisms use water along with sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their own food
species
a group of organisms that are physically similar and can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce
population
all the members of one species in a particular area
community
all the different populations that live together in an area
ecosystem
the community of organisms that live in a particular area, along with their nonliving surroundings
ecology
the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment