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 Autotroph
an organism that produces its own food
Photosythesis
the process by which plants use the energy of sunlight to make their own food
Chemosynthesis
the process by which some marine organisms use the energy stored in chemicals
to make their own food
Consumer or heterotroph
an organism that cannot make its 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