Abiotic Factor – A non-living part of an ecosystem

2. Abiotic Factor – A non-living part of an ecosystem Biotic Factor – A living part of an ecosystem Population – all the members of one species in a given area Community – all the living things in an ecosystem Habitat– the place where a plant or animal naturally lives or grows Niche– the role of an organism in a community

3. Food Chain– the path the energy in food moves from one organism to another • Food Web– the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVB82laAJl0 • Herbivore– an animal that eats plants, algae, and other producers • Carnivore– an animal that eats another animal (carne=????? In Spanish) • Omnivore– an animal that eatsBOTH plants AND animals.

4. Baconivore– an animal that eatsonly bacon.

6. Predator – an animal that hunts other animals for food. Prey– a living thing that is hunted for food. Scavengers– a meat-eating animal that feeds on the remains of dead animals. SCAVENGER PREY PREDATOR ALSO A SCAVENGER

7. Symbiosis – a relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over time. Mutualism – a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits both. Parasitism – a relationship in which one organism lives in or another organism lives in or on another organism and benefits from that relationship while the other organism may be harmed by it. Commensalism – a relationship between two kinds of organism that benefits one without harming the other. bookbuilder.cast.org

8. Limiting Factor– anything that controls the growth or survival of a population Carrying Capacity -- the maximum population size an area can support Endangered Species– a species in danger of becoming extinct. Extinct Species– a species that has died out completely Threatened Species– a species that is in danger of becoming endangered. homestudy.ihea.com kidsplanet.org

9. Carbon Cycle – the continuous exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen among living things. Nitrogen Cycle– the continuous trapping of nitrogen gas into compounds in the soil and its return to the air • Denitrifying Bacteria – Bacteria that reduce nitrates to nitrites or nitrogen gas

10. Biome – one of Earth’s large ecosystems with its own kind of climate, soil, plants, and animals Grassland – a biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life. Taiga – a cool forest biome of conifers in the upper Northern Hemisphere. Tundra – a large, treeless plain in the arctic regions, where the ground is frozen all year. Desert – a biome which receives only a small amount of precipitation. Deciduous Forest -- a forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each autumn Tropical rain forest – a hot biome near the equator with much rainfall and a wide variety of life.

11. Ecological Succession – the gradual replacement of one community by another. Primary Succession – the beginning of a community where few, if any, living things exist or where earlier communities were wiped out. Secondary Succession – the beginning of a community were an earlier community already exists. Pioneer Species – the first species living in an otherwise lifeless area. Pioneer Community – the first community thriving in a once lifeless area ClimaxCommunity – the final stage of succession in an area, unless a major change happens.