Essential Science Vocabulary: Life Science: Ecosystems

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. autotrophic
    able to synthesize its own food
  2. biome
    major ecological community with distinct climate and flora
  3. camouflage
    exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something
  4. carnivore
    a terrestrial or aquatic flesh-eating mammal
  5. commensalism
    when one organism benefits from another without damaging it
  6. community
    group of interdependent organisms living in the same region
  7. competition
    the act of contending with others for rewards or resources
  8. consumer
    an organism that cannot make its own food supply
  9. decomposer
    an organism that breaks down dead animal and plant matter
  10. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
  11. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  12. herbivore
    any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants
  13. heterotrophic
    nourished by organic compounds (such as plants or animals)
  14. host
    an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite
  15. interdependent
    mutually reliant
  16. migration
    the periodic passage of groups of animals
  17. mutualism
    the relation between two organisms that benefit each other
  18. niche
    status or place of an organism within its environment
  19. nutrient
    any substance that can be metabolized to give energy
  20. omnivore
    an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances
  21. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
  22. parasite
    an animal or plant that lives in or on a host
  23. parasitism
    when one organism benefits from another by causing damage
  24. population
    a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting an area
  25. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
  26. prey
    animal hunted or caught for food
  27. producer
    organism capable of synthesizing its own food
  28. scavenger
    any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying matter
  29. succession
    the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem
  30. symbiosis
    the relation between two interdependent species of organisms
Created on Thu Aug 05 09:41:49 EDT 2021 (updated Thu Aug 05 10:26:11 EDT 2021)

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