Unit 4: Key Words, Unit 4

This list covers "Biomes All Over the World," "Marine Food Web," and "Save the Sea Turtles."
20 words 85 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. biome
    major ecological community with distinct climate and flora
    A biome is a community where certain kinds of plants and animals lives. Earth has more than 30 different kinds of biomes.
  2. tropical
    relating to part of the Earth's surface with hot climate
    Another kind of forest is the tropical rain forest.
  3. equator
    an imaginary line around the Earth forming a great circle
    Tropical rain forests are in areas near the equator.
  4. tundra
    a vast treeless plain where subsoil is permanently frozen
    The arctic tundra is the coldest biome on Earth. Trees do not grow in the tundra. Winds are very strong. Ice covers the ground, and water freezes.
  5. desert
    arid land with little or no vegetation
    Desert biomes have very little rain. Most plants cannot grow there. Deserts are either very hot or very cold.
  6. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
    There are few or no trees on grasslands. Average rainfall is somewhere between a temperate forest and a desert. The plants that live on grasslands do not get a lot of water year round.
  7. ocean
    a large body of water that is part of the hydrosphere
    The ocean biome is the largest biome on Earth. Oceans are huge bodies of water. They make up 70 percent of Earth’s surface.
  8. producer
    organism capable of synthesizing its own food
    A food chain shows one way that energy travels between producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  9. consumer
    an organism that cannot make its own food supply
    A food chain shows one way that energy travels between producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  10. decomposer
    an organism that breaks down dead animal and plant matter
    A food chain shows one way that energy travels between producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  11. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
    Any change to one organism in a food web affects all the other organisms in the food web.
  12. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
    Many small fish feed on plankton—both phytoplankton and zooplankton. These fish often swim in schools, or groups. This makes it harder for predators, such as sharks, to hunt them.
  13. mammal
    a warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin covered with hair
    Polar bears and orcas are at the top of the marine food web. This means they have no predators. They live on fish and other marine mammals.
  14. scavenger
    any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying matter
    Decomposers in the marine food web include bacteria and scavengers, such as lobsters.
  15. endangered
    in imminent threat of extinction
    Five different species of sea turtles live in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The smallest are called Kemp’s ridley turtles. They are the most endangered turtle species in the world.
  16. illegal
    prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules
    By the 1960s, the United States and Mexico realized that the Kemp’s ridley turtles were in terrible danger. These governments passed laws making taking turtle eggs illegal.
  17. litter
    make a place messy by strewing garbage around
    Many turtles still died. Many choked on the plastic bags littering the ocean.
  18. pollution
    contamination of the natural environment
    However, there are still major threats to the safety of Kemp’s ridley turtles, especially pollution and litter. In 2010, for example, an oil rig exploded and caused 4.9 million gallons of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico.
  19. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
    First of all, talk to your parents, your friends, and your teachers about the turtles. Ask them to help you support turtle conservation. The more people who know about the problem, the more will get involved, and the sooner the turtles can get the help they need.
  20. protect
    shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
    If you see a turtle that has been damaged by oil, do not touch it. Protect the turtle from animals, vehicles, and people.
Created on Fri Feb 04 10:53:57 EST 2022 (updated Thu Mar 24 16:49:23 EDT 2022)

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