Ecology Vocabulary

Front

What is the term for the portion of the planet in which living things are found?

Back

biosphere

Front

What are the different types of ecosystems such as desert, tropical rain forest, deciduous forest, and tundra called?

Back

biomes

Front

What do we call all the humans in a specific area, such as Meriden, from an ecological standpoint?

Back

population

Front

What is the term for different populations living and interacting with each other in the same area?

Back

community

Front

What is an organism that produces its own food supply from inorganic compounds called?

Back

autotroph

Front

What is the term for organisms that cannot produce their own food and rely on other organisms for nutrition?

Back

heterotrophs

Front

What is the process by which plants convert sunlight into chemical energy?

Back

photosynthesis

Front

What is the term for the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem?

Back

biodiversity

Front

What is the relationship called where one organism benefits at the expense of another?

Back

parasitism

Front

What is the term for the role or function of an organism within its ecosystem?

Back

niche