Key Ecosystem Terms

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What is an ecosystem?

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An ecosystem is a community of living organisms, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, interacting with each other and their non-living environment, which includes elements like air, water, and soil.

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What are biotic and abiotic factors?

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Biotic factors refer to all the living components, such as plants, animals, and bacteria. Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of the environment, like sunlight, temperature, and minerals.

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What is a habitat?

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A habitat is the natural environment where an organism lives, providing the necessary conditions for the organism to survive, grow, and reproduce.

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What is a niche?

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A niche is the role or function of an organism within its ecosystem, including how it obtains food, interacts with other organisms, and contributes to the energy flow and nutrient cycle.

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What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

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A food chain is a linear sequence showing how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another, while a food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains.

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Who are producers, consumers, and decomposers?

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Producers (autotrophs) make their own food using sunlight or chemical energy. Consumers (heterotrophs) eat other organisms for energy. Decomposers break down dead organisms and waste, returning nutrients to the environment.

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What is biodiversity?

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Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in an ecosystem, including different species and genetic diversity within these species.

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What are trophic levels?

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Trophic levels are the different positions that organisms occupy in a food chain, starting with producers and moving up to various levels of consumers.

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What is symbiosis?

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Symbiosis is a close and long-term interaction between two different species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

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What is succession?

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Succession is the process by which ecosystems change and develop over time, including primary succession in lifeless areas and secondary succession in disturbed areas with intact soil.