Forces of Nature: Introduction to Ecology

Review this essential ecology vocabulary and learn all about the relationships between organisms and their environment. This list covers ecosystems and biomes, food chains and food webs, pollution and conservation, and much more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. adaptation
    the process of adjusting or conforming to new conditions
  2. air pollution
    pollution of the atmosphere
  3. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  4. biome
    major ecological community with distinct climate and flora
  5. biosphere
    the regions of the Earth where living organisms exist
  6. carnivore
    a terrestrial or aquatic flesh-eating mammal
  7. cell
    the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms
  8. climate
    the weather in some location averaged over a period of time
  9. community
    group of interdependent organisms living in the same region
  10. competition
    the act of contending with others for rewards or resources
  11. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
  12. cycle
    a periodically repeated sequence of events
  13. depletion
    the state of being used up
  14. desert
    arid land with little or no vegetation
  15. digestion
    the process by which the body breaks down food
  16. ecology
    the environment as it relates to living organisms
  17. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
  18. endangered species
    a species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction
  19. energy
    any source of usable power
  20. environment
    the area in which something exists or lives
  21. evaporation
    the process of becoming a suspension of particles in the air
  22. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  23. food chain
    community of organisms where each member is eaten by another
  24. food web
    community of organisms with several interrelated food chains
  25. global warming
    a rise in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere
  26. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  27. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  28. herbivore
    any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants
  29. host
    an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite
  30. ingestion
    the process of taking food into the body through the mouth
  31. interact
    do something together or with others
  32. natural resource
    material in the environment that can be used by people
  33. niche
    status or place of an organism within its environment
  34. omnivore
    an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances
  35. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
  36. parasite
    an animal or plant that lives in or on a host
  37. pollution
    contamination of the natural environment
  38. population
    a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting an area
  39. population growth
    increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory or state
  40. precipitation
    the falling to earth of any form of water
  41. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
  42. prey
    animal hunted or caught for food
  43. rain forest
    a forest with heavy annual rainfall
  44. renewable resource
    any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time
  45. savanna
    a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions
  46. scavenger
    any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying matter
  47. species
    taxonomic group whose members can interbreed
  48. symbiosis
    the relation between two interdependent species of organisms
  49. tropical rain forest
    a rain forest in a tropical area
  50. tundra
    a vast treeless plain where subsoil is permanently frozen
  51. water pollution
    pollution of the water in rivers and lakes
Created on Wed Feb 08 21:57:29 EST 2017 (updated Mon Jun 12 17:11:38 EDT 2017)

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