Ecosystem

Anything that is, or has ever been, alive. Biotic is the opposite of abiotic. Examples such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria are all biotic or living factors. Biotic factors depend on abiotic factors to survive

The areas where living things exist on Earth

A hydrosphere is the total amount of water on a planet. The hydrosphere includes water that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air.

The outermost surface of the Earth, the Earth's crust.

The buildup of nitrogen and phosphorous in an aquatic environment. Eutrophication usually leads to an excessive growth in bacteria and algae. These organisms quickly use all the available oxygen, which kills off all other species in the environment

The Earth's system can be divided into one of four major subsystems: land, water, living things, or air. These four subsystems are called spheres; the lithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), biosphere (living things), and atmosphere (air).

Carbon is the chemical backbone of all life on Earth. Carbon is used by plants to build leaves and stems, which are then digested by animals and used for cellular growth

Phosphorus is a toxin that limits growth, in aquatic ecosystems. For example, when nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer are carried in runoff to lakes and oceans, they can cause eutrophication.

The nutrient cycle is a system where energy and matter are transferred between living organisms and non-living parts of the environment.

- A series of metabolic processes that take place within a cell. The main function of cellular respiration is to break down glucose to form energy

A more complex trophic relationship among a group of organisms, consisting of interactions among multiple food chains. A food web describes how multiple producers and consumers directly or indirectly interact in an ecosystem

Shows the relationships, where one organism, like a plant, is the food source for the next organism, like a cow, which in turn is the food source for the next organism, like a human, and so on and so forth.

Shows the position of an organism in a food chain or food web. An organism’s trophic level is defined by what it eats and what eats it. There are autotrophs, which are the self-feeders, (i.e. Trees, grass, algae), and the heterotrophs, which get their energy from eating other organisms, (i.e. birds, fish, mushrooms). There are 4 trophic levels; producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.

Any living organism that can make its own food. An example would be all plants and some bacteria.

An organism that cannot convert sunlight or chemicals into "food" (carbohydrates). Heterotrophs must obtain their nutrients by consuming other organisms. All animals, all fungi, and some kinds of bacteria are heterotrophs.

Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other toxins, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism ingests materials faster than it can get rid of it through excretion. An example is the monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed poisons, and gets stored in its tissue. Sounds bad but it stop other species from eating them, so they can mature.

The concentration of a toxin increases as it moves through a food chain or food web. It can go from one population to another. An example is the now banned DDT, and PCB use and its effects on a food chain.

Diversity among and within plant and animal species in a given environment.

Anything that is not, nor has ever been, alive. Abiotic is the opposite of biotic. Examples include rocks, climate, pressure, soils, precipitation, sunlight, winds, and humidity. These abiotic have a direct influence on living things.

A sustainable ecosystem is a biological environment that can be maintained for a long time without outside influence or assistance. For example resources that are available now and will be there in the future because they are not being overused or depleted.

All living things need nutrients for healthy growth. The most important nutrients that are needed are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Plants and other organisms need light to make food through photosynthesis.

Plants and animals use oxygen to respire and return it to the air and water as carbon dioxide (CO2).

Water is the most important component of any ecosystem. All living organisms need water to grow and survive. In an ecosystem, water cycles through the atmosphere, soil, rivers, lakes, and oceans.

A biotic relationship between organisms, where one organism benefits from the relationship, and the other receives no harm or benefit. An example is the clown fish, and the sea anemone. The fish gets protection and cleaning from the anemone, but the anemone gets nothing from the fish.

A biotic relationship where both organisms benefit. An example is the relationship between pollinators, like honeybees, and the plants they pollinate.

Where one species kills another. An example would be a cheetah hunting a gazelle on the Savannah.

A biotic relationship where one organism, the parasite, benefits, and one organism, the host, is harmed. An example of parasitism if fleas or ticks living on cats and dogs.

Where different species, or the same species, vie for limited resources, like food, or mates.

A group of two or more populations of organisms from different species inhabiting the same location at the same time.

An autotrophic organism at the base of a food chain that uses photosynthesis to produce their own food. Examples of primary producers include plants, algae, and some types of bacteria.

Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities.

Chloroplasts are plant cell organelles that convert light energy into chemical energy using photosynthesis.

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for sustaining life on Earth.

Soils provide plants with physical support, water, nutrients, and air for growth. Soils also sustains microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

The layer of air above the Earth’s surface, made up of gases and water which help to retain heat and reflect UV radiation from the Sun.

Energy is transferred between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including radiation, conduction, and convection. The energy follows a one-way path.

A measure of the efficiency of energy flow between trophic levels in a food chain. This is always lower than 100%. For example biomass transfer is only about 10%.

Primary consumer is a heterotrophic organism near the base of a food chain or food web that obtains all or some of its energy by consuming another organism.   For example, snails and crickets.  Secondary consumer is a heterotrophic organism that feeds on primary consumers. For example, spiders and snakes. Tertiary consumer is a heterotrophic organism that gets its energy by eating secondary consumers. For example, cranes and humans

An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead or decaying matter. An example is fungi and worms.