Ecosystems Review Sheet



Ecosystems Review Sheet

Know these vocabulary terms.

• Ecosystems- groups of living things and the nonliving environment in which they live

• Biome - a major ecological community type (as tropical rain forest, grassland, or desert)

• Biotic- the living parts of the ecosystem including plants, animals, trees, flowers, and birds

• Abiotic- the nonliving parts of the ecosystem including things such as soil, the climate, and amount of rainfall

• Individual-a single organism in a community

• Population-a group of organisms of the same species living in the same place

• Community- all of the populations that live in the same area

• Niche-the role of an organism within a particular habitat. It includes things such habitat, climate, the types of food an organism eats, and when an organism eats

• Habitat-place in an ecosystem where each population lives

• Producers – organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis

• Consumers- organisms that must get energy from eating other organisms

• Herbivores- consumers that eat only plants

• Carnivores- organisms that eat only other animals

• Omnivores- organisms that eat both plants and animals

• Decomposers-organisms such as fungi, bacteria, termites, earthworms and mushrooms that get energy by breaking down nutrients in dead organisms

• competition- a contest between organisms for limited resources

• food chain- shows the path of energy as it flows from one organism to the next

• Food web- a diagram of several connected food chains

• Predator- an organism that eats other organisms in order to live

• Prey- the organism that is eaten

• Terrestrial – living or growing on land

• Aquatic - Living or growing in, on, or near the water

• Estuary – place where fresh water and salt water meet

Key Ideas to Understand

• Organisms depend on the nonliving resources in an ecosystem to survive.

• The Sun provides the energy for all living things on Earth.

• The amount of light, the temperature, and the soil composition determine the number of organisms that an ecosystem can support. These nonliving resources are called limiting factors because they limit the number of organisms living in an ecosystem.

• Humans affect natural habitats in many ways. Trees can be cut down. Habitats are cleared to make way for roads or homes. Pollution from fertilizers and pesticides can destroy ecosystems. All of these actions lead to habitat reduction.

Think About This

You should be able to describe and compare your terrarium and aquarium ecosystems. You should also be able to identify the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) parts of both ecosystems and describe a simple food chain for each ecosystem. Finally, you should be able to name producers, consumers and decomposers and describe the relationships between the different organisms.

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