Member 1: Emily Carter :) Member 2: Britnee Conyers

Member 3:Francis Drey Member 4: __

Member 5: Kahlis McGee

Ecology and Ecological Systems Vocabulary

Directions:
1. For the following table, use the choices provided, to write the word/ term that
corresponds to the given description/definition in the first column.
2. Then, in the second column, add an enhancement to the definition to increase your
understanding of the term. The enhancement can be additional text and/or an image
or an example that further explains the term.

Note: This is a group activity, so have one person share the document with
your group and with the teacher.
A. Words/terms should be equally divided among the members by color
coding the choices below (7-9 words each depending on group size).
B. Each Member will add their name on the top of the sheet and use the
color of the text associated with their name for vocabulary terms.
C. Once everything is completed make a copy of the worksheet, name it with
“your name” + “Ecology and Ecological Systems Vocabulary” and submit
it on It’slearning. DO NOT submit a link, submit the document.

Vocabulary: (28)
Abiotic Factors - Francis
Drey
Apex Predator- Emily
Autotroph- Emily
Biomass - Francis Drey
Biome - Francis Drey
Biosphere- Emily
Biotic Factors- Britnee
Carnivore- Emily
Community-Kahlis
Decomposer - Francis
Drey
Detritivore- Britnee
Ecosystem - Britnee
Energy Pyramid-Kahlis.
Food Chain-Kahlis.
Food Web-Kahlis
Habitat- Britnee
Herbivore-Kahlis.
Heterotroph- Emily
Niche - Francis Drey
Organism - Francis Drey
Population - Francis Drey
Primary Consumer-Kahlis.
Producer- Emily
Scavenger-Kahlis.
Secondary Consumer-
Britnee
Primary consumer-
Britnee
Trophic Level- Britnee
Omnivore- Emily
(Word/Term) Definition and Enhancement

Definition: The simplest level of organization in ecology, where

Organism scientists concentrate on the adaptations that allow organisms to
overcome the challenges of their environment.

Enhancement:

population Definition: It includes all the members of a single species that live in
an area.

Enhancement:

Definition: All of the living organisms found in a particular area. It

contains thousands of species, where scientists study the interactions
between these living organisms.

Enhancement:

Ecosystem Definition: A collection of all the organisms that live in a particular

place, together with their nonliving, or physical, environment.

Enhancement:

Definition: A collection of plants and animals that have common

characteristics for the environment they exist in. They are found over a
range of continents and are distinct biological communities that have
formed in response to a shared physical climate.

Enhancement:

Biosphere Definition: The broadest level of ecological organization and includes

all other levels. It includes all areas where life exists, including land,
water, and air.
 Enhancement:

Biotic factors Definition: The living things that affect the organism and include all
living things an organism interacts with.

Enhancement:

Abiotic factors Definition: The non-living things that influence or affect the organism
and include all non-living things an organism interacts with.

Enhancement:

Habitat Definition: An organism’s address, where it lives, breeds and feeds

within the ecosystem. It includes both biotic and abiotic factors.

Enhancement:
 Definition: An organism’s occupation. It is a way of life or the role the
species plays in its environment. It includes the full range of physical
and biological conditions in which an organism lives, and the way the
organism uses those conditions.

Enhancement:

Autotroph Definition: Autotrophs are any organisms that are capable of

producing their own food. An organism that is able to form nutritional
organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon
dioxide and water.

Enhancement: Autotrophs are simply organisms that can make

their own food.

Heterotroph Definition: An organism that gets its nutritional requirements from

complex organic substances. They are unable to make their own food.

Enhancement: A heterotroph is simply an organism that cannot

make its own food. Instead it consumes other organisms.

Definition: An organism (e.g., bacterium, fungus) that decomposes

organic material. They decompose the dead organisms and break down
the complex compounds into simple nutrients.

Enhancement:

Detritivore Definition: Heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus

(dead organic matter). By doing so, all these detritivores contribute to
decomposition and the nutrient cycles.

Enhancement:

Herbivore Definition: Animals whose primary food source is plants. They are
vegetarians and don’t eat other animals.
 Enhancement:

Omnivore Definition: An animal that eats both plants and animals. They eat
producers and primary consumers.

Enhancement: A lot of animals are omnivores. If you eat plants

and animals you are an omnivore.

Carnivore Definition: An animal that only eats other animals. They eat
consumers.

Enhancement: Organisms that only eat animals.

Producer Definition: Organisms that make their own food; they are also known
as autotrophs.

Enhancement: An organism that produces food. They are also

called autotrophs.

Primary Definition: The organisms that eat the producers. They are herbivores
Consumers (vegetarians).

Enhancement:

Secondary Definition: The organisms that eat primary consumers. They can be
Consumer omnivores or carnivores.

Enhancement:
Primary Definition: A tertiary consumer is an animal that obtains its nutrition
Consumer by eating primary consumers and secondary consumers. Usually
tertiary consumers are carnivorous predators, although they may also
be omnivores.

Enhancement:

Apex predator Definition: Also known as an alpha predator or top predator, is a

predator at the top of a food chain/web, without natural predators.

Enhancement:

Scavenger Definition: An animal that feeds on carrion (dead animals), dead plant
material, or refuse (Garbage).

Enhancement:
Food chain Definition: The sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the
form of food from organism to organism. Food chains intertwined into
a food web because most organisms consume more than one type of
animal or plant.

Enhancement:

Food Web Definition: Represents feeding relationships within a community. It

also implies the transfer of food energy from its source in plants
through herbivores or omnivores and into carnivores.

Enhancement:
 Definition: The total mass of organisms in a given area.

Enhancement:

Tropical level Definition: Each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, that

includes organisms that share the same function in the food chain and
the same feeding relationship to the primary sources of energy.

Enhancement:

An energy Definition: A graphical representation, showing the flow of energy at

pyramid each trophic level in an ecosystem. The width of each bar represents
the units of energy available within each trophic level.
Enhancement: