Biomes
A region of little vegetation, with hot temperatures, that receives ten inches or less of precipitation each year
Desert
A structure of calcite skeletons built up by coral animals in warm, shallow ocean water. They are home to thousands of species of fish.
Coral Reef
Place where an organism lives.
Habitat
A consumer that eats only plants.
Herbivore
A substance that has harmful or poisonous effects to the environment.
Pollution
Biome that surrounds the north and south poles; treeless landscape with short, cool summers, and long, very cold winters with short periods of winter sunlight, beneath the topsoil is a layer of permafrost.
Tundra
Aquatic ecosytem that does not contain any saltwater, can be rivers, lakes, streams,ponds, and wetlands.
Freshwater
All of the living parts of an ecosystem.
Biotic
An animal that eats other animals
Carnivore
The process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste or scrap; the process of reusing, or remanufacturing some items.
Recycling
Biome characterized by hot temperatures, large amounts of rainfall, and high biodiversity,that grows near the equator; it receives large amounts of rain, and has dense growths of tall, leafy trees; the weather is warm and wet year-round; few plants live on the dark forest floor.
Tropical Rain Forest
An ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year.
Wetland
All of the non-living parts of an ecosystem.
Abiotic
A consumer that eats both plants and animals.
Omnivore
Capable of being broken down by bacteria and other decomposers.
Biodegradable
A tropical / subtropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees, large herbivores, and three distinct seasons based primarily on rainfall, maintained by occasional fires and drought.
Savanna
A stream or river that flows into a larger river.
Tributary
An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or its "job".
Niche
A pyramid that shows the amount of energy that moves from one trophic level to another in an ecosystem.
Energy Pyramid
Term used when the number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living.
Overpopulation
A biome in which the winters are very cold, but summers are mild enough to allow the ground to thaw. It contains mostly conifer trees. It has moderate rainfall and contains animals such as moose and wolves.
Taiga
An area where fresh water from a river mixes with salt water from an ocean; are productive ecosystems because they constantly recieve fresh nutrients from the river and the ocean.
Estuary
Total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level.
Biomass
Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support.
Carrying Capacity
A resource that cannot be reused or replaced as quickly as it is used (ex. gems, iron, copper, fossil fuels).
Non-renewable Resource