Vocabulary
Producer
an organism that can make its own food
Scavenger
a carnivore that fees on the bodies of dead organisms
Water cycle
the processes of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
Biogeography
the study of where organisms live
Biome
a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
Consumer
an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
Decomposer
organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms
Evaporation
the process by which molecules of liquid water absorb energy and change to a gas
Continental drift
the very slow motion of the continents
Canopy
the leafy roof formed by tall trees
Herbivore
consumers that eat only plants
Food chain
a series of events in which one organism eats another
Condensation
the process by which a gas changes to a liquid
Dispersal
the movement of organisms from one place to another
Understory
the layer of shorter trees and vines beneath the canopy
Carnivore
consumers that eat only animals
Food web
consists of the many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
Precipitation
the process of water returning to Earth in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail
Exotic species
when an organism is carried into a new location by people
Desert
an area that receives 25 cm or less of rain a year
Omnivore
consumers that eats both animals and plants
Energy pyramid
a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
Nitrogen fixation
the process by which nitrogen moves from the air to the soil, into living things, and back into the air
Climate
the typical weather pattern in an are over a long period of time
Grassland
receives between 25 and 75 cm of rain each year with grasses and nonwoody plants