Ecosystem Basics
What do we call a community of organisms interacting with their environment?
ECOSYSTEM
What do we call organisms that make their own food?
PRODUCERS
What provides energy for photosynthesis?
SUNLIGHT
What interaction occurs when organisms need the same limited resource?
COMPETITION
What natural event causes water to become limited for organisms?
DROUGHT
What do we call the living components of an ecosystem?
BIOTIC
What do we call animals that eat plants?
HERBOVORES
What essential substance do organisms need for important life processes?
WATER
What do we call an organism that hunts and eats another organism?
PREDATOR
What process do plants use to make their own food using sunlight?
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
What do we call the nonliving components of an ecosystem?
ABIOTIC
What do we call animals that eats other animals?
CARNIVORES
What environmental factor affects the growth and survival of organisms through heat and cold?
TEMPERATURE
What do we call an organism that is hunted and eaten?
PREY
What do scientists use to support a scientific conclusion?
EVIDENCE
What ecosystem includes many trees and wild animals?
FOREST
What do we call animals that eats both animals and plants?
What environmental component influences water retention, drainage, and nutrient availability for plants?
SOIL
What interaction occurs when a hawk catches and eats a mouse?
PREDATION
What term describes two populations changing together without necessarily proving that one change caused the other?
CORRELATION
What do we call the connected system of organisms and environmental factors in an area?
ECOSYSTEM
What do we call organisms that break down dead organic matter and return nutrients to the environment?
DECOMPOSERS
What abiotic condition becomes limited during a drought and can affect plants, herbivores, and predators?
WATER
What interaction occurs when plants growing close together need the same limited sunlight, water, and nutrients?
COMPETITION
What do scientists need to establish whether a decrease in insects directly causes a decrease in frogs?
EVIDENCE