Ecosystems Vocabulary

Ecosystem

• The living and non-living things in an environment and all their interactions.

Community

• The living part of an ecosystem.

Biotic

• Living things in an environment: people, plants, animals

Abioitic

• Nonliving things that are in an environment: water, air, soil, climate, weather

Habitat

• The home of an organism.

Niche • The role a living thing plays in its

habitat. – Example: Snakes eat small animals. Without

snakes, there would be too many mice, birds, and lizards.

Producer

• An organism, such as a plant, that makes food.

Consumer

• Any organism that eats food producers make or eats other consumers.

Decomposer

• An organism that breaks down wastes and the remains of other organisms.

Food Chain

• The set of steps in which organisms get the food they need to survive.

Food Web

• The pattern that shows how food chains are related.