Ecology Terms
Across
- 2. An animal, like a vulture, that feeds on dead animals it did not kill
- 4. The movement of the element with symbol C through air, living things, oceans, and rock
- 5. The non-living parts of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, temperature, and soil
- 7. All the members of one species living in the same area at the same time
- 8. The part of Earth where life exists, from the deep ocean to the lower atmosphere
- 15. All the water on Earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and ice
- 16. A relationship in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
- 18. A relationship in which one organism benefits while its host is harmed, like a tick on a dog
- 22. A close, long-term relationship between two different species
- 24. Process in which plants turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen
- 26. A single pathway showing who eats whom and how energy moves between organisms
- 29. The layer of gases surrounding Earth
- 34. Many interconnected feeding pathways in an ecosystem
- 35. Living things and their non-living surroundings interacting as one system
- 36. The largest population an environment can support over time
- 37. The continuous movement of H2O through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
Down
- 1. An animal that eats only other animals
- 3. A fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead matter and returns nutrients to the soil
- 4. Process in which cells release energy from glucose using oxygen
- 6. Struggle between organisms for limited resources such as food, water, or space
- 9. An organism that makes its own food, such as a plant (also called an autotroph)
- 10. The variety of life found in an ecosystem or on Earth
- 11. A large region defined by its climate and typical plants and animals, such as tundra or desert
- 12. A relationship in which both species benefit, like bees and flowers
- 13. All the different populations of living things interacting in one area
- 14. The living parts of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, and fungi
- 17. Earth's rocky outer layer, including the crust and soil
- 19. Meeting today's needs without limiting the ability of future generations to meet theirs
- 20. A single living thing, such as a maple tree or a deer
- 21. An organism that must eat other organisms for energy (also called a heterotroph)
- 23. A group of organisms that can breed together and produce fertile offspring
- 25. An organism's role in its ecosystem, including what it eats and how it survives
- 27. Cycle in which bacteria help convert the most abundant gas in air into forms plants can use
- 28. The place where an organism lives and finds what it needs to survive
- 30. An animal that eats both plants and animals
- 31. A diagram showing how the amount of available energy decreases at each feeding level
- 32. An organism's feeding position in a food chain
- 33. An animal that eats only plants