The Words of Ecology

5. a living thing that is a member of a species
6. a group of organisms of the same species who live in the same area at the same time.
7. decaying leaf litter that is mixed with soil
8. heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrients from dead organisms by internal digestion.
9. an organism that consumes heterotrophs
13. groups of organisms that can potentially interbreed to produce fertile offspring.
14. an organism that uses solar energy or chemical energy to manufacture the organic compounds it needs as nutrients from simple inorganic compounds obtained from its environment.
15. An organism that breaks down dead or decaying organic matter
18. when two members of the same species mate and produce offspring.
19. an organism that is a product of a cross between two different species and is infertile
20. the environment that a species normally lives in
21. specialized carnivores that feed on dead and decaying animals

1. the non-living physical and chemical attributes of a system, for example light or temperature in an environment.
2. heterotrophs that feed on living organisms by ingestion.
3. attributes in an ecosystem that refer to living organisms.
4. heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrients from detritus by external digestion.
5. an organism that eats both producers and consumers
7. an organism that gets its organic nutrients by feeding on autotrophs or other heterotrophs.
10. community of different species interacting with each other and with the chemical and physical factors making up the non-living environment.
11. an organism that consumes autotrophs
12. an organism that is both an autotroph and a heterotroph
16. formed by populations of different species living together and interacting with each other.
17. dead particulate organic matter