Grade 9 Science Ecology terms
Symbiosis
A close interaction between two different species in which members of one species live in, on, or near members of another species.
Population
A group of organisms from the same species found in a particular geographic area.
Biome
A large naturally occurring community of plants and animals occupying a major habitat.
Food Chain
A sequence of feeding relationships among organisms.
Biotic
A term applied to living things in the environment.
Abiotic
A term applied to non-living things in the environment.
Ecosystem
All the interacting parts of a biological community and its environment.
Community
An association of different populations in a particular environment or geographic area.
Scavengers
An organism that eats dead or decaying animal or plant matter.
Interspecific
Competition between members of different species.
Intraspecific
Competition between members of the same species.
Denitrifying bacteria
Denitrifying bacteria are microorganisms that convert nitrates in soil into free atmospheric nitrogen.
Trophic level
Each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy
Parasitism
In a symbiotic relationship: When one species benefit at the expense of another species.
Commensalism
In a symbiotic relationship: when one species benefits from a relationship with another species without an harm or benefit to the other species.
Invasive Species
Invasive species is a species that is non-native to a particular ecosystem and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.
Micro-organisms
Organisms that are too small to be seen by the human eye without the aid of a microscope.
Decomposers
Organisms that break down the cells of dead or waste materials and absorb their nutrients.
Consumers
Organisms that eat the food made by producers.
Producer
Plants that use energy from the sun to make nutrients they need to survive.
Predation
Predator kills other animals (prey) to get food and survive.
Bioaccumulation
Refers to the accumulation of substances, such as pesticides, or other chemicals in an organism
Mutualism
Relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship.
Nitrifying bacteria
Soil bacteria that change ammonia or ammonium into nitrite or change nitrite into nitrate as part of the nitrogen cycle.
Native species
Species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural process, with no human intervention.
Biosphere
The area around Earth that can sustain life; made up of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere.
Biomagnification
The concentration of toxins in an organism as a result of its ingesting other plants or animals in which the toxins are more widely disbursed.
Competition
The interaction between two or more organisms for the same resource(s) in a given habitat.
Habitat
The location where an organism lives.
Food Web
The network of feeding relationships among organisms.
Photosynthesis
The process by which plants make their own food using sunlight.
Niche
The role that is undertaken by an organism in an ecosystem.
Ecology
The study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment.
Teritiary Consumers
They are on the topmost level of the food chain. They are carnivores.
Primary Consumers
They are usually Herbivores and they come right after the producers in a food chain or web.
Secondary Consumers
They eat the primary consumers. They are usually carnivores but they can be omnivores too.
Autotroph
an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide
Cellular Respiration
what cells do to break up sugars into a form that the cell can use as energy. takes in food and uses it to create ATP, a chemical which the cell uses for energy.
