1. Producer Consumer Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore
An organism that can make its own food
Consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
Herbivore
A consumer that eats only plants
Carnivore
A consumer that eats only animals
Omnivore
A consumer that eats both plants and animals

2. Scavenger Decomposer Food Chain Food Web Energy Pyramid
A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down chemicals from waste and dead organisms returning important minerals to the soil
Food Chain
A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy
Food Web
The pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
Energy Pyramid
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web

3. Water Cycle Evaporation Condensation Precipitation Nitrogen Fixation
The continuous process by which water moves from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back
Evaporation
The process by which molecules of a liquid absorb energy and change to a gas
Condensation
The process by which a gas changes to a liquid
Precipitation
Snow, rain, sleet or hail
Nitrogen Fixation
The process of changing free nitrogen gas into a usable form

4. Continental Drift Dispersal Exotic Species Climate Biogeography
The study of where organisms live
Continental Drift
The very slow movement of continents
Dispersal
The movement of an organism from one place to another
Exotic Species
Species that are carried to a new location by people
Climate
The typical weather pattern in an area over a long period of time

5. Biome Canopy Understory Desert Grassland
A group of land ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
Canopy
A leafy roof formed by tall trees
Understory
A layer of shorter plants that grow in the shade of a forest canopy
Desert
An area that receives less than 25 centimeters of precipitation a year
Grassland
An area populated by grasses and other non woody plants that get between centimeters of precipitation a year

6. Savanna Deciduous Tree Coniferous Tree Tundra Permafrost
A grassland close to the equator that receives as much as 120 centimeters of rain a year
Deciduous Tree
A tree that sheds its leaves and grows new ones each year
Coniferous Tree
A tree that produces its seeds in cones and has needle shaped leaves
Tundra
An extremely cold, dry biome
Permafrost
Soil that is frozen all year

7. Estuary Intertidal Zone Neritic Zone
A habitat where fresh water of a river meets salt water of an ocean
Intertidal Zone
The area between the highest high tide line and the lowest low tide line
Neritic Zone
The area of shallow ocean water over the continental shelf