Day-to-day condition of the Earth's atmosphere

Average conditions over long periods of time; year-to-year patterns of temperature and precipitation

Environmental conditions that vary over small distances, for example: south side of a tree or building

When carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor allow visible light into the atmosphere, but trap heat energy

The horizontal lines used to mark regions of the earth, like a ladder

Located between 23.5 degrees S and 23.5 degrees N and receives nearly direct sunlight all year

Located between 23.5 degrees and 66.5 degrees North and South. Receives less direct sunlight and varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year.

Located North of 66.5 Degrees North and South of 66.5 Degrees South. Receives very indirect sunlight and experiences darkness certain times of the year.

Movement of warm and cool water caused by unequal heating of the Earth's surface at different latitudes.

Unequal heating and cooling of Earth's atmosphere causing movement of air masses.

The ability to survive and reproduce under a range of environmental circumstances

The general place where an organism lives

Describes what an organism does and how it interacts with biotic and abiotic factors in its environment.

Any necessity of life- water, nutrients, light, food, or space

Occurs when organisms attempt to use the same limited resources

Competition between individuals of the same species

Competition between individuals of different species

No two species can occupy exactly the same niche in exactly the same habitat at exactly the same time

The interaction when one animal captures, kills, and eats another animal

The interaction in which an herbivore feeds on producers

A single species that is vital to ecosystem stability

Relationship when two species live closely together

Relationship when both species benefit

Relationship when one species benefits and one species is harmed

Relationship when one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed nor benefited

More or less predictable step-by-step process in a community following a disturbance

Occurs in an area in which no trace of a previous community is present

First species to populate an area during succession

Occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbances

Organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of lakes, streams, or oceans

Typically small organisms that drift in, and may swim through, aquatic environments; includes both phytoplankton and zooplankton

An ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface for at least part of the year

A kind of wetland formed where a river meets the ocean