Fossil Fuels & Ecology Vocab #2

What are they?

A group of energy sources that were formed from different plants and organisms during the Carboniferous Period around 360 million years ago

Different types of fossil fuels depend on the organic matter, temperature, time, and pressure conditions while decomposing

3 Major Types:
- coal --> formed from plants and trees that were combined with pressure and heat
- oil --> small organisms that were combined with more heat and pressure
- natural gas

- fossil fuels are sought after energy sources because they have a high energy density
- they are the world's dominant energy source
- they are considered non-renewable resources because they take a long time to form and cannot be reused
- carbon dioxide causes environmental and health issues

Word	Part of Speech	Definition	Example
Decomposers	Noun	An organism, such as bacteria or fungus, that breaks down dead matter and returns nutrients to the soil	Fungus on a cut down tree
Estuary	Noun	A body of water freshwater and saltwater ecosystems merge together	A protected space
Habitat	Noun	The place and surroundings where an organism normally lives	Red fox can live in a range of habitats
Herbivores	Noun	An organism that eats only plants	Cattle and deer
Host	Noun	A living organism on which a parasite lives	Mouse is a host of a tick
Limiting factor	Noun	Something is an environment that keeps the population of an organism from increasing as much as it could	Competition and disease
Niche	Noun	The habitat that supplies everything needed for a species or an organism to survive	Birds in the water are getting their food source from the water
Omnivores	Noun	A consumer that eats both plants and meats	Humans and bears
Parasite	Noun	An organism that lives in or one another organism	A tick living on a mouse