environment - the totality of surrounding conditions; "he longed for the comfortable environment of his livingroom"

biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms

palaeoecology, paleoecology - the branch of ecology that studies ancient ecology

biotic community, community - (ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other

association - (ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species

food chain - (ecology) a community of organisms where each member is eaten in turn by another member

food pyramid - (ecology) a hierarchy of food chains with the principle predator at the top; each level preys on the level below

food cycle, food web - (ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains

ecesis, establishment - (ecology) the process by which a plant or animal becomes established in a new habitat

ecological succession, succession - (ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established

ecological niche, niche - (ecology) the status of an organism within its environment and community (affecting its survival as a species)

cosmopolitan, widely distributed - growing or occurring in many parts of the world; "a cosmopolitan herb"; "cosmopolitan in distribution"

endemic - native to or confined to a certain region; "the islands have a number of interesting endemic species"