2.1 Flashcards
biomass hhe
the total mass of living plants, animals, fungi, and
bacteria in a given area
energy flow
The flow of energy from an ecosystem to an organism and from one organism to another
producers
plants because they “produce” food in the form
of carbohydrates during photosynthesis - the produce food for us to eat
consumer
An insect such as a bee that feeds on a plant such as a sunflower. a consumer can also become a producer if it gets eaten
Decomposition
the breaking down of organic wastes and dead organisms
biodegradation
The action of living organisms such as bacteria to break down dead organic matter
Decomposers
change wastes and dead organisms into usable nutrients
food chains
models that show the flow of energy from plant to animal
and from animal to animal
trophic level
Each step in a food chain
primary producers
lowest level plants and alge (can’t eat anything so they are at the bottom)
primary consumers
second level from the bottom -such as grasshoppers and zooplankton, eat primary producers - get eaten by people on trophics above them
Secondary consumers
third level from the bottom - frogs and crabs - eat primary consumers- get eaten by people above them
tertiary consumers
highest level - fourth trophic- hawks and sea otters- eat secondary consumers-
Detrivores
consumers that obtain their energy and nutrients by eating the bodies of small dead animals. They eat every trophic level- (maggots, decomposers)
Herbivores
grasshoppers, are primary consumers that eat
plants
