Ecology Flashcards
Food chain
one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem.
Food web
consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem.
Producers
make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition.
Autotrophs
make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition.
Consumers
eat other organisms for food.
trophic level
the grouping of organisms in a food web based on their role.
carnivore
animals that eat other animals
omnivore
animals that eat both animals and plants
Herbivores
eat plants, algae, and other producers.
primary consumer
are herbivores, eat plants and other producers.
Secondary consumers
eat the herbivores or other primary consumers.
Tertiary consumers
eat the secondary consumers.
apex predators
eat other consumers, They may be at the fourth or fifth trophic level. top consumer or top predator.
detritivores
are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains? For example, scavengers such as vultures eat dead animals. Dung beetles eat animal feces.
decomposers
They complete the cycle of life, returning nutrients to the soil or oceans for use by autotrophs. This starts a whole new series of food chains.
scavenger
are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains? For example, scavengers such as vultures eat dead animals. Dung beetles eat animal feces.
environment
all the living and nonliving things that surround an organism
ecosystem
all of the living and nonliving parts of the environment that interact with each other.
ecology
the study of how organisms interact with their environment and with other organisms.
dominant species
a group of organisms that outnumbers/dominates the other species in the area.
biosphere
that part of Earth in which life can exist
habitat
the location in which an organism lives
species
a group of organisms that share similar characteristics and can mate with each other to produce offspring
population
the group of organisms of the same species living in the same area
community
a group of different populations that live together and interact in an environment
niche
the place or role that an organism has in its habitat
competition
the interaction between organisms or species that use the same resources in which the health of one is negatively affected by the presence of the other
biotic
all of the living parts of an ecosystem
abiotic
all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
predator
an animal that hunts and eats another animal
prey
an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal
parasite
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in another organism. It takes nourishment from its victim. Some parasites do not harm the host organism. Others may actually cause it to die or become weak and sickly.
host
organism that is parasitized or subject to attack by one or more parasites
symbiosis
relationship between two species that interact in ways that influence each other’s evolution
parasitism
a certain type of non-mutual relationship found between two different species in which one organism known as the parasite benefits at the expense of the other organism
