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
ear other organisms for food.
Trophic Level
The grouping for organisms in a food web based on their role.
Carnivore
Animals that eat other animals.
Omnivore
Animals that eat both plants and animals
Primary Consumer
Herbivore
eat plants,algae, and other producers.
Secondary Consumers
eat the herbivores or primary consumers.
Tertiary Consumers
eat the secondary consumers.
Apex Predator
top consumer or top predator.
Detritivores
organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains (a scavenger)
Scavenger
organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal (a detrivore)
Decomposer
break down dead organisms into nutrient rich soil for use by producers.
Environment
all the living and nonliving things that surround an organism.
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 the living parts of an ecosystem.
Abiotic
all 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
an organism that lives in or on another organism (the host) and obtains nourishment from the host but provides nothing back to that host.
Host
organisms that are parasitized or subject to attack by one or more parasites.
