Ecology Flashcards
Pioneer Species
First species to populate an area during primary succession
Primary succession
An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed
Secondary succession
Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil
Ecosystem
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
Producer
An organism that makes its own food
Consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
Scavenger
Carnivores that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms
Food chain
A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Food web
A community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains
Energy pyramid
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
Heterotroph
An organism that cannot make its own food.
Autotroph
An organism that makes its own food
Trophic level
Each step in a food chain or food web
Biomass
total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
