Ecosystems Flashcards
Energy pyramid
a model that shows the available amount of energy in each trophic layer in an ecosystem.
Food web
a model that shows many different feeding relationships among living things
Decomposer
organisms which carry out the process of decomposition by breaking down dead or decaying organisms
Food chain
A food chain shows how food and energy passes from one organism to another in an ecosystem.
Coniferous
plants that produce reproductive organs called cones
Consumer
an organism that eats other living things to get energy; an organism that does not produce its own food (related word: consume)
Biome
Large areas like the tundra, rain forests, and deserts are different kinds of biomes. Each biome has distinctive plant and animal groups.
Deciduous
a forest containing trees that lose their leaves each year
Ecology
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
Cycle
a process that repeats (related word: cyclic)
Nitrogen cycle
a process in which nitrogen in the atmosphere enters the soil and becomes part of living organisms then eventually returns to the atmosphere
Biotic factors
a living thing, as an animal or plant, that influences or affects an ecosystem
Water cycle
the continual movement of water between the land, ocean, and the air
Abiotic factor
a nonliving condition or thing, as climate or habitat, that influences or affects an ecosystem and the organisms in it
Producer
Producers use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make food for themselves. Herbivorous consumers depend on producers for food.
