Ecosystems key words Flashcards
Ecosystem
A community of plants and animals that interact with each other and their physical environment
Biome
Global scale ecosystem
Biotic
Living things (e.g. plants, animals, bacteria)
Abiotic
Non-living things (e.g. soil, climate, rocks)
Producer
An organism that gets its energy from a primary source such as the sun (photosynthesis)
Herbivore
An animal that feeds on plants
Consumer
A creature that gets its energy from eating other animals or plants
Decomposer
An organism, such as bacteria or fungus, that breaks down dead organic matter
Nutrient recycling
The recycling of nutrients between organisms and the environment
Litter
Leaves, twigs and pieces of bark that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter
Food chain
A series of linkages between producers and consumers
Food web
A diagram showing many links between producers and consumers in an ecosystem
Biodiversity
The variety of different types of plant and animal species
Biomass
Biomass is the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area
Interdependence
This is where the plants and animals depend on each other for survival. If one component changes, there can be serious knock-up effects for the entire ecosystem
