| Term | Definition |
|---|
| autotrophs | organisms use energy from the sun or energy stored in chemical bonds to produce food for themselves; producers |
| heterotrophs | organisms that depend on autotrophs as nutrient and energy sources; consumers |
| herbivore | consumer that feeds on producers |
| carnivore | consumer that feeds on consumers |
| omnivore | consumer that feeds on producers and consumers |
| scavengers | animals that feed on dead animals |
| decomposer | organisms that break down and absorb nutrients from dead organisms |
| habitat | the place where an organism lives out its life |
| niche | the role a species plays in a community |
| food chain | model that shows how energy and matter move through an ecosystem |
| energy | the ability to do work |
| matter | anything that has matter and takes up space |
| atoms | 'building blocks' of matter |
| trophic level | the feeding level in the ecosystem |
| food web | a pattern of feeding in an ecosystem consisting of interconnected and branching food chains |
| symbiosis | a close interaction between two species in which one species lives in or on the other |
| parasitism | symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of the other |
| commensalism | a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited |
| mutualism | a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms are benefiting |
| competition | a relationship where more than one individual is pursuing the same limited resource |
| interspecific competition | competition within members of a different species |
| intraspecific competition | competition within members of the same species |
Combine with other sets
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