| Term | Definition |
|---|
| autotroph | organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds |
| chemosynthesis | process by which some organisms, such as certain bacteria, use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates |
| carnivore | organism that obtains energy by eating animals |
| consumer | organism that relies on other organisms for its energy and food supplies |
| detritivore | organism that feeds of plant and animal remains and other dead matter |
| decomposer | organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter |
| ecological pyramid | diagram that shows the relative ammounts of energy or matter within each trophic level in a food change or food web |
| biomass | total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level |
| food chain | series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer enrgy by eating and being eaten |
| food web | network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem |
| herbivore | organism that obtains energy by eating only plants |
| heterotroph | organism that obtains energy from the foods it consumes |
| omnivore | organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals |
| photosynthesis | process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates, such as sugars and starches |
| producer | organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce food from inorganic compounds |
| trophic level | step in a food chain or food web |
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