20 terms
Ecology
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Terms in this set (...)
Energy
the ability to do work or cause change; can be stored in chemicals found in food and released to the organism to do work
Organism
any individual living thing
Ecosystem
an ecosystem is a community of living things (plants, animals, people), the environment that surrounds them (soil, water, air) and how they interact
Producer
an organism that makes its own food; an organism that does not consume other plants or animals
Consumer
an organism that cannot make their own food and depend on plants or other animals for nourishment.
Herbivore
an animal that consumes only plants
Carnivore
an animal that eats only other animals
Autotroph
any organism that can create its own food from inorganic materials
Heterotroph
an organism that cannot create its own energy and must instead rely on consuming nutrients from other organisms
Population
the group of organisms of the same species living in the same area
Biosphere
the biosphere includes all places on Earth where life exists (cold regions, deserts, oceans, cities)
Biotic
Biotic components are the living things that shape an ecosystem
Abiotic
all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
Primary Consumer
an animal that feeds on plants; an herbivore
Secondary Consumer
organisms, primarily animals, which eat primary consumers
Tertiary Consumer
a carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores
Quaternary Consumer
eats tertiary consumers (hawk eats owl)
Decomposer
organisms, which carry out the process of decomposition by breaking down dead or decaying organisms
Food Chain
a model that shows one set of feeding relationships among living things
Food Web
a model that shows many different feeding relationships among living things