producer
organisms that capture energy from a primary source, usually the sun, and covert it to chemical energy in their bodies
consumer
organisms that obtain their energy by other organisms
primary consumer
consumers that eat producers
secondary consumer
consumers that eat primary consumers
decomposer
organisms that obtain energy from organic wastes such as fallen leaves or dead organisms
food chain
the path of food and energy from producer to composer to decomposition
food web
food chains that are interconnected through multiple feeding relationships
trophic level
each feeding level in an ecosystem
herbivore
eat only or mostly plants or plant products
carnivore
eat only or mostly other consumers
omnivore
eat both plants and animals
energy pyramid
model that shows the available energy at each trophic level in an ecosystem
biomass
amount of living matter in an ecosystem
sun
energy is not recycled and must be continuously supplied by the
life processes
producers store energy in the bonds of glucose and other simple food molecules and use it to carry out their
photosynthetic
most producers are what type of organism
radiant energy into chemical energy
what do producers take from the sun and turn it into
chemical and physical
organisms need energy to maintain what organizations of their bodies
energy and materials
what is transferred when an organism is eaten by another organism
plants, algae, and bacteria
3 types of producers
break down complex molecules into simpler ones
what do decomposers do in order to get the energy they need
carbon and nitrogen
composers help to cycle elements in the biosphere like
fungi
main decomposers of plant matter
bacteria
main decomposers of animal matter
enzymes
what do all decomposers secrete
break down food outside their bodies and absorb the nutrients
why do decomposers secrete enzymes
consumers
an ecosystem can survive without
producers and decomposers
no ecosystem can survive without
form
as it flows through an ecosystem, energy changes what
heat
some energy is transformed and released into the environment as what type of energy
mechanical
consumers use energy for cellular processes and transform some into what type of energy
highest
the least biomass is usually what trophic level
producers
make up most of the biomass in any ecosystem
bones and teeth
energy may not be passed on if it is stored in
10
what percent of energy at any trophic level is passed on to the next level
number of organisms
the small percentage of energy passed from one trophic level to the next limits what at each level