Autotroph
An organism that makes its own food
producer
An organism that makes its own food
consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
Heterotroph
An organism that cannot make its own food and gets food by consuming other living things.
Carnivore
A consumer that eats only animals.
herbivore
A consumer that eats only plants.
omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals
Primary Producer
An autotroph, usually a photosynthetic organism. Collectively, autotrophs make up the trophic level of an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other levels.
Primary Consumer
An organism that eats producers
Secondary Consumer
consumer that eats primary consumers
Tertiary Consumer
Carnivore that eats carnivores.
Scavenger
A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
Energy pyramid
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
Biosphere
Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere.
species
A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.
population
A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area
community
(ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other
ecology
Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
biome
A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms
biotic factors
All the living organisms that inhabit an environment
abiotic factors
Nonliving components of environment.
photosynthesis
Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.
decomposer
An organism that gets energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms or animal wastes and consuming or absorbing the nutrients.
food chain
A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
food web
(ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains
trophic level
The position of an organism in relation to the flow of energy and inorganic nutrients through an ecosystem (e.g., producer, consumer, and decomposer).
Step in a food chain or food web