Ecosystem
The community of organisms that live in a particular area, along with their nonliving environment.
Biotic Factors
A living part of an ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
A nonliving part of an organism's habitat.
Producers
Organisms that make their own food using photosynthesis
Consumers
An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms or their remains.
Autotroph
Another name for a producer
Heterotroph
Another name for a consumer
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms
Photosynthesis
the process by which plants use sunlight to make sugar, oxygen, and food.
Predator
An animal that hunts other animals for food
Prey
An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
Carnivore
A consumer that eats only animals.
Herbivore
A consumer that eats only plants.
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals
Aquatic ecosystem
An ecosystem located in a body of water
Terrestrial ecosystem
land based ecosystems
Habitat
the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Food chain
A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Food web
network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem
Organic matter
any substance that is made of living things or the remains of living things