Ecology Flashcards
(18 cards)
Ecosystem
The community of organisms that lives in a particular area, along with the nonliving environment
Producer
An organism that can make its own food
Consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on organisms
Scavenger
A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms. Ex: catfish and vultures
Decomposer
Break down biotic wastes and dead organisms and return the raw materials to the ecosystem
Food chain
A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy
Food web
Consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
Energy pyramid
Shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
Heterotroph
An organism that cannot make its own food
Autotroph
An organism that makes its own food
Tropic level
Each step in a food web or food chain
Biomass
Total amount of living tissue within a given trophies level
Nitrogen fixation
Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia
Abiotic
Non living
Biotic
Living things
Primary succession
An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed
Secondary succession
Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil
Pioneer species
First species to populate an area during primary succession
