Dynamics of Ecosystems Unit 1 Ecology Terms Term

Dynamics of Ecosystems Unit 1

Ecology Terms Term • Herbivore Definition - an animal that eats plants • Carnivore - an animal that eats meat • Omnivore - an animal that eats meat and plants

Ecology Terms Term Role in Ecosystem • Producer - stores the sun’s energy as sugars; i. e. makes its own food from the sunlight e. g. plants • Consumer - eats other organisms to gain its • Decomposer - decomposes dead organisms to food and passes on the energy to other animals e. g. animals get food and recycles nutrients e. g. bacteria, fungi

Basic Food Chain Label the food chain below with the ecology terms: Secondary Consumer Producer: Turns sunlight into sugar Tertiary Consumer Primary Consumer or Herbivore or Top Carnivore - the last animal in a food chain

Where does the energy in an ecosystem come from? The SUN!

Food Chain Food Web - Diagram showing the flow of energy and materials through an ecosystem - Diagram of interconnected food chains Biodiversity - Describes the number of different organisms in an ecosystem

Ecosystem – a community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Abiotic Factors - the non-living parts of an ecosystem: soil, water, air, rocks, sun, nutrients. Biotic Factors - the living parts of an ecosystem: animals, plants.