Biology Flashcards

Front

Autotroph

Back

Organisms that capture energy from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce their own food. Also known as a producer.

Front

Heterotroph

Back

Organisms that cannot make their own food and get nutrients and energy by feeding on other organisms; also called a consumer.

Front

Herbivore

Back

Heterotrophs/consumers that eat only plants.

Front

Carnivore

Back

Heterotrophs/consumers that prey on other heterotrophs/consumers.

Front

Omnivore

Back

Heterotrophs/consumers that eat both plants and animals.

Front

Detritivore

Back

Heterotroph that decomposes organic material and returns the nutrients to soil, air, and water, making the nutrients available to other organisms.

Front

Trophic Level

Back

Each step in a food chain.

Front

Food Chain

Back

A simplified model that shows a single path for energy flow through an ecosystem.

Front

Food Web

Back

A model that shows many interconnected food chains and pathways in which energy and matter flow through an ecosystem.

Front

Biomass

Back

The total mass or number of particles of living matter at each trophic level or step in the food chain.