Energy and Changes to Populations

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Energy Noun

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[en-er-jee]

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Energy

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The ability to cause change or do work, which organisms require for survival, growth, and creating offspring.

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Example: Newton's cradle shows energy transfer as moving balls cause others to move.

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Energy Storage Molecule Noun

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[en-er-jee stor-ij mol-uh-kyool]

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Energy Storage Molecule

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A molecule used by organisms to store chemical energy for later use in life processes like growth and movement.

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Example: Glucose is converted into ATP, an energy storage molecule, during cellular respiration.

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Reproduction Noun

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[ree-pro-duk-shun]

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Reproduction

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The biological process by which new individual organisms are produced from their parents, which requires energy.

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Example: A hydra produces a new individual by budding, showing energy use in reproduction.

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Population Noun

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[pop-yoo-ley-shun]

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Population

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A group of individuals belonging to the same species that live in the same geographical area at the same time.

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Example: A group of ladybugs shows a population of the same species living together.

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Consumer Noun

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[kuhn-soo-mer]

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Consumer

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An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms in an ecosystem.

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Example: An owl is a consumer that eats snakes, which eat birds, which eat grasshoppers.

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Producer Noun

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[pro-doo-ser]

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Producer

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An organism, such as a plant, that creates its own food, typically through photosynthesis using sunlight.

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Example: A plant uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and sugar through photosynthesis.

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Decomposer Noun

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[dee-kuhm-poh-zer]

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Decomposer

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An organism that breaks down dead organic material, recycling essential nutrients back into the ecosystem.

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Example: Decomposers like fungi and insects break down dead matter, recycling nutrients into the soil.

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Resource Population Noun

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[ree-sors pop-yoo-ley-shun]

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Resource Population

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A population of organisms that serves as a food source for another population in an ecosystem.

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Example: Fish in a pond serve as a food source for larger animals, illustrating a resource population.

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Consumer Population Noun

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[kuhn-soo-mer pop-yoo-ley-shun]

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Consumer Population

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A population of organisms that obtains energy by feeding on a resource population within an ecosystem.

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Example: An ecological pyramid shows how consumer populations depend on energy from resource populations.

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Ecosystem Noun

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[ee-koh-sis-tuhm]

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Ecosystem

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A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment, including both living and nonliving components.

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Example: The image shows an ecosystem with animals, plants, and water, demonstrating how they interact in their environment.