Energy Flow in Ecosystems U3

Phosphorus Cycle

• The process of nitrogen fixation in the atmosphere.

• The movement of phosphorus through the biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

• The cycle of carbon through living organisms and the environment.

• The process of water evaporation and precipitation.

Food web

• Complex network of interconnected food chains

• Simple linear sequence of who eats whom

• A type of food chain with only plants

• A diagram showing the energy flow in an ecosystem

Food chain

• Linear sequence of who eats whom

• A complex network of food webs

• A diagram showing energy flow

• A list of all organisms in an ecosystem

Ecosystem

• Community of living and non-living things interacting

• A type of plant species

• A method of energy production

• A geological formation

Tertiary consumers

• Second trophic level, herbivores

• Third trophic level, primary consumers

• Fourth trophic level, top predators

• First trophic level, producers

Energy pyramid

• Diagram showing energy flow in trophic levels

• Graph representing population dynamics

• Chart illustrating nutrient cycles

• Model of ecosystem interactions

Sun

• Primary energy source for ecosystems

• Source of lunar energy

• Main source of geothermal energy

• Primary energy source for fossil fuels

Herbivores

• Animals that eat plants

• Animals that eat meat

• Animals that eat both plants and meat

• Animals that do not eat at all

Trophic levels

• Different levels in a food chain

• The number of species in an ecosystem

• The energy flow in a habitat

• The types of organisms in a biome

Energy flow

• Movement of energy through an ecosystem

• The process of photosynthesis

• The transfer of nutrients in soil

• The cycle of water in the environment