Ecosystem and Food Chain Concepts

Food chain

• Shows the pathway of energy, it always begins with the sun

• Is a list of all the foods that can be eaten

• Represents the different types of ecosystems

• Describes the process of photosynthesis

Consumers

• An organism that eats other organisms or organic matter

• An organism that produces its own food

• An organism that decomposes organic material

• An organism that absorbs nutrients from the soil

Scavenger

• A consumer (omnivore) that eats dead plants and animals

• A predator that hunts live animals

• A herbivore that only eats plants

• A decomposer that breaks down organic matter

Population

• All the members of one species in a particular area

• A group of different species living together

• The total number of organisms in an ecosystem

• The number of individuals in a specific habitat

Food web

• A system of independent food chains

• Made up of overlapping food chains

• A linear sequence of organisms

• A type of food chain that includes only plants

Carnivore

• Consumer that eats meat only

• Consumer that eats plants only

• Consumer that eats both plants and meat

• Consumer that does not eat at all

Herbivore

• Consumer that eats plants only

• Consumer that eats both plants and animals

• Consumer that eats only meat

• Producer that creates its own food

Omnivore

• Consumer that eats plants and animals

• Consumer that only eats plants

• Consumer that only eats animals

• Consumer that eats decomposed matter

Producers

• Make their own food using sunlight to perform photosynthesis. Examples: plants, plant-like protist, and some bacteria

• Consume other organisms for energy

• Decompose organic matter

• Absorb nutrients from the soil without photosynthesis

Decomposer

• A consumer that secretes a substance into dead matter and absorbs the nutrients

• An organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis

• A type of herbivore that feeds on living plants

• A predator that hunts and kills other animals