Food Chains, Food Webs, Ecosystems

herbivore

• organism that eats plants

• organism that eats meat

• organism that eats both plants and meat

• organism that absorbs nutrients from soil

organism

• a living thing, like a person, an animal, a plant, or even a tiny bacterium

• a non-living thing, such as a rock or a chair

• a type of food that provides energy

• a scientific term for a group of cells

abiotic

• living

• non-living

• organic

• biological

food web

• A system of independent food chains

• A linear sequence of organisms

• interconnected and overlapping food chains in an ecosystem

• A type of food chain with only herbivores

carnivore

• eats plants

• eats meat (other animals)

• eats both plants and animals

• eats insects

biodiversity

• variety of life on earth

• the number of species in a specific area

• the extinction of species

• the study of ecosystems

producer

• organism that makes its own food using energy from the sun

• organism that consumes other organisms for energy

• organism that decomposes dead matter

• organism that relies on chemical reactions for energy

decomposer

• organism that breaks down dead plant and animal material and puts nutrients into the soil

• organism that produces energy through photosynthesis

• organism that consumes other organisms for energy

• organism that lives in symbiosis with plants

apex predators

• organisms at the top of the food chain

• herbivores that consume plants

• omnivores that eat both plants and animals

• decomposers that break down dead matter

consumer

• organism that needs to eat other organisms to get energy

• organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis

• organism that decomposes dead matter for energy

• organism that relies on other organisms for shelter