Energy Transfer and Succession 1.21.25

Tuesday's daily notes for environmental science

Carnivore

An organism that eats only other organisms (meat).

Herbivore

An organism that eats only plants.

Omnivore

An organism that eats both plants and animals.

Producer

An organism that produces its own food using sunlight through photosynthesis.

Consumer

An organism that must eat other organisms to obtain energy.

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down dead matter and returns nutrients to the environment.

Detritivore

An organism that feeds on dead organisms and organic waste.

Energy Transfer

The flow of energy through a food chain or food web, from producers to consumers.

Food Chain

A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Food Web

A complex network of feeding relationships and energy flow in an ecosystem.

Niche

The role or job an organism plays in its environment.

Laws of Thermodynamics

Principles that describe energy transfer in ecosystems.

Source of Energy on Earth

The Sun is the primary source of energy that drives ecosystems.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their physical environment interacting as a system.