Biology - Chapter 3 Energy & Matter In Ecosystems

Energy

the ability to do work (cause some kind of change)

Ecosystem

a complex web of interconnected biotic and abiotic components

Food Chain

a sequence that links by their feeding relationships

Carnviores

only eat animals

Omnivores

eat both plants and animals

Detritivores

organisms that eat detritus or dead organic matter

Decomposers

organisms that break down organic matter into simpler compounds (return vital nutrients to environment)

Trophic Levels

levels of nourishment in a food chain.

Food web

what models the complex network of feeding relationships between trophic levels within an environment

Biomass

the mass or weight of living tissue, which is commonly subdivided into five fundamental trophic levels forming the basic food chain

Pyramid Models

show/represent patterns of energy & matter distribution at the organism and ecosystem levels

Trophic Efficiency

the percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next

Energy Pyramid

models the transfer of energy beginning with producers and working up the food chain to the top-level consumer

Biomass Pyramid

compares the biomass at different trophic levels within an ecosystem

Pyramid of Numbers

shows how many individual organisms are present at each trophic level in an ecosystem

Primary Producer

An autotroph organism producing complex organic matter, using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Primary Consumers

the consumers that make up the second trophic level (also called herbivores)

Secondary Consumers

largely carnivores that feed on primary consumers or herbivores

Tertiary Consumer

those that eat the secondary consumers (large predators)

Quaternary Consumer

a quaternary consumer is an animal that consumes at the very top of the food chain, after the primary consumer.