Pre-AP Biology Food Webs Key Vocabulary

An interaction between two organisms who are fighting for the same limited resources

Competition

Often represented by a + and a - when discussing interactions between organisms

Parasitism

An organism in any biome or ecosystem that does not have any natural predators

Apex Predator

The level above tertiary consumer on a food web

Quaternary consumer

The interaction between a clownfish and sea anemone is a common example of this type of symbiosis where both organisms benefit

Mutualism

A single path on a food web that starts at a producer on the bottom and ends with a top predator

Food chain

Another term for a producer, which is an organism that can create its own food/energy

Autotroph

A term that is shared by all of the trophic levels above producers on a food web

Consumer

Another term for a consumer (an organism that must eat other organisms to get energy)

Heterotroph

Arrows on a food web always point from _ to _

Prey to predator