Annaleis Pauletti - Trophic Levels Notes (student)

Energy

The ability to do work or function. Represented by the arrows in a food chain/web.

Trophic Level

The place an organism has in the food chain. Examples:producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, apex predator

Food Chain

A diagram that shows a single pathway of energy from one organism to another in an environment.

Food Web

A diagram showing the interconnections of many different food chains in an environment.

Energy Pyramid

A diagram that shows the flow of energy in an ecosystem and demonstrates how food energy decreases as you move up.

Equilibrium

A stable situation in which biotic and abiotic factors are balanced. If an ecosystem is in this, the populations will not change much.

Producer

An organism that can make its own food/energy. Also known as an autotroph. Example:plant

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce glucose (food) and oxygen.

Consumer

An organism that feeds on other organisms. Also known as a heterotroph. Examples:herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, etc.

Herbivore

A consumer that ONLY eats plants. Example:bunny, deer, grasshopper

Carnivore

A consumer that ONLY eats other animals. Examples:tiger, lion, shark

Omnivore

A consumer that eats both plants and animals. Examples:bears, humans, box turtle

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down the cells of dead organisms and returns the nutrients to the soil. Examples:bacteria, fungi

Detritivore

A special kind of consumer that eats detritus (decaying plant and animal material). Example:worm, flies, crabs, millipedes

Scavenger

A special kind of carnivore that eats carrion (meat from the dead animals, they don’t kill it). Examples:vultures, hyenas