Ecology - Consumers, Food Chain and Relationships Between Organisms

Ecology

The study of how how biotic and abiotic factors interact with each other

Autototrophs

are producers

Heterotropths

Consumers

Producers (autototrophs)

make their own food (plants)

Consumers (heterotrophs)

consume/eat their food (animals)

3 types of consumers

Herbivores, Carnivores, Omnivores

Herbivores

eat plants only (deer)

Carnivores

eat animals only (wolves)

Omnivores

eat plants and animals (raccoon)

Decomposers

break down/consume dead things for nutrients (bacteria, fungus)

Scavengers

eat dead animal and plant matter

Detritivores

Eat detritus

Detritus

decomposing matter

Food Chain

A single chain of organisms that eat each other, always start with a producer

Food Web

multiple food chains in an ecosystem

6 Kingdoms

Animals, Plants, Fungi, Archaea, Bacteria, Protists

Dominant Species

Biggest biomass, always producers, removal can cause decreased biodiversity

Keystone Species

Affect population, can be plants or animals

Indicator Species

Organisms easily affect by changes in environment, indict a problem (amphibians)

Ecosystem Engineers

Species that cause dramatic changes to landscape that it can create new ecosystems (beavers)

Species

Large group of similar organisms

Alien Species

Species that are accidentally or deliberately moved to a new location

Invasive Species

Species that can take over the habitat of native species, bad

Symbiosis

Relationship between organisms where at least one benefits

Trophic/Energy level

Describe an organism's feeding position within a food chain or food web

Archea

Single-celled, prokaryotic microorganisms that are similar to bacteria

Protists

Single cells or multi-celled eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi

Bacteria

single celled microorganisms

Animals

multicellular organisms belonging to the biological kingdom Animalia

Plantae

Multicellular organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis

Pyramid Of Energy

As you go up the food chain, the available energy in the trophic level becomes smaller