Key Terms

What is an ecosystem?

A natural system made up of plants, animals and the environment.

What is a local ecosystem?

An ecosystem on a small scale known as a habitat, such as a pond or woodland.

What is a regional ecosystem?

AN ecosystem on a medium scale, such as a moorland area.

What is a global ecosystem?

An ecosystem on a large scale, such as a moorland area.

What does biotic mean?

The living components of an ecosystem.

WHat does abiotic mean?

The non-living components of an ecosystem.

What is a biome?

a large-scale ecosystem covering a large area of the earth’s surface.

What is a (primary) producer?

An organism or plants able to convert energy from the sun by photosynthesis.

What's a consumer?

An organism that eats herbivores and/or plant matter.

What is a primary consumer?

A plant eating insect or animal such as a cow.

What is a carnivore?

Animals which feed on herbivores such as foxes or cats.

What is a top carnivore?

Animals which hunt and will eat other carnivores in the ecosystem, as well as herbivores. These included lions and wolves.

What is a decomposer?

An organism such as bacteria or fungus, that breaks down dead tissue, which is then recycled back into the environment.

What is a food chain?

The direct links between producers and consumers on the form of a line.

What is a food web?

The connections between producers and consumers in a complex way with several branches.

What is biomass?

The quantity or weight of organisms in a given area or volume.

What is biodiversity?

The variety of life in the world, or particular habitat/ecosystem.

What is nutrient cycling?

A set of processes where organisms extract minerals necessary for growth from soil or water, before passing them on through the food chain and ultimately, after death, back into the soil and water.

What are trophic levels?

Any of the sequential stages in a food hain, occupied by producers at the bottom in turn by primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Decomposers are sometimes considered to occupy their own levels. The rate at which energy is transferred from one level to the next is called the ecological efficiency.

What is physical linkage?

A link between different parts of the ecosystem that are physical, eg. Animals eating plants.

What is chemical linkage?

A link between different parts of the ecosystem that are chemical, eg. Mild acids in rainwater speed up the decay of dead leaves.

What is the difference between scavengers and detrivores?

Scavengers feed off the dead organic matter / animal excretion and detrivores help return the nutrients to the soil (in the form and organic substance called humus)