Life Science Terms 2 Learn #13 Energy Flow and Cycles

autotroph

organism that makes its own

food, producers

1st order heterotroph

consumer that eats producers, herbivore

2nd order heterotroph

consumer that eats producers and other

organisms; omnivore

3rd order heterotroph

consumer that eats other animals,

carnivore

food web

shows all the energy pathways in an ecosystem

nitrogen cycle

the movement of nitrogen through the environment, living things and back again

carbon cycle

the movement of carbon through the environment, living things and back again

niche

an organisms job, it's relationship with the abiotic and biotic factors in the environment

energy pyramid

diagram shaped like a triangle, showing energy entering and the loss of energy at each level of the food chain

keystone species

An indigenous organism that an ecosystem largely depends on. If it were removed, the ecosystem would drastically change.