Energy flow/trophic levels

Biogeochemical cycles

Essential for life; demonstrate conservation of matter.

Producers

Autotrophs like plants, lichens, and algae that create food from inorganic matter and convert sunlight into chemical energy.

Consumers

Heterotrophs that cannot create their own food and consume either producers or other consumers.

Primary Consumers

Animals that eat plants (herbivores).

Secondary Consumers

Animals that eat primary consumers (carnivores & omnivores).

Tertiary Consumers

Animals that eat secondary consumers (top/apex predators).

Decomposers

Organisms like fungi and bacteria that recycle dead organic material using extracellular digestion.

Detritivores

Heterotrophs that consume detritus, decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces.

Chemosynthesis

Process where bacteria use inorganic compounds to obtain energy and make carbohydrate molecules, similar to photosynthesis but using hydrogen sulfide (H2S) instead of sunlight.