Ecology Terms and Definitions
Producer
Organism that can make its own food-Autotroph (plants use photosynthesis). Source
of all food in the ecosystem. Gets energy from the sun.
Consumer
Organism that cannot make its own food-Heterotroph. Classified by what it eats.
Gets energy by eating other organisms.
Herbivore
Organism that is a Consumer/Heterotroph that only eats plants.
Carnivore
Organism that is a Consumer/Heterotroph that only eats animals (meat).
Omnivore
Organism that is a Consumer/Heterotroph that eats both plants and animals (meat).
Scavenger
Organism that is a Consumer/Heterotroph that eats dead animals.
Decomposer
Organism that is a Consumer/Heterotroph that breaks down dead organisms and
returns raw materials to the ecosystem.
Photosynthesis
The process during which plants, and some other organisms, use the sun's energy to change
carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugars (energy; food for itself).
Formula:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) + Water (H20) + Sunlight (Energy) + Chlorophyll = Oxygen (O2) +
Sugars
Abiotic
The non-living parts of a habitat. Ex. water, temperature, sunlight, soil.
Biotic
The living parts of a habitat. Ex. grass, plants, animals.
Habitat
The natural environment (living place) of an organism.
Ecology
The study of how living things interact with each other and with their environment.
Ecosystem
The community of organisms that live in a particular area along with their non-living
surroundings.
Autotroph
An organism that makes its own food. May use chemicals in the soil, photosynthesis,
etc.
Heterotroph
An organism that cannot make its own food. Consumes (eats) other organisms
and/or the food other organisms make. Ex. We are heterotrophs, we may eat
chicken, and we also eat eggs, which chickens make.
Food Web
Made up of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem.
Energy Levels
An organism gets energy when it eats, or uses photosynthesis, etc. An organism uses some of
that energy as it moves, grows, goes through its life activities. Producers get a greater amount
of the sun's energy than consumers do. The amount of the sun's energy is depleted (used up)
by each organism in a food chain, so the Consumer farthest away from the Producer gets the
least amount of energy.
Niche
The role of an organism in its habitat, how it survives/lives.
Predator
The organism that does the killing.
Prey
The organism that is killed.
Predation
An interaction in which one organism kills another for food.
Competition
The struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited
resource.
Symbiosis
A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species.
Mutualism
A relationship in which both species benefit.
Commensalism
A relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is not helped or
harmed.
Parasitism
One organism (parasite) living in or on another organism and harming it.
Organism
A living thing.
Community
All the different populations of organisms that live in an area.
Population
All the members of one species (specific type of organism) that are located in a
particular area.
Species
A group of organisms that are physically similar and who can mate with each other to
produce offspring who can also mate and reproduce.