UNIT 12 VOCABULARY

10% Rule

Only 10% of the energy present at one feeding is passed on to the next feeding level

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship between species in which one species is helped and the other is unaffected

Energy Pyramid

Diagram that demonstrates the flow of energy through a food chain

MutualismA symbiotic relationship between two species in which both species benefit

ParasitismA symbiotic relationship in which one organism (parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is generally harmed but not killed

Symbiosis

A close relationship between two species

ProducerAn organism that can make it’s own energy through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Primary Consumer

In a food chain, organisms that eat producers

Secondary ConsumerIn a food chain, an organism that feeds on herbivores (plant-eaters); also called a predator

Tertiary consumersIn an ecosystem, a predator that feeds on other predators

Decomposers

An organism that breaks down tissue and releases nutrients and carbon dioxide back into the ecosystem

Omnivore

an organism that eats both plants and animals.

Herbivore

An organism that feeds only on plants

Natural SelectionProcess by which organisms change over time as those with traits best suited to an environment pass their traits to the next generation.

Survival of The Fittest

A natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment

Food ChainSeries of stages that shows the transfer of energy from producers to consumers to decomposers

Food WebIn an ecosystem, arrangement of several overlapping food chains

PredatorAnimal that kills and eats other animals

HostOrganism that supports a parasite

ParasiteOrganism that feeds on cells, tissues or fluids of another living organism

Environmental Conditions

The state of the environment at a specific time

Autotroph An organism

that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals

Hetertroph An animal

that can't make its own food supply, so they have to eat other things, like plants or other animals,