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Vocab 18.3
Energy Transfer
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Producer | An organism that can make organic molecules from inorganic molecules; a photosynthetic or chemosynthetic autotroph that serves as the basic food source in an ecosystem |
Chemosynthesis | The production of carbohydrates through the use of energy from inorganic molecules instead of light |
Gross Primary Productivity | The rate at which organic matter is assimilated by plants and other producers during a period of time over a certain area |
Biomass | Any organic material that has been produced in an ecosystem |
Net Primary Productivity | The rate at which biomass accumulates in an ecosystem |
Consumer | An organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients or obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources |
Herbivore | An organism that eats only plants |
Carnivore | An organism that eats animals |
Omnivore | An organism that eats a variety of other organisms, including animals and plants |
Detritivore | A consumer that feeds on dead organisms or on the parts or wastes of other organisms |
Decomposer | An organism that feeds by breaking down organic matter from dead organisms; examples include bacteria and fungi |
Trophic Level | An organism's relative position in a sequence of energy transfers in a food chain or food pyramid, examples include producers and primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers |
Food Chain | The pathway of energy transfer through various stages as a result of the feeding patterns of a series of organisms |
Food Web | A diagram that shows the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem |