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Food Web
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Food Chain | A sequence of living things in which each one feeds on the living thing below it. |
| Food Web | A model made of intersecting food chains. |
| Photosynthesis | A process by which plants use sunlight to make sugar from carbon dioxide and water. |
| Producer | A living thing (almost always a plant) that takes energy from the sun and makes its own food. They are found in the first level of a food web. |
| Apex Predator | An animal found at the top of a food web and is not eaten by any other animals. |
| Decomposer | Living things that break down dead and decaying organisms. The most common decomposers are bacteria and fungi. |
| Bacteria | Tiny living things that are everywhere around us. We can only see them with a very powerful microscope. They come in different shapes such as rods, spirals, and spheres. Bacteria are important in an ecosystem to break down dead and decaying matter. |
| Fungi | A fungus is a living thing that helps break down dead and decaying matter. More than one fungus are called fungi. Some familiar fungi are mushrooms, mold and yeast. |
| Extinction | A living thing that is no longer found alive anywhere on Earth today. |
| Compost | Compost is usually made by gathering plant material such as leaves and vegetable peels into a pile and letting it decompose over many months thanks to bacteria and fungi. The resulting substance can be used as a fertilizer for plants. |
| Herbivore | Plant-eating animal. |
| Carnivore | Animal that eats herbivores. |
| Overhunting | Can make an ecosystem out of balance |