Ecosystem

• Bioaccumulation is the buildup of a chemical in a trophic level / organism over time.
• Biomagnification is the increase in the concentration of a contaminant up the trophic level / in different organisms
• Autotroph

  Another term for a producer
• Ecological roles

  • Predator
  • Prey
  • Producer
  • Primary consumer
  • Secondary consumer
  • Tertiary consumer
• Apex predators


  Top of the food web/chain and have no predators
• This shows a stable community because the population numbers increase and decrease in cycles and neither organism dies out
• Over-fishing by humans disrupts a stable community
• Species


  A group of organism that have similar physical characteristics that can breed together to produce fertile offspring
• Community


  A population of more than one species in a particular area
• Fertile


  Able to produce offspring
• A change in one population will affect many populations because of interdependence
• When the prey population increases

  The predators have more to eat. They survive longer and reproduce more
• Number of predators increases


  More predators eat more prey. Numbers of prey decrease
• There is not enough food for predators


  Their number decrease
• Fewer predators


  Means less prey are eaten. Numbers of prey increase
• Herbivore

  Only take energy from plants
• Omnivore

  Take energy from both plants and animal
• Carnivore

  Only take energy from animals
• heterotroph

  Another term for decomposer