Science: Ecosystem

• Biotic factor


  The limited food source (ants) that antlions compete for
• Abiotic factor


  The limited resource (light) that plants compete for
• Symbiotic relationship


  A specific type of relationship where different species live together
• Ecological relationships can have significant impacts on populations of different species living together
• Consumers are also called as heterotrophs
• Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply
• Herbivore


  Animal that only eats plants
• Carnivore


  Animal that only eats meat
• Omnivore


  Animal that eats both plants and meat
• The suffix 'vore' in these words means 'to eat' or 'to devour'
• Herbivores


  • Dull or no canine teeth, big flat side and back teeth to crush and grind plants
  • Eye placement is more on the sides of their heads as they don't have to track down prey
• Carnivores

  • Long sharp canine teeth next to front teeth, sharp cheek teeth called carnassials
  • Eyes located in the front of their heads to spot and determine distance of prey
• Omnivores

  • Have eyes in the front to help spot prey, typically have canine teeth, can also have flat teeth and molars like herbivores
• Humans are typically omnivores
• Food chain


  The flow of energy from one living thing to another living thing
• Eating is not just for the deliciousness it brings, we need energy for whatever we do
• Every living organism on earth needs energy
• Photosynthesis


  The process where plants make their own food using carbon dioxide from air, sunlight and water from soil
• Herbivores


  Species that eat only plants and herbs
• Carnivores


  Lions and other species that eat other animals
• Producers


  • Plants that make their own food
• Primary consumers


  • Species that eat plants
• Secondary consumers


  • Species that eat the species that is dependent on plants directly
• Decomposers


  Bacteria and fungi in soil that decompose dead bodies and become nutrients used by plants
• Simple food chain


  A food chain that has one producer, one primary consumer, one secondary consumer and decomposers
• Food web


  A network of food chains by which nutrients and energy are passed on from one species to another
• Food chain


  Starts with a producer, which is an organism that is an autotroph and can make its own food. The producer is eaten by a primary consumer, which is a heterotroph that must feed on other organisms. The primary consumer is eaten by a secondary consumer, which is eaten by a tertiary consumer, and the food chain can keep going. The arrows point in the direction of the one doing the eating, which is the direction of the energy flow.
• An ecosystem doesn't typically have a single food chain, but instead, it has a food web, which is made up of multiple food chains that interact together
• Food web


  • Shows more interactions among a variety of producers and various level consumers, and can show biodiversity
• Decomposers are heterotrophs that eat dead things, and technically every arrow in a food web or chain would eventually point to them