Relationships in Food Webs Picture Vocabulary

Energy Pyramid Tertiary consumer Secondary Primary Producer A diagram that shows the trophic levels of organisms in a food web.

Seagull Fish Shrimp/Krill Water fleas Phytoplankton

Autotroph / A producer makes its own food, and is the basis for the food chain & food web. Examples: All plants, algae, and some types of bacteria

Phytoplankton Microscopic ocean PRODUCERS. At the base of ocean food webs. Use sunlight to make food, and also produce huge amounts of oxygen, which goes into the troposphere.

The SUN provides the energy for all the food chains on Earth. Producers use the sun’s energy to make their own food in the process of photosynthesis. Producers are at the beginning of every food chain & food web.

/ Primary Consumer

Heterotroph /

Zooplankton Tiny animals which eat phytoplankton (and other zooplankton), and are in turn, eaten by small fish, and then larger fish. Paraeuchaeta norvegica, a carnivorous copepod commonly found in fjords and North Atlantic waters

An organism that hunts and eats other organisms for its food. Predator Predator An organism that hunts and eats other organisms for its food.

An organism that is hunted and eaten by other organisms for food Prey Prey An organism that is hunted and eaten by other organisms for food

Parasite Organism that lives in or on a host organism, doing it harm (but usually not killing it). A tapeworm lives in the intestines of its host organism.

Host An organism that is used by another organism (parasite) for nutrients, shelter, or transport. The host organism is harmed by this relationship. Example: tick (parasite) on dog (host)

Biosphere “Bio” = “life” “Sphere” = ball-like structure The biosphere is the part of Earth that supports life

Ecosystem All of the living and nonliving things that interact in an area.

A nonliving part of an ecosystem Abiotic Factors Sunlight Air Land Living Space Water Soil /sand A nonliving part of an ecosystem

A living part of an ecosystem. Biotic Factors A living part of an ecosystem.

Biodiversity (Diversity) The number of different species of plants and animals in an area.

Habitat Place an organism lives. Where it finds shelter and food, and spends its life. A habitat can be a hole in a cactus or the underside of a fern leaf in rainforest. Or a habitat can be a large area of savanna.

Niche An organism’s particular role in an ecosystem, or how it “makes its living”.

Competition Occurs when many organisms within an ecosystem want to use the same resources and there aren’t enough to go around

Population Part of Earth that supports life. All biotic and abiotic factors in a community. All the populations in a specific area. All organisms of the same species in an area. One organism of a species.

Community All populations living in the same area.

Mutualism Symbiotic relationship in which both organisms involved benefit. In this example, the cleaner shrimp gets a meal by eating the parasites off of the queen angelfish, and the angelfish gets rid of parasites.

Lichen Organism made of a photosynthetic alga (or cyanobacteria) and a fungus that live in a close association with each other.

Invasive Species An invasive species, also known as an exotic or nuisance species, is an organism or plant that is introduced into a new environment, where it is not native In less than a decade, the Indo-Pacific lionfish has become widely established along the Southeast U.S. and Caribbean. Lionfish are presently invading the Gulf of Mexico and South America. Lionfish occupy the same trophic position as economically important species (e.g., snapper and grouper) and may hamper stock rebuilding efforts and coral reef conservation measures. Pacific Lionfish

Invasive Species - more examples Feral Pigs (Hogs) -- Feral pigs cause disturbance of vegetation and soil as a result of their rooting habits. The disturbed area may cause a shift in plant succession on the immediate site. Feral pigs also compete, to some degree, with several species of wildlife for certain foods. They reproduce quickly and have no natural predators. Zebra Mussels -- have caused alarming declines in populations of fish, birds and native mussel species, and can disrupt a city's entire water supply system by clogging the insides of pipelines. Zebra mussels also damage boat hulls, plug water systems used in boat motors, air conditioners and heads and cause navigation buoys to sink.

Ecological Succession Annual Perennial Shrubs Softwood Hardwood Plants Plants and Trees - Pines Trees Grasses Time Natural process by which one community of organisms slowly replaces another in a certain area

Pioneer Species First organisms to live in an area. Lichens growing on a rock Moss First organisms to live in an area. Usually very small organisms, such as mosses and lichens.

Limiting Factor Environmental factor that limits population sizes in a particular ecosystem Examples: water, sunlight, food, living space

Climax Community Mature large organisms (trees) that are established when the community reaches a stable point where very few plants can colonize.