Food Webs and Biogeochemical Cycles Unit 9 Vocabulary Food Webs and Biogeochemical Cycles

The process by which cells break down sugar to release stored energy Term Example/ Drawing Definition The process by which cells break down sugar to release stored energy Cellular Respiration The process by which the cells of plants and some other organisms uses the sunlight to make their own food. Photosynthesis

Term Example/ Drawing Definition A network of food chains in an ecosystem Food Webs An organism that makes its own food from sunlight through the process of photosynthesis Autotroph/ Producer Heterotroph/ Consumer An organism that gets its food by eating another consumer

Term Example/ Drawing Definition Trophic Level The position that an organism occupies in a food web Primary Consumer Organisms that eats autotrophs/ producers Secondary Consumer Organism that eats primary consumers Tertiary Consumer Organism that eats secondary consumers

An organism that gets energy by breaking down dead organisms and the wastes of living things Decomposer

The movement of carbon among living organisms, the air, and the ground Term Drawing/ Example Definition The graphical representation of the trophic levels by which the incoming solar energy is transferred in an ecosystem Energy Pyramid The movement of nitrogen among living organisms, the air, and the ground Nitrogen Cycle The movement of carbon among living organisms, the air, and the ground Carbon Cycle