Organisms and Environments 5.9A Interdependency Organisms and Environments 5.9A

Ecosystem A community of living and nonliving things in their natural environment.

Living Things that grow, change, produce waste, reproduce and die, such as plants and animals.

Nonliving Things that do not grow, change and reproduce. Ex: rocks, water, soil, minerals, air, and sunlight.

Any living thing; plant animal, fungus, bacteria, etc. Organism Any living thing; plant animal, fungus, bacteria, etc.

Producer An organism that uses mostly sunlight to make its own food for energy.

Consumer An organism that gets energy by eating other organisms (cannot make its own food).

Carnivore An animal that gets energy by only eating other animals.

An animal that gets energy by only eating plants. Herbivore An animal that gets energy by only eating plants.

Omnivore An animal that gets energy by eating both plants and animals.

Decomposer An organism that gets energy by using dead organisms, nonliving materials, or waste as food.

Symbiotic/Symbiosis A long-term relationship between two different kinds of organisms where one or both receive benefit.

Scavenger Consumers that feed on dead animals; such as vultures and hyenas.

Interdependency When elements within an ecosystem depend on each other to survive.

Parasite An organism that lives on or inside another organism and takes nutrients away from the organism (harmful).

Environment The living and nonliving things that are around an organism.