Ecosystem Vocabulary

5. animal who eats both plants and animals for energy, ex. humans
8. water is evaporated from land, other surfaces, and plants into the atmosphere
10. when liquid water warms and turns into water vapor
13. aquatic, photosynthetic microbes, responsible for the oxygenation of the Earth
15. prepares barren land for larger organisms, ex. lichens
17. evaporation of water from plants
18. when water vapor cools and becomes a liquid, opposite of evaporation
20. microscopic autotrophic organisms who play a key role in aquatic ecosystems; responsible for 70% of Earth’s oxygen
22. organisms who convert chemicals into food in the absence of sunlight
24. produce their own food using light or chemicals
26. organism who eats secondary consumers, typically the top of the food chain/web

1. organism who eats primary consumers, have .5% of original energy
2. organism who consumes producers in the food pyramid, have 5% of original energy from the Sun
3. organisms who convert sunlight into food
4. animal who only consumes meat, other animals, ex. tigers
6. the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time, subdivided into producers, primary consumers, etc.
7. make their own food, syn. autotrophs
9. when organisms take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, breathing
11. organisms who break down dead organisms and waste and return nutrients to the soil
12. conversion of chemicals into food (glucose), typically done because of an absence of sunlight
14. organisms who eat other animals for food aka heterotrophs
16. conversion of sunlight into glucose, mainly used by land plants
19. triangle which shows how energy transfers from organism to organism
21. organism who obtains energy from dead plants and animals as well as fecal matter
23. when condensation makes clouds too heavy and water falls from the sky; depending on temperature, it can rain, snow, or hail
25. animal who only eats plants, ex. cows