Ecology Vocabulary

5. An organism that can produce its own food & serves as a primary producer in a food chain
9. An organism that eats other plants or animals for energy/nutrients
10. All the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
11. An organism that mostly eats meat
13. An organism that breaks down dead organic material
14. Any non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment
17. Organisms that consume other organisms to obtain their energy
19. Any living thing
20. A larger organism that knowingly or unknowingly shelters another organism on or within its body
21. An organism that eats both plants and animals for their main food
22. A group of individuals that belong in the same species and live in the same area

1. The region of the earth that encompasses all living organisms
2. An organism that hunts and kills other animals for food
3. A community or group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment
4. An organism that mostly consumes decaying materials, such as meat or rotting plant material
6. Organisms that serve as a food source for other organisms
7. Any living organism that shapes its environment
8. Organisms that can make their own food in an ecosystem
10. The sequence of events in an ecosystem that transfer energy in the form of food from organism to organism
12. A group of species that are commonly found together
15. The position of an organism in the food chain
16. The study of organisms and how they interact with the environment around them
18. The natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism
20. An organism that mostly feeds on plants
22. Association between two different organisms where one benefits at the expense of the other