Sam - Ecology crossword

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Across
  1. 2. The study of the feeding relationships within an ecosystem.
  2. 3. An organism that breaks down dead organic matter (like plants and animals) into simpler substances, releasing nutrients back into the environment, essentially acting as nature's "clean-up crew".
  3. 5. A group of organisms that can interbreed with each other and produce fertile offspring.
  4. 7. A large geographical region characterized by distinct climate, vegetation, and animal life.
  5. 8. An organism that cannot produce its own food and must rely on other organisms (like plants or animals) for sustenance.
  6. 10. A group of different species living in the same area and interacting with each other.
  7. 14. The study of the relationships between living organisms and their physical environment, examining how organisms interact with each other and with the non-living components of their surrounding.
  8. 15. The part of the Earth where life exists, encompassing all living organisms across the planet, including the air, land, and water.
  9. 16. An animal that primarily eats plants.
  10. 20. An organism that eats both plant and animal matter.
  11. 21. The study of a group of individuals of the same species living in a specific geographical area at a given time.
  12. 22. An organism that cannot produce its own food and must rely on other organisms, like plants or animals, for nutrition.
  13. 24. A complex network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem, illustrating how energy is transferred between different organisms through their feeding relationships.
Down
  1. 1. The biological process where plants, algae, and some bacteria use sunlight energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (sugar) and oxygen.
  2. 4. The study of the relationships between living organisms (biotic factors) and their physical environment (abiotic factors), including how they interact with each other and how they are influenced by their surroundings.
  3. 6. An organism that feeds on dead and decaying organic matter (detritus), breaking it down into smaller particles and playing a crucial role in nutrient recycling within an ecosystem.
  4. 9. An organism that can produce its own food using simple inorganic materials like carbon dioxide and water.
  5. 10. The process where organisms, typically bacteria, produce food (organic matter) by using chemical energy from inorganic compounds, like hydrogen sulfide or methane, instead of sunlight as in photosynthesis.
  6. 11. A graphical representation of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem, typically showing the flow of energy at different trophic levels.
  7. 12. An answer key would provide the correct definitions for each term included in the question.
  8. 13. The study of living organisms and their interactions within the food chain.
  9. 17. An organism that primarily obtains its nutrition by eating the flesh of other animals.
  10. 18. The total mass of living organisms within a given area or ecosystem at a specific time.
  11. 19. A linear sequence of organisms where energy is transferred from one organism to another, starting with a producer (like a plant) and moving through different levels of consumers (herbivores, carnivores) until reaching the top predator.
  12. 21. An organism that can create its own food, typically through photosynthesis using sunlight, and is considered the base of a food chain.
  13. 23. A community of living organisms (biotic factors) within a specific area, interacting with each other and their non-living environment (abiotic factors) as a single functional unit.