| A | B |
|---|
| Autotrophs | An organism that can make its own food. |
| Producers | Autotrophs that make up the first level of the food chain |
| Photosynthesis | The process in which autotroph use light energy to convert carbon dioxide water into glucose and oxygen |
| Chemosynthesis | A process in which an autotroph uses chemical energy to produce food for itself |
| Heterotrophs | Organisms that consumer other organisms for energy |
| Consumer | Also know as heterotrophs |
| Herbivores | Organisms that obtain energy by consumer only plants |
| Carnivores | Organisms that obtain energy by consumer only animals |
| Omnivores | Organisms that obtain energy by consuming plants and animals |
| Detritivores | Organisms that obtain their energy from the remains of dead plants and animals |
| Decomposers | breakdown dead plants and animals |
| Food chain | A simple series of steps showing how organisms eat or are eaten |
| Food web | A complex network of interactions in a community that links all food chains together |
| Trophic levels | The steps in the food chain |
| Biomass | The amount of living tissue within a given trophic level |
| Nutrients | Chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life |
| Primary production | The rate at which organic matter is created by the producers |
| Limiting nutrient | A nutrient that becomes scarce or in short supply in a community |
| Algal bloom | The sudden, immediate increase in the amount of algae |
| Eutrophication | The increase in primary production as a result of the increase of nutrient levels |
