Download Unit 12 Vocabulary

10% Rule
Only 10% of
the energy
present at
one feeding is
passed on to
the next
feeding level
Commensalism
A symbiotic
relationship
between
species in
which one
species is
helped and
the other is
unaffected
Energy
Pyramid
Diagram that
demonstrates
the flow of
energy
through a
food chain
Mutualism
A symbiotic
relationship
between two
species in
which both
species
benefit
Parasitism
A symbiotic
relationship in
which one
organism
(parasite) benefits
and the other (the
host) is generally
harmed but not
killed
Symbiosis
A close
relationship
between two
species
Producer
An organism that
can make it’s own
energy through
photosynthesis or
chemosynthesis
Primary
Consumer
In a food chain,
organisms that
eat producers
Secondary
Consumer
In a food
chain, an
organism that
feeds on
producers
(plant-eaters);
also called a
predator
Tertiary
consumers
In an ecosystem, a
predator that feeds
on other predators
Decomposers
An organism
that breaks
down tissue
and releases
nutrients and
carbon dioxide
back into the
ecosystem
Omnivore
an organism
that eats both
plants and
animals.
Herbivore
An organism
that feeds
only on
plants
Carbon Cycle
The continual
transfer of
carbon dioxide
and oxygen
between living
things and the
environment
Water Cycle
Cycle in which
water moves
through the
environment,
through the
process of
evaporation,
condensation
and
precipitation
Nitrogen
Cycle
In the
environment,
the movement
of nitrogen
between the
living and
non-living
parts of an
ecosystem
Natural
Selection
Process by which
organisms change
over time as those
with traits best
suited to an
environment pass
their traits to the
next generation.
Survival of
The Fittest
A natural
process
resulting in
the evolution
of organisms
best adapted
to the
environment
Food Chain
Series of stages that
shows the transfer of
energy from
producers to
consumers to
decomposers
Food Web
In an
ecosystem,
arrangement
of several
overlapping
food chains
Predator
Animal that
kills and eats
other animals
Host
Organism
that supports
a parasite
Parasite
Organism
that feeds on
cells, tissues
or fluids of
another
living
organism