ecosystems key terms

Question	Answer
ecosystem	the living and non-living components of an environment and the interrelationships that exist between them
producers	convert energy from the environment into sugars. the most obvious example of producers is plants
consumers	obtain their energy from the sugars made by the producers. e.g. pond snail.
food chain	shows the links between producers and consumers.
food web	this shows the connections between producers and consumers in a more detailed way.
scavengers	when living elements (plants and animals) of an ecosystem die, scavengers break them down and recycle them for nutrients. scavengers eat dead animals and plants.
decomposers	are usually bacteria and fungi, they also recycle nutrients. they breakdown the remaining plant and animal material, often returning the nutrients to the soil.
nutrient cycle	plants and animals use nutrients to grow. when they die scavengers and decomposers return the nutrients to the soil making the useful again

Resource summary

	Created by williamsedgwick almost 11 years ago