Predators that maintain the balance of other species within the ecosystem.
Trophic Cascade
Ecological phenomenon triggered by the removal or addition of top predators, causing changes in the ecosystem through the food chain.
Green World Hypothesis
Hypothesis stating that predators control the number of herbivores.
Food Chains
Illustrate a single pathway of feeding relationships.
Food Web
Represents the complex relationships between multiple species and their various feeding interactions.
10% Law
As energy transfers through trophic levels, 90% is lost, with only 10% retained. This loss occurs due to metabolic reactions, growth and repair, movement, and heat.
Energy Flow
The movement of energy through the food chain.
Energy Pyramid
Measured in kcal/m2/yr, it represents the amount of energy transferred through trophic levels.
Biomass Pyramid
Measured in kg or tons/m2, it quantifies the amount of organic matter in an organism.
Number Pyramid
Considers the size and quantity of organisms being measured.
Niche
The role of an organism within the ecosystem (e.g., producers, consumers).
Habitat
The physical environment inhabited by an organism (e.g., deserts, forests, shores, marshes, savannahs, oceans).
Ecosystems
Characterized by the interaction of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) factors. Biotic factors include all populations within a habitat, such as plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. Abiotic factors include temperature, water, soil, and air.
Producers
Plants, algae, phytoplankton, and certain bacteria/archaea are autotrophs, meaning they produce their own food.
Autotrophs
Employ two main processes for food production:
Photosynthesis: Converts inorganic molecules into organic molecules using light energy.
Chemosynthesis: Converts inorganic molecules (e.g., sulfide, methane, nitrates, nitrites) into organic molecules without light.
Consumers
Heterotrophic organisms that obtain energy by consuming other organisms.
Herbivores: Consume only producers.
Carnivores: Consume other animals (hunters).
Omnivores: Consume both producers and consumers.
Decomposers: Break down dead organic matter, keeping the environment clean.
Saprotrophs
Molds and fungi that perform external digestion by releasing enzymes into dead matter and then absorbing the nutrients.
Detritivores
Organisms that consume detritus (small dead particles), such as worms, maggots, and ants. They perform internal digestion.
Scavengers
Animals that feed on dead animals (corpses), such as vultures, hyenas, and beetles. They perform internal digestion.
Symbiosis
Any close and long-term interaction between two or more species where at least one species benefits.
Can be positive or negative: It's never negative for both species involved. Either both benefit, or one benefits while the other is harmed.
Mutualism
An ecological interaction where both species involved benefit. For example, the relationship between bees and flowers (+/+).
Commensalism
A long-term interaction where one species benefits, and the other is neither harmed nor benefited. For example, frogs using plants for protection (+/0).
Parasitism
A relationship where one organism (the parasite) lives on or in another organism (the host), harming the host and adapting structurally to this lifestyle (+/-).
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