Ecology Vocab #3

Word	Part of Speech	Definition	Example
fauna	noun	The animal life in an area	rabbits
flora	noun	The plant life in an area	flowers
Food web	noun	Many food chains put together to show how energy flows through the ecosystem	Shows the relationships between the animals
Food chain	noun	The order in which animals feed on plants and other animals (shows how energy flows from producer-consumer-decomposer)	Prey, predators; less complicated than a food web
population	noun	All the members of one species that live in one area	The number of turtles living in a pond
predator	noun	a n animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals	A lion, a tiger
prey	noun	An animal that is hunted, killed and eaten by a predator	A more defenseless animal: bunny, mice
producer	noun	An organism that can makes its own food	Plants use photosynthesis
Primary consumer	noun	Animals that eat primary producers; they are also called herbivores (plant eaters)	Giraffes eat grass
Secondary consumers	noun	Animals that eat primary consumers; can be carnivores and omnivores	A duck
Tertiary consumers	noun	A carnivore at the top of the food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers	Great white shark