Vocabulary

Decomposer:An organism, often a bacterium or fungus that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, thus making organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.

Consumer: An organism that generally obtains food by feeding on other organisms or organic matter due to lack of the ability to manufacture own food from inorganic sources.Examples of consumers; primary: herbivores that feed on producers (plants); secondary: consumers that feed on consumers or producers; tertiary: consumers that feed on secondary and primary consumers, as well as on producers.

Producer: An organism capable of producing complexorganic compounds from simple inorganicmolecules through the process of photosynthesis (using light energy) or through chemosynthesis (using chemical energy).

Biotic factors: living organisms in an ecosystem. Some examples are plants, trees, mammals and insects.

Abiotic factors:nonliving things in an ecosystem. Some examples are light, temperature, and wind.

Some organisms have lifelong relationships with other organisms, called symbiotic relationships. There are three different types of symbiotic relationships: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

  • Mutualism: both partners benefit. An example of mutualism is the relationship between the clown fish and the sea anemone. In tropical waters, the clown fish seeks protection in the stinging tentacles of the sea anemone. The clown fish in turn entices prey closer to the tentacles for the sea anemone’s meal.
  • Commensalism: only one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed. For example, remora fish are very bony and have a dorsal fin (the fin on the back of fish) that acts like a suction cup. Remora fish use this fin to attach themselves to whales, sharks, or rays and eat the scraps their hosts leave behind. The remora fish gets a meal, while its host gets nothing.
  • Parasitism: One organism (the parasite) gains, while the other (the host) suffers. A tick is a parasite. It attaches to a warm-blooded animal and feeds on its blood. Ticks need blood at every stage of their life cycle. They also carry Lyme disease, an illness that can cause joint damage, heart complications, and kidney problems. The tick benefits from eating the animal's blood. Unfortunately, the animal suffers from the loss of blood and nutrients and may get sick.