| Adaptation |
Changes made in the structure or function of an organism to suit its environment. |
| Carnivore |
Meat-eating animal. |
| Community |
Groups of different species living in the same area. |
| Competition |
Two or more species which require the same food or space to live in but do not eat each other. |
| Decomposer |
Fungi or soil bacteria that break down dead plant or animal material. |
| De-nitrifying bacteria |
Bacteria that convert nitrates back into atmospheric nitrogen gas. Not useful. |
| Efficiency |
A measure in percentages of how much energy is passed on from one trophic level to another. |
| Energy transfer |
When one organism is eaten by another some of the energy stored in its cells are passed on and used. |
| Food chain |
Connection between organisms based on who eats whom. |
| Food web |
A more complex system of connections based on predation, but links a number of food chains. |
| Haber process |
Industrial chemical process which takes nitrogen and hydrogen gases and produces ammonia. |
| Herbivore |
Plant-eating animal |
| Legume |
A plant that has root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria. e.g. clover. |
| Migration |
The movement, often seasonal, of animals or birds from one place to another. |
| Niche |
The site or 'function' occupied by an individual organism in the environment. |
| Nitrates |
Ion containing one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Used by plants and converted into many complex molecules. |
| Nitrifying bacteria |
Convert ammonia and ammonium compounds into useful nitrates. |
| Nitrogen-fixing bacteria |
Convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into useful nitrates. Many live in root nodules of Legume plants. |
| Omnivore |
Animal that eats plants and other animals. |
| Photosynthesis |
Process that produces glucose by combining carbon dioxide and water through the energy derived from the Sun. |
| Population |
The total number of individuals of one species living in a particular location. |
| Predator |
Animal that seeks out another animal for food. |
| Prey |
Animal that is killed and eaten by a predator. |
| Primary consumer |
A herbivore. An animal that eats a producer - a plant. |
| Producer |
Plants. They produce the first glucose and other molecules by photosynthesis. |
| Putrefying bacteria |
Decompose proteins and urea from animal and plant material into ammonia and ammonium compounds. Smelly! |
| Pyramid of biomass |
Diagram that shows the total mass of all the organisms at each stage or level of a food chain or food web. |
| Pyramid of numbers |
Diagram that shows the total numbers of organisms at each stage or level of a food chain or food web. |
| Secondary consumer |
Animal that eats the primary consumer. |
| Tertiary consumer |
Animal that eats the secondary consumer. |
| Top carnivore |
The carnivore that eats other animals but is not itself eaten by a higher predator. |
| Trophic level |
A stage in a food chain or food web. |