An organism that creates its own food rather than eating other organisms to obtain food; forexample, a plant.

An animal that eats only plants

The place where an animal or a plant naturally lives or grows and that provides it with everything it needs to grow

When living organisms move from one biome to another. It can also describe geographic population shifts within nations and across borders.

A feeding level within a food web

A consumer that eats other animals. For example, wolves and orca are carnivores

A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.

All the stages in the life of a plant or animal organism, between life and death.

Preserving and carefully managing natural resources so that they can be used by present and future generations. We conserve resources by using them more efficiently, with minimum waste.

Supplies of biological organisms that can be replaced after harvesting by regrowth or reproduction of the removed species, such as seafood or timber

An organism that hunts another living thing for food

Fuel formed over millions of years from compression of the decayed remains of living matter.Coal, oil, and natural gas are fossil fuels

The network of interactions that link together the living and non-living parts of an environment

The totality of a closely related number of individual organisms that belong to the same species and live in the same geographical area and interact with each other through sexual (or asexual for bacteria) reproduction

A method for describing how foodenergy passes from organism to organism. The description establishes a hierarchy of organisms where each feeds on those below and is the source of food for those above

An organism that breaks down (decomposes) dead or waste materials, such as rotting wood, dead animals, or animal waste and returns important nutrients to the environment.

Any animal that preys on food predators have killed, or food recently discarded

Something that cannot be replaced once it is used or that may take many hundreds of years to be replaced.

The way that an organism fits into an ecosystern, in terms of where it lives, how it obtains its food, and how it interacts with other organisms.

An organism, such as an animal, that must obtain its food by eating other organisms in its environment; can be a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore.

An organism that feeds on large bits of dead and decaying plant and animal matter. For example, earthworms, dung beetles, and wolverines are detrivores.

The amount of resources or energy used by a household

An organism that is hunted by a predator.

A condition where structures or systems are in complete balance. A state of rest or balance, in which all opposing forces are equal

Material that is to be broken down or decomposed by natural processes into simpler compounds. Natural processes include exposure to sun, water, and air.

The region where a river flows into the ocean and fresh river water mixes with saltwater.

Large regions of Earth where temperature and precipitation are distinct and certain types of plants and animals are found.

An animal that eats both plants and animals.