FOOD WEB
DEFINITIONS
You should refer to this page whenever you are unsure what a scientific term means. You are responsible for knowing what all these terms mean, for being able to use them when we play the game and during class discussions about the ecological concepts presented in this unit of study. Please read through all these definitions so you are familiar with them in class discussions, then return to the home page.
abiotic factor : a non-living factor that affects an organism. Examples might be temperature, water, oxygen, or sunlight.
biotic factor : a living factor that affects an organism. Examples might be another organism, predators, food availability, or reproduction.
consumer : any organism that eats another organism. An example is you, your dog, a worm, or apes.
producer : any organism that can convert solar energy from the sun into chemical energy. This is done through the biological process known as photosynthesis. Examples are all plants. Note that some plants are also consumers, such as the Venus fly trap.
trophic level : the energy level at which an organism is feeding. This level is determined by tracking the movement of energy (that was first captured from the sun by a plant) through a chain of organisms to a specific consumer. The trophic level increases by one each time one consumer eats another consumer. An example could be the cobra eats a mouse to capture energy. The mouse eats wheat grains to capture energy. The wheat captured energy not by eating another organism but by turning the solar energy of sunlight into the chemical energy within the seeds (starches and sugars). The wheat is defined as a producer. The mouse and cobra are consumers. In this example, the mouse is eating at the first trophic level since it is eating a plant (a producer). The cobra is eating at the second trophic level because it is eating an organism on the first trophic level.
When you are done looking at the definitions, click on the baboon and return to the home page.
