The Science Of Ecology Crossword Puzzle

QUESTIONS LIST:

• detritus : substance composed of dead leaves, other plant remains, and animal feces that collects on the soil or at the bottom of a body of water
• herbivore : consumer that eats producers such as plants or algae
• detritivore : decomposer that consumes detritus
• saprotroph : decomposer such as a fungus or protozoan that feeds on any remaining organic matter that is left after other decomposers do their work
• trophic level : feeding position in a food chain or food web, such as producer, primary consumer, or secondary consumer
• ecology : branch of biology that is the study of how living things interact with each other and with their environment
• habitat : physical environment in which a species lives and to which it has become adapted
• food chain : diagram that represents a single pathway through which energy and matter flow through an ecosystem
• omnivore : consumer that eats both plants and animals
• decomposer : organism that breaks down the remains of dead organisms and other organic wastes
• niche : role of a species in its ecosystem that includes all the ways the species interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors of the ecosystem
• scavenger : decomposer that consumers the soft tissues of dead animals
• food web : diagram that represents multiple intersecting pathways through which energy and matter flow through an ecosystem
• photo autotroph : producer that uses energy from sunlight to make food by photosynthesis
• chemo autotroph : producer that uses energy from chemical compounds to make food by chemosynthesis
• biotic factor : living aspects of the environment, including organisms of the same and different species
• biomass : total mass of organisms at a trophic level
• abiotic factor : nonliving aspect of the environment such as sunlight and soil
• carnivore : consumer that eats animals