Principles of Ecology Crossword

Study of the interactions among living things and their surroundings
collection of all the different populations living in one area
collection of living and nonliving things in an area
region of organisms characterized by the climate conditions and plant communities that thrive there
living things, such as plants, animals, fungi, bacteria
nonliving factors in an ecosytem (examples: moisture, temperature, wind, sunlight, soil, and minerals)
variety of life within an area
organism that has an unusually large effect on the ecosystem
organism that obtains its energy from abiotic sources, such as sunlight or inorganic chemicals
organism that obtains its energy from abiotic sources-also called producer
organism that obtains its energy and nutrients by eating other organisms
organism the obtains its energy and nutrients by consuming other organisms-also called a consumer
Model linking organisms by their feeding relationships
Organism that only eats plants
Organism that obtains energy by only eating animals
organism that eats both plants and animals
organism that eats dead organic matter
detrivore that breaks down organic matter into smaller compounds, returning nutrients back into the ecosystems. (
level of nourishment in a food chain
Model that shows a complex network of feeding relationships with an ecosystem
pathway of water from the atmosphere to earth's surface, below ground, and back
Movement of a chemical through the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem
diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers and other trophic levels