Reading: Ecosystems



Vocab

Carnivore: consumer that only eats other animals for food

Chemoautotroph: producer that uses energy from chemical compounds to make food by chemosynthesis

Detritivore: decomposer that consumes detritus

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 only eats producers such as plants or algae for food

Omnivore: consumer that eats both producers and other consumers for food

Photoautotroph: producer that uses energy from sunlight to make food by photosynthesis

Saprotroph: decomposer such as a fungus or protozoan that feeds on any remaining organic matter that is left after other decomposers do their work

Scavenger: decomposer that consumes dead organisms and other wastes