Ecosystems Jeopardy Template

Ecosystems

Producers

Consumers

Food chains
and Food Webs

Invasive
Species

Ecosystem
Disruption

Define the term 'biotic factor'

Double Point Bonus: name a biotic factor you can find in a wetland ecosystem

Biotic factors are the living parts of an ecosystem

DPB: any living thing in a wetland. plants, animals, bacteria, fungi

How do producers obtain food?

Double Point Bonus: What is the scientific term for a producer?

They make their own food using energy from the sun

DPB: Autotroph

How do consumers obtain food?

Double point bonus: what is the scientific term for a consumer?

By eating other organisms

DPB: Heterotroph

Arrows in a food chain or food web point...

In the direction of energy flow. From the source of energy to the organism consuming it.

What is an invasive species?

A species that is introduced to a new place and once established has a negative impact on the ecosystem.

Name one human activity that can disrupt an ecosystem.

Land clearing
Overfishing
Pollution
Introducing invasive species
Urban development / urban sprawl
Using fertilisers or pesticides
Mining
Agriculture
Burning vegetation
Causing climate change

Define the term 'abiotic factor'

Double or Nothing: Name an abiotic factor in a desert ecosystem

Abiotic factors are the non-living components of an ecosystem

Double or Nothing: Sand, sunlight, air, temperature, water, etc.

what is the name of the process that producers use to make food?

Photosynthesis

define the following terms:

Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore
Detritivore
Decomposer

Double Point Bonus: Give an example of each

Herbivore: Only eats plants/producers
Carnivore: only eats other animals
Omnivore: Eats both plants and animals
Detritivore: Eats dead organisms
Decomposer: breaks down dead organisms outside their body and then absorbs the nutrients

What type of organism is at the bottom of a food chain?

Double or Nothing: name the next trophic level in a food chain

A producer

DoN: Primary consumer

Why was the cane toad introduced to Australia?

To control the cane beetle that was eating the cane sugar crops in Queensland.

The food web shows the feeding relationships in a marine arctic ecosystem. Global warming is causing the krill population to decrease. Predict two effects this may have on other organisms.

Krill is the primary food source of both the baleen whale and the penguin. A decline in the krill population will increase competition between both species (interspecific competition) and between individuals of each species (intraspecific competition). Increased competition will result in a decrease in the population of both species due to restricted food supply.

Define these terms:

Organism
Population
Community

Organism: A single, individual living thing, such as one bacterial cell, one oak tree, or one deer.

Population: A group of individuals belonging to the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Community: All the different populations of various species that live and interact together in a shared environment.

Producers, like plants, need three things to perform photosynthesis.

What are the three things?

Double Point Bonus: The inputs of a chemical reaction like photosynthesis are called what?

Carbon dioxide (from the air)
Water (from the ground)
Sunlight

DPB: "reactants'

Explain what a predator-prey relationship is and give an example.

Double Point Bonus:
Explain the following symbiotic (close) relationships between organisms

Commensalism
Parasitism
Mutualism

The relationship between two animals where one, the predator, eats the other, the prey.

Commensalism: a close relationship where one organism benefits from the relationship and the other is unaffected

Parasitism: a close relationship where one organism benefits from the relationship (the parasite) and the other is harmed (the host)

Mutualism: a close relationship between two organisms where both benefit

Identify a food chain in this food web and state who is the producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc.

Accept relevant food chains.

1st level = producer

2nd level = primary consumer

3rd level = tertiary consumer

4th level = quaternary consumer (if applicable)

What does 'biological control' mean?

Double Point Bonus: Explain how it works

Using a living organism (or disease) to control the population of an organism that is invasive.

DPB:
Predation - introducing an organism that eats the target organism to bring down the population. Works best when the control organism only eats the target organism (e.g. Cactoblastis moth eats only prickly pear. Decreased the population of prickly pear without affecting other species)
Disease - introducing a pest, virus, or bacteria to the target organism population. Works best if the disease is specific to the target organism, spreads easily in a population and kills the organism (e.g. myxomatosis for rabbits)

What is land clearing? Give two examples of how can it affect organisms.

Land clearing is the removal of vegetation from an area, often to make space for agriculture, buildings or roads.

It can:

Destroy or reduce habitat
Remove food sources
Cause populations to decrease
Reduce biodiversity
Increase soil erosion
Disrupt food chains and food webs

What are the 6 survival needs of all organisms:

1. N___________
2. W___________
3. S___________
4. G___________
5. S___________ L___________ C____________
6. R____________

Double Point Bonus: Name the gas that humans need for cellular respiration (the way we create energy)

1. Nutrition
2. Water
3. Shelter
4. Gases (for life processes)
5. Suitable Living Conditions
6. Reproduction (access to mates)

DPB: Oxygen

What is produced by photosynthesis (the products of the reaction)?

Glucose (sugar used for food) and oxygen (released into the air)

What is the difference between interspecific and intraspecific competition.

Interspecific: competition between individuals of different species

Intraspecific: competition between individuals of the same species

Identify the herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores in this food web.

Herbivores: rabbit, deer, caterpillar, grass hopper
Carnivores: fox, snake, frog, bird, owl, hawk, lion
Omnivores: there are none

Give two kinds of impacts that invasive species have on ecosystems.

Biodiversity loss through predation and poisoning: Invasive species often hunt native wildlife to near extinction, or poison them if eaten.

Invasive species aggressively outcompete native animals for food, water, and shelter. Because they have no natural predators to limit their numbers, they consume resources faster than native species, often causing native populations to starve or lose their habitats.

Some invasive species physically ruin the environment (habitat destruction). For example, feral pigs and rabbits dig up soil, destroy native plants, and cause erosion, which ruins the homes and shelters of native animals.

Invasive species can bring new pests, viruses, or bacteria (diseases) into an ecosystem. Native plants and animals have no immunity to these new diseases, which can cause them to get sick and die out very quickly.

A disease wipes out the population of kingfishers in this ecosystem. Predict what will happen to the snails.

With the loss of the kingfishers, frogs no longer have a predator. This will lead to an increase in the frog population. A bigger population of frogs means that there are more frogs eating snails. The snail population will decrease.

Ecosystems provide the things that organisms need to meet their survival needs (abiotic and biotic factors).

Compare the factors available in a desert and a rainforest

Desert:
abiotic - Water is very limited, Temperature changes a lot between day and night, lots of sunlight, sand
biotic - few producers (limited food), animals are highly adapted, few decomposers due to lack of water.

Forest:
abiotic - water is regularly available from rain and usually permanent rivers or lakes, temperature is moderate and influenced by vegetation, Sunlight varies depending on position (high - canopy, low - forest floor)
biotic - lots of producers (abundant food), lots of consumers, lots of decomposers

A plant is placed in a dark cupboard for several days. Predict what will happen to its ability to photosynthesise and explain why.

The plant will stop photosynthesising. If left in the dark indefinitely, the plant will die. Light energy is required for photosynthesis to occur.

Explain the purpose of decomposers in the ecosystem.

Double or Nothing: Name an organism that is a decomposer (NOT a detritivore).

Decomposers break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients back into the soil (land) or water (aquatic ecosystems) for producers to absorb to use for growth.

DoN: Fungi or Bacteria

Explain why the population of apex predators is always smaller than the population of primary consumers.

DBP: Explain the reason for this.

Because there is less energy available to sustain predators at higher trophic levels.

At each level of a food chain only 10% of the energy that the animal got from eating is available to pass on. Because they use the energy for life processes and lose a large portion of it as heat.

Australians brought in 102 toads from South America to eat the cane beetles that were destroying sugarcane crops. Instead, the toads ignored the beetles, hopped away, and multiplied into over 200 million today.

Explain how the Cane Toad became an invasive species

They took over so quickly due to four main advantages:

They secrete a highly toxic slime. Because native Australian predators (like goannas and quolls) have no immunity to it, they die instantly if they try to eat a toad.

A single female can lay up to 35,000 eggs at a time, completely outnumbering native frogs.

They will eat anything that fits in their mouth, including insects, small mammals, and pet food.

No native predators or diseases to keep their population under control.

An ecosystem is affected by a severe drought (no rain).

Predict three changes that could occur in the ecosystem and explain why they might happen.

Plant populations decrease
Less water means plants may struggle to survive and reproduce.

Herbivore populations decrease
There may be less vegetation available as food.

Predator populations decrease
With fewer prey available, predators may have less food.

Competition increases
Organisms may compete more intensely for limited water and food.

Some organisms migrate
Animals may move to another area where water and food are more available.

Some populations may increase
For example, if a drought reduces a predator population, its prey could potentially increase.

Biodiversity may decrease
Species that cannot tolerate the conditions may die or leave the ecosystem.

Water-dependent habitats may shrink or disappear
This can reduce available habitat for aquatic or semi-aquatic organisms.