ecosystem levels
The study of how organisms interact with living and nonliving things in their environment is called what?
Ecology
What do we call it when one organism hunts, kills, and eats another organism?
Predation
What organisms form the base of every food web?
Producers
Why are producers so important in every ecosystem?
They are the only organisms that can make food from nonliving things (water and carbon dioxide).
What do we call it when two or more organisms of different species have a close relationship that benefits at least one of the organisms?
Symbiosis
If you remove the producers from a food web, what happens?
Everything in the food web dies because it either eats the producer or eats an organism that ate the producer.
What causes a new trait to appear in a population?
Mutation
What do we call a group of organisms that are so closely related that they can reproduce with one another AND produce fertile offspring?
A species
What do we call it when more than one organism tries to get the same needed resources in an area?
Competition
What makes an organism a first-level consumer?
It eats a producer.
What are the reactants of photosynthesis?
Water and carbon dioxide
What are the three types of symbiosis?
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
If you remove an population from the food web, what happens to the populations that are eaten by the missing population?
Those populations now have one less predator, so they will increase in size.
How do organisms pass on their traits to their offspring?
Through their genes
All of the populations that live in an area is called what?
The community
When do we call it when members of two or more species have a close relationship that benefits at least one of the organisms?
Symbiosis
How can an organism have more than one role in a food web?
It eats more than one level of organism.
What are the products of photosynthesis?
Sugar and oxygen
What is it called when organisms from two different species have a close relationship and both organisms benefit?
Give an example.
Mutualism
clover/bee
zebra/oxpecker
clownfish/anemone
If you remove a population of organisms from a food web, what happens to the populations that eat the missing organism?
Those populations are now missing a food source, so they will decrease in size.
If a new trait gives a population an advantage in its ecosystem, how will this affect the competitors of the changed population?
They will not be able to compete as effectively, so their population will get smaller.
What do we call the community PLUS the nonliving things in an area?
An ecosystem
What is the role of the wolf in its relationship with the moose?
The predator
What two important things do decomposers do in an ecosystem?
They clean up the environment by breaking down dead organisms.
They enrich the soil and air by returning minerals like carbon and nitrogen to them, which helps the producers.
What is the role of sunlight in photosynthesis?
It is the energy required to make the chemical reaction happen.
Photosynthesis is very endothermic and requires much light energy to happen.
Light energy is ONLY used for photosynthesis - all other energy the plant needs is from glucose.
What is it called when organisms from two different species have a close relationship and one species benefits from the relationship, but the other is neither helped nor harmed?
Give an example.
Commensalism
shark/pilot fish
barnacle/whale
orchid/tree
If you remove a population from a food web, what will happen to the populations that eat the same thing as the missing population?
Those populations will have one less competitor, so they will increase in size.
The organisms who have the best traits will be more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on the traits to their offspring. What is this called?
Natural selection
What do we call the members of a species that live in the same area called
A population
What is the role of the moose in its relationship with the wolf?
The prey
What are the three main groups of decomposers?
Fungi
Bacteria
Earthworms
What chemical reaction is the opposite of photosynthesis?
Cellular respiration
In cellular respiration the cells break down glucose to release energy. It is a very exothermic reaction.
What is it called when organisms from two different species have a close relationship that benefits one organism, but harms the other?
Give an example.
Parasitism
tick/deer
mistletoe/tree
mosquito/human
What happens if you remove the decomposers from a food web?
Dead organisms will pile up and the soil/air will become depleted of needed minerals like carbon and nitrogen.
Over time, a new, helpful trait will become more common in the population. What do we call this change in a population over time?
Evolution
All of the same type of ecosystem found in the world are called what?
A biome
What do organisms compete for?
Food
Water
Shelter/Space
Mates (if they reproduce sexually)
How is a food web different from a food chain?
It is more complex and realistic. A food web contains many connected food chains.
Where in the cell do photosynthesis and cellular respiration happen?
Photosynthesis happens in the chloroplasts.
Cellular respiration happens in the mitochondria.
Why isn't it symbiosis when a mother animal takes care of her offspring?
They are not two different species.
How can one organism have more than one role in a food web?
The organism eats different foods that are at different levels.
When most organisms reproduce, they produce far more offspring than can possibly survive and the offspring need to compete for resources to determine who survives. What do we call it when they produce so many offspring?