Food Webs and Energy Flow
What organism type makes its own food through photosynthesis?
Producers
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum population size an environment can support
What gas is most responsible for climate change?
Carbon Dioxide (Co2).
What symbiotic relationships benefits both species?
Mutualism
The variety of life in an ecosystem
What percentage of energy is typically transferred to the next trophic level?
10%
What type of population growth forms an S-shaped curve?
Logistic growth
What is biomagnification?
The increase of toxins in organisms at higher trophic levels.
What type of interaction occurs when one organism benefits and the other is harmed?
Parasitism
Why are ecosystems with high biodiversity usually more stable?
More species increase resilience to disturbances
Teritiary consumer
Name one density-dependent limiting factor
Disease, competition, predation, parasitism
How do fertilizers cause eutrophication.
Excess nutrients cause algal blooms that reduce oxygen levels.
What is competition?
Organisms fighting for the same limited resources
What is primary succession?
Ecosystem development where no soil exists
Why are food chains usually limited to only a few trophic levels?
Energy is lost as heat at each transfer
What usually happens when a population exceeds carrying capacity?
Population crash/resource depletion
What is one major effect of deforestation?
Habitat loss, reduced biodiversity, increase Co2, soil erosion
How do predators help stabilize ecosystems?
They control prey populations and maintain balance
What is secondary succession?
Ecosystem recovery where soil already exists
If all producers disappeared from an ecosystem, what would happen?
The food web would collapse because no energy would be entering the ecosystem.
What is the difference between exponential and logistic growth?
Exponential growth is unlimited; logistic growth level off due to limiting factors
They out compete native species and disrupt ecosystem balance.
What is resource partitioning?
Why are keystones species important?
They have a large effect on ecosystem stability despite small population size