Carrying Capacity
What is carrying capacity?
The largest number of animals or plants an ecosystem can support.
How does the hydrologic cycle work?
Water moves through the air, land, and oceans by evaporating, forming clouds, and falling as rain.
What gives energy to most ecosystems?
What is group behavior?
Animals working together to stay safe or find food.
Name two factors that can affect the carrying capacity of an ecosystem.
Food, water, space, or predators.
What do decomposers do?
They break down dead plants and animals, putting nutrients back into the soil.
What is the difference between producers and consumers?
Producers make food from sunlight. Consumers eat plants or other animals
What is one good thing about group behavior?
Animals are safer from predators.
How does a population exceeding its carrying capacity affect the ecosystem?
Food and water can run out, and some animals might die.
Name three cycles in nature.
Water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle.
What is a food web?
A group of plants and animals that are connected by what they eat.
How does group behavior help animals survive?
Working together helps animals find food and raise babies.
What is a keystone species?
A special animal or plant that helps keep the ecosystem balanced.
How does the carbon cycle affect the Earth’s temperature?
Too much carbon in the air makes the Earth hotter.
How much energy moves to the next level in a food chain?
About 10%.
How do animals like wolves or dolphins use group behavior?
They hunt together to catch bigger prey.
How can humans change the carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
Cutting down trees, polluting water, or building cities can make it harder for animals to survive.
How do nutrients move through an ecosystem?
Plants take nutrients from the soil, animals eat plants, and decomposers return nutrients to the soil.
What happens to energy as it moves up the food chain?
Energy gets smaller at each level, so there are fewer predators than prey.
Why do animals use communication in groups?
To warn each other about danger and to work together.