Producers
What is the name of the producer in the kelp forest that uses sunlight to make its own food?
Kelp
What is the term for a consumer that eats only plants?
Herbivore
What is the role of decomposers in an ecosystem?
Break down dead plants and animals to return nutrients to the soil.
What is a food chain?
A simple, single pathway showing how energy flows in an ecosystem.
What type of organism is kelp?
A producer or autotroph
What process do producers like kelp use to create their food?
Photosynthesis
What is the primary consumer that eats kelp in the kelp forest?
Sea Urchin
Name a decomposer found in the kelp forest.
Bacteria
What is a food web?
A network of interconnected food chains showing how energy flows in an ecosystem.
What is the term for the underwater ecosystem formed by kelp?
Kelp forest
Name two other producers in the kelp forest besides kelp.
Phytoplankton or algae
What is the role of a secondary consumer in the food chain?
Eats primary consumers (herbivores)
What would happen if decomposers were removed from the kelp forest ecosystem? Please provide a specific, detailed answer.
Nutrients would not be recycled, and the ecosystem would become imbalanced.
Which is more accurate for describing the kelp forest: a food chain or a food web?
Food web
A food web is more accurate because it shows multiple interconnected energy pathways in the ecosystem. In the kelp forest, many organisms, like sea urchins, fish, and snails, eat kelp, and predators like sea otters and sharks eat multiple types of prey. A food chain only shows one pathway, while a food web represents the complexity of all the interactions.
Food Web:
What are the three main parts of kelp?
Blades, stipe, and holdfast
Why are producers important in an ecosystem?
They provide energy for herbivores and the rest of the food chain.
Name a secondary consumer in the kelp forest.
Rockfish or certain fish species,
Name two types of decomposers in the kelp forest.
Bacteria and fungi
What does an arrow represent in a food chain or food web?
The flow of energy
What happens to the kelp forest when sea otters are removed?
Sea urchin populations explode, destroying the kelp and collapsing the ecosystem.
What does a producer need to perform photosynthesis? Name all three components.
Sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water
What is the name of the keystone predator in the kelp forest?
Sea Otter
Predict what would happen to the Kelp forest ecosystem if decomposers, like bacteria, were removed. Explain your reasoning.
Without decomposers, dead plants and animals would not be broken down, and nutrients would not be recycled back into the ecosystem. This would prevent producers like kelp from getting the nutrients they need to grow, leading to the collapse of the ecosystem
Name an organism that can appear in multiple food chains within a kelp forest food web.
Kelp, sea urchin, or fish
What is the term for the role sea otters play in maintaining balance in the kelp forest?
Keystone species