Energy Pyramid
What is an energy pyramid-- what does it help to show?
An energy pyramid 🔺 gives a visual representation of the relative amount of energy available at each level of an ecosystem. The size of each layer shows how much energy is available--> ex.) producers have THE MOST stored energy.
What's the difference between abiotic and biotic?
What is an ecosystem COMMUNITY?
A community is a group of ALL the living species in the same location. Communities are bound together by a shared environment and impact each other as they live so closely together.
What is an ecosystem's biome?
A biome is a form of an ecosystem in which a large land area with a distinct climate and plants and animal species exists. The ecosystem is ALL of the living and non- living components in an area.
What is the carbon cycle?
The carbon cycle is nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again. Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms.
The energy from AUTOtrophs comes from....?
the SUN! 🌞😎🌱🌿
Why are abiotic and biotic factors important to an ecosystem?
Biotic factors (like autotrophs or self-nourishing organisms such as plants) make up the diversity of producers and consumers that create an ecosystem.
Abiotic factors affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. Abiotic factors can make or break the growth of populations.
WHat is a NICHE ("neesh") and how does it fit into an ecosystem? ⭐BONUS 300 pts: What is the niche of the wolf in Yellowstone Park>
A NICHE ("neesh") is the JOB or ROLE an organism has in its ecosystem. For example, the wolf is the apex predator in Yellowstone Park. Without it, the whole food web falls apart!
Name 4 types of biomes.
Savanna/tropical grassland, prairie, tundra, coniferous OR temperate deciduous forest, desert, and rainforest.
Why is the carbon cycle important?
The carbon cycle is important in ecosystems because it moves carbon, a life-sustaining element, from the atmosphere and oceans into organisms and back again to the atmosphere and oceans.
Autotrophs are also known as...?
PRODUCERS! They make THEIR OWN food.
How do biotic factors affect the population?
Biotic factors refer to the living or once-living organisms in an ecosystem and their impacts such as predation, competition, food supply, human impacts and parasites. Environmental factors such as rainfall, climate, predators, shelter and food availability can change.
What is niche?
A grey squirrel.
What biome do we live in? How do you KNOW?
The temperate deciduous forest. We are in the Eastern United States and have FOUR SEASONS (like the infographic says).
How does the carbon cycle work step by step? (***Must use words: photosynthesis, food chains, plants & animals.)
Through the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to produce food made from carbon for plant growth. Carbon moves from plants to animals. Through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from their food too.
Why is there a different amount of energy at each pyramid level? ⭐ BONUS 300 pts: which level has the LEAST energy, and what's the label of that level?
Each time energy is transferred from one organism to the next organism (aka eaten), energy is LOST from the system.
BONUS: top level: apex predator/tertiary consumer
How have humans altered (changed) biotic factors in a negative way? (*** think CLIMATE CHANGE)
What is habitat? Give an example.
A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an organism needs to survive. For an animal, that means everything it needs to find and gather food, select a mate, and successfully reproduce like a forest, a pond, the ocean, a desert, the mountain, etc.
Where is the tundra located?
Arctic tundra are found on high-latitude landmasses, above the Arctic Circle—in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia.
What are THREE ways we could help REDUCE our carbon "footprint" as a way to help our atmosphere/aka the carbon cycle?
Carpooling, ordering less delivery items (Amazon, DoorDash, etc.), walking/biking places instead of driving, planting more trees, using alterative energy sources (solar, renewable, nuclear, etc.)
Explain the predator-prey relationship in an energy pyramid, using the vocabulary consumer and producer.
The predator hunts/eats their prey. The predator is a CONSUMER and their prey is either a different CONSUMER or a PRODUCER, depending on where they lie on the pyramid.
Name 3 biotic and 3 abiotic components in an ecosystem?
Biotic factors are living things within an ecosystem: all plants, animals, and bacteria.
Abiotic are non-living components: water, soil, air, sun, temperature, PH, etc.
What is "population" in an ecosystem?
Population is ALL the organisms in the area that belong to THE SAME species. For example, a group of zebras, a flock of seagulls, a herd of buffalo, a population of antelope, or the humans in a particular city.
What is the savanna? ⭐BONUS: What Disney movie showcases this biome?
It's a tropical grassland containing scattered trees and drought-resistant undergrowth. Lions, leopards, elephants, ostrich, etc. live here. The Lion King makes it famous!
What are the 3 main scientific processes of the carbon cycle?