Ecosystems
Living things in the environment are ____________
Nonliving parts of the environment are ___________
biotic factors ; abiotic factors
A characteristic that makes an individual better suited to a specific environment may eventually become common in that species through a process called
natural selection
Why are decomposers not always included in food webs
because they break down all living things and all arrows would eventually point to them
Two examples of Freshwater ecosystems
Two examples of Saltwater ecosystems
Lakes/ponds, rivers/streams, wetlands
estuaries and oceans
The number of different species in an area is called the area’s
biodiversity
a group of organisms that can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce.
species
Two squirrels in a park fighting over some seeds is an example of __________
A shark eating a seal for nutrients is an example of __________
competition ; predation
True / False: Energy moves through an ecosystem when one organism eats another.
True / False: Consumers are classified by what eats them.
True ; False
Estuaries are where freshwater meets saltwater, the result is slightly less salty water called ____________ water.
brackish
a species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem
keystone species
all the squirrels in a park is an example of
a population
True / False: The role of an organism in its habitat is its niche.
True / False: Cows are considered predators to grass.
true ; true
An organism that makes its own food is a ____
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms is a ____
_____ break down biotic wastes and dead organisms and return the raw materials to the ecosystem
producer ; consumer ; decomposer
A ________ is a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms. Climate is the average _____ and amount of _______ in an area that determines its biome.
biome ; temperate ; precipitation
The disappearance of all members of a species from Earth is called _____. Species in danger of becoming extinct in the near future are called _____. Species that could become endangered in the near future are called _____.
extinction; endangered ; threatened
All of the Squirrels, birds, bugs, trees, shrubs, and other living things in a park are an example of a
community
A bird eats insects off a buffalo’s back. The bird gets food; the buffalo loses pests. This relationship is an example of
mutualism
____only eat plants; _____only eat other animals; _____ eat both plants and animals; _____ a carnivore that eats the bodies of dead organisms.
herbivore; carnivore; omnivore; scavenger
What are the two types of Rain Forest?
What are two types of Grasslands?
Tropical Rainforest; Temperate Rainforest
Tropical Grasslands (Savanna); Temperate Grasslands
The illegal killing or removal of wildlife from their habitats is called
poaching
All of the squirrels, bird, bugs, trees, shrubs, rocks, and soil in the park is an example of an
ecosystem
A tick on a deer. The tick gets nutrients and the deer may become ill. This relationship is an example of
parasitism
True / False: The most energy is available is the tertiary consumer level.
True / False: As energy moves up the pyramid, each level only gets 90% of the previous level’s energy.
F - producer; F - 10%;
This biome experiences moderate temperatures and moderate precipitation; many of the trees here lose their leaves when seasons change.
This biome experiences colder temperatures and is located farther north; many trees here are conifers.
Temperate (Deciduous) Forest; Boreal Forest
the loss of a natural habitat is called
habitat destruction
List the 5 levels of ecological organization from least complex to most complex
Remora fish and sharks. Remora fish eat scarps and the shark does not notice the little fish attached to it. This relationship is an example of
commesalism
_______ is a series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy.
_______ consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem.
-- a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from from one feeding level to another in a food web is called a _______________
food chains ; food webs ; energy pyramid
This biome receives less than 25cm of rain a year and experiences extremes in temperature.
This biome is extremely cold and dry; it is characterized by having permafrost.
desert ; tundra
Breaking larger habitats into smaller, isolated pieces, or fragments, is called
habitat fragmentation