Living Things and the Environment
An organism gets food, water, and shelter in order to
live, grow, and reproduce
The thick fur of a polar bear is an example of a(n)_____________ that allows the bear to live successfully in its environment.
adaptation
Ecosystem roles are based on the way organisms obtain energy. What are the names of the 3 energy roles in an ecosystem?
producer, consumer, and a decomposer
Which organism in an ecosystem, has the role of breaking down biotic wastes and dead organisms and returning the raw materials back to the ecosystem.
decomposers
The study of how living things interact with each other and with their environment is called ____________.
ecology
The parts of a habitat that are living are called __________.
The parts of a habitat that are nonliving are called __________.
biotic factors
abiotic factors
The struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resources is called ________________.
competition
What is one way to show how energy moves in an ecosystem?
food chain
Prairie dogs, snakes, and grass make up a level of an ecological organization called a ____________.
community
List 3 examples of biotic factors and 3 examples of abiotic factors
examples biotic: any living organism
examples abiotic: sunlight, water, soil, temperature, oygen, salt, rocks
Name 3 things that a niche includes
any 3 examples:
type of food the organism eats, how it obtains its food, what other organisms eat the same food, how and when an organism reproduces, or the physical conditions the organism needs in order to survive
Most producers and consumers are part of many food chains. What is the diagram called that shows many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem?
food web
A hawk building a nest on the arm of a cactus without hurting the cactus is an example of the symbiotic relationship called ___________.
commensalism
Most people would never expect to see a prairie dog at the beach. Give 3 reasons why a prairie dog would not survive this habitat.
Example: no grass to eat, too wet, no grass to hide from predators
Competition is the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resources. Name one example of organisms that are in competition.
example: weeds and vegetables or flowers
other acceptable aswers
Consumers are grouped by what they eat. Name the 4 types of consumers
herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, scavenger
Using the food web on page 47 in your books, name:
a producer, a 1st-level consumer, a 2nd-level consumer, a 3rd level consumer, and a decomposer
producer: grasses
1st level: snail grasshopper, cray fish
2nd level: shrew, heron, garter snake, frog, red fox
3rd level: red fox
decomposer: mushrooms
The place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs is called its _____________.
habitat
Most organisms do not live all alone. Name the 4 levels that an ecosystem is organized from the smallest level to the largest level
organisms
populations
communities
ecosystems
Name the 3 types of symbiotic relationships
mutualism, commensalism, parasitism
Name 2 examples of a herbivore, a carnivore, an omnivore, and a scavenger.
herbivore: caterpillars, rabbits, deer
carnivore: wolves, walruses, snakes
omnivore: crows, bears, humans
scavenger: catfish, vultures
In a energy pyramid, the most energy is available at which level?
As energy moves up the pyramid what happens to the level of energy?
producer
Each level has less energy available than the level below.
A _______________ is all the members of one species living in a particular area.
population