Limiting Factors
Name one limiting factor that could affect a population of lions living in the African savannah.
Many possible answers: food/prey availability, temperature, space, competition with other large predators, hunting/poaching, habitat loss, water availability, shelter, climate change, etc.
Which factor is most likely to lower carrying capacity for a species of reindeer?
A. Unlimited food
B. More competition for food
C. Fewer predators
D. More plants
B. More competition for food
Which organism in this food chain would be considered a producer?
Grass
Which of the following best describes a producer in an ecosystem?
A. An organism that eats other animals
B. An organism that breaks down dead matter
C. An organism that makes its own food
D. An organism that eats plants and animals
C. An organism that makes its own food
Any non-living factor in an ecosystem.
Abiotic
If a population has lots of limiting factors, their carrying capacity will...
A. Increase
B. Decrease
On a population graph, how can you tell where the carrying capacity (K) is?
It's where population growth levels off, plateaus, or flattens out.
Which organism in this food chain would be considered a secondary consumer?
Frog
An organism that feeds on primary consumers (herbivores) for energy is called a __________________.
Secondary consumer
Any resource or environmental condition—such as food, water, space, or temperature—that restricts the size, growth, or distribution of a population within an ecosystem.
Limiting Factor
Which of the following limiting factors is abiotic? Pick ONE answer choice.
A. Bacteria
B. Air
C. Oak Tree
D. Grass
B. Air
Which limiting factor would most likely decrease the carrying capacity of a deer population in a forest?
A. Increased rainfall
B. Predator population increase
C. More trees for shelter
D. Warmer temperatures
B. Predator population increase
Which organisms in the food web (desert) would be considered primary consumers?
Termite, Kangaroo Rat, and Lizard
Tertiary consumers eat _________________.
Secondary consumers
The maximum population size an environment can sustainably support over time.
Carrying Capacity
Which of the following limiting factors is biotic? Pick ONE answer choice.
A. Rocks
B. Sand
C. Water
D. Mushrooms
D. Mushrooms
If all of the caterpillars in the temperate forest food web die, what will happen to pine voles?
Many potential answers! You can basically answer anything here, but you must EXPLAIN your reasoning.
Pine Voles Increase -- There's more plants for the pine voles to eat now that the caterpillars are dead.
Pine Voles Decrease -- Now that the foxes don't have any caterpillars to eat, they will eat even more pine voles.
Pine Voles Stay the same -- Without competition from caterpillars, there's more plants for the pine voles to eat, so pine voles will increase. But also, the foxes will be hungrier without caterpillars to eat, and the foxes will eat more pine voles. In the end, the pine vole population will more or less balance out.
Name every tertiary consumer in this food web (desert).
Coyote, Red-tailed Hawk, Rattlesnake, Striped Skunk, Roadrunner
These organisms are often left out of food webs or put on the side, because every arrow would point to them.
Decomposers
An organism that eats both animals and plants.
Omnivore
Name four limiting factors that could affect a population of elm trees in a forest.
Many possible answers! Sunlight, water availability, rainfall, space, temperature, soil nutrients, etc.
Cause and effect are a part of how the world works.
Our actions affect other living things, because we live in an __________________ world.
Interconnected
Find an organism in this food web (temperate forest) that is both a secondary and tertiary consumer.
Bobcat AND/OR Gray Fox
List all five trophic levels, in order.
1. Producer
2. Primary Consumer
3. Secondary Consumer
4. Tertiary Consumer
5. Quaternary Consumer
You could also list decomposers at any point, but they're usually added to the beginning or end of the trophic level list.
An organism that eats tertiary consumers.
Quaternary Consumer