VOCABULARY
What is the difference between a BIOTIC and ABIOTIC factor in an ecosystem?
Biotic= Living (or dead...something that was living at one point)
Abiotic= non-living
What organism has the greatest amount of energy in an ecosystem?
Prodcuers
What is the smallest level of organization in an ecosystem?
Organism
List the three types of symbiotic relationships in an ecosystem
Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism
Animals at the very top of a food chain are often called...
Apex Predators
List three factors that help determine a BIOME
Each Biome has different factors that allow it to be unique. These include...
-Climate, Vegetation (types of plants), Amount of sunlight, altitude, temperature, location on Earth
This is the amount of energy that gets transferred from one trophic level to the next.
10% of energy gets transferred from one trophic level to the next
What is an Ecosystem?
The community of organisms that live in a particular area, along with their nonliving surroundings (biotic and abiotic factors).
Teammates” is a word used to describe this kind of symbiotic relationship
Mutualism
Which food chain correctly describes the flow of energy in an ecosystem?
A. Grass-->cow-->human
B. Caterpillar-->leaf-->human
C. Cow-->grass-->human
D. Leaf-->bird-->caterpillar
A. Grass-->cow-->human
Define Ecology
the study of ecosystems, the interactions among organisms and the interactions between organisms and their environment
Which factor would have the greatest effect on the flow of energy into an ecosystem? A. a large decrease in the amount of sunlight available B. a large increase in the number of carnivores C. a small increase in the number of decomposers D. a small decrease in the amount of minerals available
A. a large decrease in the amount of sunlight available
What is a population?
All the members of one species in a particular area.
Beetles cut off a tree’s circulation by feeding on the tree’s phloem, a tree part that moves sugars made during photosynthesis. What type of symbiotic relationship is this?
Parasitism
Although decomposers don't exactly fit into a food chain, they are important in the environment because they...?
make vital nutrients available to an ecosystem’s primary producers—usually plants and algae.
Without decomposers, dead leaves, dead insects, and dead animals would pile up everywhere
What is a Niche?
Give an example of the niche of an organism in its ecosystem.
The role of an organism in its habitat, or how it makes its living
Some of the energy taken in by an organism is not available to other organisms in a food web. Energy that is not available to other organisms in a food web is energy that is...
- Used up by the animal
-Lost to the environment as heat
Give an example of a community found in a forest ecosystem
Community= All the different populations that live together in an area.
Answers will vary...
Emperor shrimp seek out sea cucumbers and attach themselves to them. As sea cucumbers move across the ocean floor, they give the emperor shrimp protection from many predators. The shrimp conserves energy by using the sea cucumber as a form of transportation. Sea cucumbers are not greatly impacted. Name this type of symbiotic relationship.
Commensalism
One season, there was a shortage of producers in a food web. As a result, the number of deer and wolves decreased. The reason that both the deer and wolf populations declined is that...
organisms in this food web are interdependent
What is the difference between a HABITAT and a MICROHABITAT?
Habitat= An environment that provides the things an organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce
Microhabitat= a small area which differs somehow from the surrounding habitat. Has a very specific set of Abiotic and Biotic factors.
Describe a predator-prey relationship. How do they impact each other?
Predators get energy from prey. Predators hunt prey. When number of prey in an ecosystem is great, the number of predators may increase, because there is more food available to them. When the number of predators increases, the number of prey decreases. Then, the number of predators decreases because there is not enough food to support them. It's a cycle!
List 5 of the 7 characteristics of a living thing.
1. All living things have cells
2. All living things reproduce.
3. All living things sense and respond to change.
4. All living things maintain homeostasis.
5. All living things use energy.
6. All living things grow.
7. All living things adapt to their environment.
How is PREDATION different than PARASITISM?
Predation= when one animal hunts and eats another animal as food. Very important interaction that happens in an ecosystem, but not one of our symbiotic relationships.
Parasitism= a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
What is biodiversity so important in an ecosystem?