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Food webs & Energy flow
Food webs & Energy flow
What is the original source of energy for most ecosystems?
What gas do plants take in during photosynthesis?
Answer: Carbon dioxide
What is the term for the role an organism plays in its environment?
Answer: Niche
What is one way humans harm ecosystems?
Answer: Pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing, etc.
What is the difference between a population and a community?
Answer: A population is one species; a community is multiple species in an area
What type of organism makes its own food using sunlight?
Producer or autotroph
What process moves water from plants into the atmosphere?
Answer: Transpiration
What type of symbiosis benefits both species?
Answer: Mutualism
What is biodiversity, and why is it important?
Answer: Variety of life in an ecosystem; more biodiversity = more stability
What is an invasive species?
Answer: A species introduced to a new area that outcompetes native species
In a food chain, what is the role of a herbivore?
Primary consumer
What is the main way that carbon enters the atmosphere?
Answer: Respiration or burning fossil fuels
What is the difference between a predator and a parasite?
Answer: Predators kill their prey, parasites harm but don’t usually kill their host
What is one positive way humans help the environment?
Answer: Recycling, conservation, reforestation, protecting species
What is primary succession?
Answer: When life starts on bare rock, like after a volcanic eruption
Why are decomposers like fungi and bacteria important in an ecosystem?
They break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients
What organism helps "fix" nitrogen so plants can use it?
Answer: Bacteria in the soil
Give an example of competition in an ecosystem.
Answer: Two animals fighting for food, territory, or mates
How does deforestation affect the carbon cycle?
Answer: Fewer trees = more CO₂ in the air, leading to climate change
What biome has the most biodiversity?
Answer: Tropical rainforest
Explain why there are fewer top predators than producers in an ecosystem.
(Answer: Energy is lost as heat at each trophic level, so less energy reaches top predators
Name two ways humans disrupt the carbon cycle.
Answer: Burning fossil fuels and deforestation
What happens when a keystone species is removed from an ecosystem?
Answer: The ecosystem may collapse or dramatically change
What is bioaccumulation, and why is it dangerous?
Answer: Toxins build up in organisms, increasing as they move up the food chain
What is one way climate change is affecting ecosystems?
Answer: Rising temperatures, habitat loss, stronger storms, species extinction