Vocabulary
What do we call organisms that make their own food using the energy in sunlight?
producers
What do we call organisms that cannot make their own food?
consumers
What do the arrows in a food chain show?
It shows the direction of the flow of energy.
What is it called when organisms struggle for food, water, and other needs?
competition
____ are always at the bottom, or base.
producers
What do we call organisms that break down dead producers, consumers, and waste?
decomposers
The energy passes from one organism to another in this: _______.
food chain
Are food chains always long?
No, they can be short.
For example, leaves --> caterpillar --> caterpillar dies before being eaten by a bird.
In food webs, organisms are often ___, as well as ___.
predators, prey
The next level includes ____. They must eat a lot to stay alive.
herbivore
What shows how all the food chains in an ecosystem are connected?
food web
What do we call animals that only eat producers?
herbivores
Why are decomposers left out of food chain diagrams?
They take part in every step of the food chain.
What happens if there is too much competition for food?
One population would win out and others would die out.
The next level includes ____ and ____.
carnivores, omnivores
What do we call animals that eat producers and consumers?
omnivores
What do we call animals that only eat herbivores and omnivores?
carnivores
** Which is true?
1. The energy in a food chain passes from consumers to producers.
2. The energy in a food chain passes from producers to consumers.
2. The energy in a food web passes from producers to consumers.
** What can happen if there are too many organisms in a food web?
competition
** How much of a plant's energy passes to the next level animal, the herbivore?
10%
** How many roles are there in an ecosystem?
3
1. producers
2. consumers
3. decomposers
** Why is the job of decomposers important for the ecosystem?
They return substances to the ecosystem as nutrients.
** What happens to the plants and animals when they die?
Decomposers break them down.
** Is it only animals that compete?
Do plants compete?
Yes, they compete for nutrients in the soil and sunlight.
** Where does the rest of the energy in the energy pyramid go, if not to the animals?
Some is lost as heat, and some is passed as waste.