Ecological relationships
An organism benefits while the other is harmed.
Parasitism
This level contains organisms that make their own food using sunlight.
Producers
What is an omnivore?
This organism eats both plants and animals.
Plants take in this gas from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide
The variety of different species in an ecosystem is called this.
Biodiversity
Both organisms benefit from the relationship between bees and flowers.
mutualism
Only about this percentage of energy is transferred to the next trophic level.
10%
If a population of rabbits increases, this organism that eats rabbits will likely also increase.
predator
Bacteria in the soil convert nitrogen gas into a usable form for plants in this process.
nitrogen fixation
Cutting down large areas of forest is an example of this type of environmental change.
deforestation
A bird builds a nest in a tree. The bird benefits, but the tree is not affected.
commensalism
A hawk eats a snake, the snake eats a mouse, and the mouse eats grass. The hawk is at this trophic level.
tertiary consumer
Removing all predators from a food web would most likely cause this to happen to prey populations.
overpopulation
Burning fossil fuels increases the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
carbon dioxide
Introducing a new species that outcompetes native species is called this.
invasive species
Two species of birds compete for the same nesting space. This interaction is an example of this ecological relationship.
competition
If producers in an ecosystem decrease, what will most likely happen to higher trophic levels?
they will decrease due to less available energy
A disease kills many primary consumers. This will most likely cause this change in producers.
an increase in producer populations
Excess fertilizer runoff into lakes often leads to algal blooms. This disrupts the nitrogen cycle and causes this environmental problem.
eutrophication
A decrease in biodiversity makes ecosystems less able to recover from disturbances. This property is called this.
stability
A tick feeds on the blood of a deer. Over time, the deer population declines due to disease spread by ticks. This relationship most directly affects ecosystem stability by doing this.
reducing population health and disrupting balance
A pesticide kills mostly all producers within an ecosystem. What would the effect be?
Collapse of the ecosystem
If a keystone species is removed from an ecosystem, the food web will most likely do this.
collapse or become unstable
Removing nitrogen-fixing bacteria from soil would most directly affect plants by causing this.
reduced growth due to lack of usable nitrogen
Climate change alters temperature and rainfall patterns. This can lead to species extinction because organisms may not be able to do this fast enough.
adapt