Name 2 decomposers.
Any: Worms, Fungi, Mushrooms, Mold
All energy flows from the _________.
sun
The plan would not take in carbon dioxide and it would wilt.
Trees, grass, moss, algae, flowering plants, etc.
A T-Rex is an example of a ______ because it ate only other animals.
carnivore
How do decomposers contribute to our ecosystem?
They break down dead plants and animals, putting nutrients back into the environment.
Energy in a food chain goes from the prey to the ______________.
predator
Larger, healthier plants
They are the food source of all herbivores. They put oxygen in the air for animals.
Why did worms not 'die off' with the dinosaurs?
They did not need a lot of energy (food) to survive. There was a lot of decomposing matter to live off of.
What are tiny the 'white strings' found on rotting logs?
Mushroom roots
Where does algae get the energy needed to grow?
Too much fertilizer added to water- as well as warm temperatures.
What did we learn in class that leads to the weight of a plant?
Carbon dioxide
Name 3 things do producers use to make their own food?
sunlight, water, soil (nutrients), carbon dioxide
What evidence do scientists have that a meteor may have hit the earth 65 million years ago?
There is a layer of meteor dust in the rock layering of the earth. A meteor crater has been found in Mexico.
1. They mix up soil.
2. They leave castings full of nutrients for plants.
3. They consume dead plant and animal matter.
castings
Leaving food in damp, warm conditions causes _____.
mold
All consumers would perish as well. The food chain/web would collapse.
What effect do scientists believe the meteor had on the dinosaurs? (Specifically why did it cause them to perish?)
It caused a dust cloud over the whole earth, blocking out most of the sun. This led to the death of most producers. Living things had little to eat.
What would happen if there weren't any decomposers?
Dead plant and animal matter would build up in the ecosystem.
All living things need __________ to survive.
energy
When a species in a food chain dies off, what happens to the ecosystem?
It becomes unbalanced. It is harmed.
They provide oxygen for fish and animals to breathe, while using up the carbon dioxide the animals exhale.
According to the video, mostly omnivores survived the dinosaur extinction period. Why?
They had varied diets and were not picky eaters. They got their energy from many sources. If one source was gone, they chose another.