Ecosystems Vocabulary
Living components of an ecosystem
Biotic factors
Organisms that photosynthesise
Producers
The table or branching diagram we use to help classify organisms
Dichotomous key
Which of the following is not a biotic factor?
fungi, turtles, sunlight, moss
Sunlight
Non-living components of an ecosystem
Abiotic factors
The role of the shrew in the food chain below
Grass --> grasshopper --> shrew --> owl
secondary consumer (or second-order consumer)
True or false: Dichotomous keys classify organisms based on characteristics that change over the organism's lifespan.
False
How much energy, on average, is passed from one trophic level to the next in a food chain?
10%
A group of one species living together in a particular area
Population
Organisms at the "top of the food chain" are known as this
Apex predators
Every question or step in a dichotomous key has this many answers.
Two
Which is larger, in the hierarchy of living things:
A population or community?
Community
A group of different species living together in the same area
Community
The trophic level at which third-order consumers sit in a food chain
Trophic level 4
Use the dichotomous key below to classify a green plant that produces seeds but doesn't flower.
1. Has chlorophyll (is green)...Go to 2
No Chlorophyll (not green)...Fungi
2. Has seeds...Go to 3
No seeds...Go to 4
3. Has flowers...angiosperms
No flowers...conifers
4. Has roots...Go to 5
No roots...algae
5. Has stem...ferns
No stem...mosses
Conifer
True or false?
Flagstaff park is an example of a biome.
False
All the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth that are occupied by living things
Biosphere
Organisms that have a rivalry for the same resources (e.g. food, territory, mates)
Competitors
Use the dichotomous key below to classify a green, stemmed plant that has roots and doesn't produce seeds.
1. Has chlorophyll (is green)...Go to 2
No Chlorophyll (not green)...Fungi
2. Has seeds...Go to 3
No seeds...Go to 4
3. Has flowers...angiosperms
No flowers...conifers
4. Has roots...Go to 5
No roots...algae
5. Has stem...ferns
No stem...mosses
Fern
Cane toads were introduced to Australia by humans in order to eat cane beetles in sugar cane farms. Because of their damaging impact to Australian ecosystems, they are classified as an __________ species.
Invasive