Ecosystems
What is the definition of an Ecosystem?
A biological community that includes the living and non-living things in the environment depend on each other.
What is a producer?
An organism that produces its own food or energy.
What is a consumer?
An organism that gets its energy by eating other plants or animals.
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down plant or animal waste to make nutrients for the ecosystem.
What is a food web?
A group of food chains within an ecosystem
What are the two types of ecosystems?
Terrestrial and Aquatic
Give an example of a producer and explain its role.
Ex) Flower creates it's own food from the energy from the sun.
Name three different types of consumers.
Omnivores, carnivores, herbivores
ex) Baboon, Lion, Giraffe
Give an example of a decomposer and explain its role.
Fungi and bacteria that obtain their nutrients from a dead plant or animal material.
Draw a simple food web with at least three different organisms
Ex) Spider money, berries, jaguar
What are the two aquatic ecosystems?
Freshwater and marine
Why are producers important for an ecosystem?
They provide energy to the entire system.
How are consumers different from producers?
A consumer is an organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals.
Why are decomposers important in an ecosystem?
They break apart dead organisms into simpler inorganic materials, making nutrients available to primary producers
Describe the role of predators in a food web.
Predator populations limit the abundance of prey species
How do animals depend on plants in an ecosystem?
Some animals need plants for food. Animals that eat animals need plants to keep their prey alive.
How do plants make their own food?
Photosynthesis
Describe a carnivore and give an example of one.
Carnivores are animals rely on other animals for their food
Ex) Lion
How do decomposers help break down dead plants and animals?
Break down materials into nutrients for the ecosystem
Explain why food webs are important in an ecosystem.
Food webs improve the stability of an ecosystem as it includes all the interconnected food chains
What is the role of sunlight in an ecosystem?
The sun is the primary source of energy. This energy helps plants grow which feed animals.
Explain why producers are at the beginning of the food chain.
They make their own food, which creates energy for them to grow, reproduce and survive
Explain the difference between herbivores and omnivores.
Herbivores are animals that eat only plants. Carnivores are animals that eat only meat.
Describe the process of decomposition in an ecosystem.
Tissues break down and are converted into simple organic forms such as oxygen and carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere.
How do changes in one part of a food web affect the rest of the ecosystem?
If any change is made to a particular part of a food web it is highly likely that the changes will be felt across the entire food web