Biodiversity Basics
What is the variety of life and organisms in a habitat or ecosystem called?
Biodiversity
The science of naming and classifying living things is called what?
Taxonomy
How many kingdoms of life are there?
Five
In a food chain, where does energy always start?
The Sun.
What is the largest ecosystem on Earth?
Ocean Ecosystem
The closer a region is to the equator, the _______ the biodiversity.
greater
What are the eight levels of classification in order?
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
Name the five kingdoms.
animal, plant, protist, monera, and fungi.
Explain what producers and consumers are.
Producers: can create their own food (through photosynthesis).
Consumers: cannot create their own food (rely on nutrients from other living things).
Give the factors that influence ecosystems.
What are air, water, trees, plants, or animals?
What type of region has the most biodiversity.
Tropical
What is the saying to help remember the classification order?
“Dear King Philip Came Over For Good Soup”
Animals with a backbone are called what?
Vertebrates
Describe what Protista, Monera and Fungi are. Give an example of each.
Protista: usually single-celled organisms that live in water or other moist places (eg. parasites)
Monera: single-celled organisms that have no nucleus and are the simplest and oldest forms of life (eg. bacteria)
Fungi: decomposers who return bacteria back to the Earth by feeding off dead plants and animals.
What is an invasive species?
A non-native species introduced that harms the ecosystem.
What does it mean that all species are interconnected?
They depend on each other for survival.
What two levels make up an organism’s scientific name?
Genus and Species
Animals without a backbone are called what?
Invertebrates
Explain the three types of consumers.
Herbivores: only eats producers.
Omnivores: eats consumers and producers.
Carnivores: eats only consumers.
What are two major threats to biodiversity caused by humans?
Pollution and overexploitation.
What happens to ecosystems when biodiversity decreases?
Connections weaken and species can be harmed or die out.
Why is Latin used to classify organisms?
It was the language of science when classification began.
Give one example of each: vertebrate and invertebrate.
Vertebrate: fish, amphibians, mammals and birds.
Invertebrates: insects, arachnids and crustaceans.
What is photosynthesis?
Plants use energy from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, and nutrients from soil to create their own sugar (energy). This releases oxygen into the air.
List three ways humans can protect biodiversity.
Turn off electronics, reuse/recycle, save water, or use energy-efficient appliances.