Ecosystems
List the 5 levels of the biosphere in order from smallest to largest.
Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere
How does energy first enter the biosphere?
The sun
Explain the difference between a food chain and a food web.
Food web is multiple food chains linked together.
Explain the difference between predator and prey.
Predator - hunts food
prey - hunted by predator
What is the main source of mercury in the ocean?
particles from burning coal
What is the term used to describe where an organism lives?
Habitat
What is the specific type of energy that is the energy input for living organisms?
Chemical energy
Explain the difference between a consumer and a decomposer.
Both get their food from outside their own body. Consumers eat other living organisms. Decomposers break down dead organisms and absorb the nutrients.
Explain what you would expect to happen in an ecosystem that has too many predators and not enough prey.
Predators would starve --> not enough food
Define limiting factor and provide an example.
abiotic or biotic factor that can limit the growth of organisms or a population in an ecosystem
ex. food, water, space, mates, etc.
Explain the difference between a biotic factor and an abiotic factor AND provide an example of each.
Biotic = Living part of an ecosystem (animal, plant, bacteria, etc.)
Abiotic = Non-living part of an ecosystem (water, sunlight, wind, etc.)
Work
How much energy is lost at each level of energy flow? Where does this "lost" energy go?
90% is lost as heat to the atmosphere
Define and provide an example of competition.
When two or more species in the same habitat depend on the same resource.
Ex. cheetahs and lions both depend on antelope as a food source
What does "carrying capacity" mean?
the maximum number of individuals that a habitat can support
Define an ecosystem.
A community of organisms and their interactions with both living and non-living components of their habitat.
List and provide an example for each of the 3 types of energy roles.
producer - plant
consumer - human
decomposer - fungi
If producers gain energy from the sun, what is the term for organisms that gain energy from eating herbivores?
Secondary consumer
primary consumers = herbivores
secondary consumers eat primary consumers
How could predators be considered beneficial to prey?
Predators help keep the prey population balanced and prevent it from getting too high. If the prey population gets too high, animals would starve and the population would no longer be healthy.
Explain how a primary consumer and an apex predator would be affected differently by pollutants.
Because of biomagnification, the effects of pollutants will be strong in an apex predator than a primary consumer. More organisms are consumed at each level of the food chain, meaning pollutant particles accumulate and build up to higher levels.
What 2 things must be true of a group of organisms in order to be considered one species?
Must live in the same habitat and must be able to reproduce/mate/breed
Write out the input --> output formula for photosynthesis.
energy from the sun + water + carbon dioxide --> oxygen + sugar
If 1,000,000 kCal of sunlight enter an ecosystem, how much energy makes it to the secondary consumer?
producers --> 100,000
primary consumers --> 10,000
secondary consumers --> 1,000
List and provide an example of the three types of symbiosis.
Commensalism (ex. whale and barnacle)
Mutualism (ex. clownfish and sea anemone)
Parasitism (ex. flea and dog)
Name the two types of population growth and explain how they are different.
Logistic growth - population increases gradually, then rapidly, then slows as it approaches the carrying capacity