Food Webs/ Food Chains
What do the arrows in a food web diagram represent, and how do they demonstrate the relationships among different organisms?
The arrows represent the energy transfer between two organisms. This shows which organism is being eaten and which one is consuming.
What is a pioneer species and give some examples.
The first organisms to appear after a disturbance or the formation of new land. (Lichens and mosses)
A remora fish has an adhesive disk or sucker on its head, which it uses to attach itself to larger fishes, such as sharks. This attachment causes the shark no harm. The remora fish eat scraps of food that the sharks drop as they feed. This is an example of
Commensalism
What is Ecology?
Ecology is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their environment, including both the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components
How can you tell which animals in a food pyramid are carnivores?
If they are a secondary/tertiary consumer or apex predator and only get their energy from other animals.
What type of organisms are represented at the base of an energy pyramid, and why are they crucial for the ecosystem?
Producers are represented at the base of the energy pyramid. They are the foundation for the ecosystem.
What are the two types of ecological succession?
Primary and Secondary
A tick feeds on a dog’s blood is an example of
Parasitism
What is a herbivore, carnivore and omnivore
Herbivore= eats plants
omnivore= eats both plants and animals
Carnivore= eats animals
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
Food chain- one link in a food web
Food web- more complex network of interconnected food chains
How do changes in one species, such as a decline in mice, affect the populations of other species like hawks within an ecosystem?
A decline in mice would cause a decline in the hawk population since there is less food.
What is a climax community and what type of plants may you see?
The final, stable stage of ecological succession. Climax communities contain mature trees.
Bees collect nectar from flowers and pollinate them in the process. What would this be an example of?
Mutualism
What is the difference between abiotic and biotic factors?
Biotic= Living
Abiotic= Nonliving
What is a biome and what are some examples?
a large geographical area characterized by specific climatic conditions, dominant vegetation, and animal life. (Rainforest, Tundra, Deciduous Forest)
What happens to energy as it moves through a food chain, and which organism gets the least energy?
The energy gets lost as heat through respiration.
What is the difference between primary succession and secondary succession?
Primary- there is no life present, (Bare rock) usually occurs after a volcanic eruption
Secondary- A disturbance occurs where there is still some life present (soil is present) usually occurs after a forest fire, earthquake, landslide.)
What type of symbiotic relationship would be a fungus (athletes foot) growing on a humans foot
Parasitism
What is a community
A group or association of interacting populations of different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time.
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment
What role do decomposers play in a food web?
Decomposers break down dead organisms and return their nutrients back to the environment
Would an ecosystem eventually return to its natural environment after a disturbance like a wildfire?
Yes, over time ecological succession will take place and the environment will return to its climax community
What is the relationship between a lion and a zebra?
Predator/prey
Define Niche
The organisms role in the ecosystem or environment. (Where it lives, what it eats, what eats it.)
Why do climatic conditions have the most profound influence on the type of ecosystem that develops in a specific geographic area?
These climatic conditions are going to be able to control what type of organisms can survive there.