Predator/ Prey
What term describes animals that hunt and eat other animals?
What are predators?
What are limiting factors? Give an example of at least ONE limiting factor.
Factors that ensure a population does not go above a certain size.
Ex. Water, Food, Shelter, Space
The maximum number of organisms an ecosystem can support is called:
Carrying Capacity
In a home aquarium a fish gets sick and due to the amount of fish and the size of the tank the fish begin to get sick and die
Density- dependent
Give an example of a predator and what is an adaption it has to catch its prey?
What are an anteater has a very long tongue to scoop out ants from their nests
A population of rabbits grew and needed to spread out to new territory. What limiting factor is responsible for the movement to a new territory?
Space
What happens if a population grows past its carrying capacity?
The population will start to decline or die off
A forest ecosystem has a growing population of deer. then the population of wolves (a predator) in the region increases. As the wolf population grows, the deer population begins to decline.
Biotic or Density Dependent
How do predators help control prey populations
Predators help control the population of prey species and help Prevent over population.
A disease affected mice in a field which caused many of them to die. What would happen to the mice-eating-birds in that area?
The bird population would decrease, or they would move to a different area where mice were
What is the difference between a limiting factor and carrying capacity?
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of organisms an area can support and limiting factors are factors that limit the size of a population
A hurricane wipes out an ecosystem diminishing the deer population that the wolves feast on
Density-independent
What is the difference between a predator and a scavenger, which trophic level do they occupy
A predator actively Hunts and eats live prey and a scavenger eats dead animals. predators and scavengers are secondary consumers and are at the 3rd level.
TRUE OR FALSE:
Limiting factors are sometimes helpful because they can keep the population from getting too large.
TRUE
A carrying capacity of an population can change.
What can be a reason that the carrying capacity would change?
Answers will vary but may include:
Resource destruction or degradation, human activity, etc.
A coral reef ecosystem in the tropics is experiencing an increase in sea surface temperatures due to global climate change. The temperature of the water rises by 2–3°C over several months.
Abiotic
Why does a low population of hawks and No snakes result in a low population of rabbits over time?
low population of hawks and no snakes means rabbits population increases, then they eat all of their food sources, then population begins to decrease.
What role does disease play as a limiting factor in populations?
Disease reduces population sizes
Explain how limiting factors and carrying capacity are related.
Limiting factors help prevent populations from getting too big so their population remains around the carrying capacity
The population of bullfrogs is growing out of control near a small pond. Its main predator, a snake species, was killed off by disease. Without this natural predator, the bullfrogs can thrive in and around the pond. The growing frog population is having a negative impact on the quality of the environment and other species living in the area.
predation is inversely density-dependent