A community of living and nonliving things working together in a specific area.
Ecosystem
A model that shows the path of energy as it flows from one living thing to the next. These start with a producer
Food Chain
A food chain is shown below.
sun → grass → grasshopper → scorpion → kit fox → bacteria
Which organisms are consumers?
Grasshopper, Scorpion, Kit Fox
Why are animals like deer, raccoons, bears, and coyotes sometimes seen in neighborhoods?
because their habitats are decreasing
How are salt marshes and lakes different?
Salt marshes are connected to the ocean and lakes are inland.
The living things in an ecosystem
Animals that are killed and eaten by other animals
Prey
A biologist observed a zebra, a gazelle, a giraffe and a prairie dog on an African grassland. Which term best describes the animals the biologist saw in the terrestrial ecosystem?
Consumers
The diagram below is a simple grassland food chain.
grass mouse snake
If a predator of the snake were introduced to the ecosystem, which would most likely happen?
The mouse population would increase.
Which area is most likely closest to a salt marsh or an estuary?
Coastline
Any living thing that makes or produces its own food
Producer
What is the process where producers use energy from the sun to make their own food?
An animal that kills and eats other animals
Predator
What are apex predators?
A rabbit depends on various plants in an ecosystem to survive. Which would most likely happen if a drought decreased the plant population?
The rabbit population would decrease
Which is an example of a terrestrial organism relying on an aquatic organism for food?
Eagles consume fish to survive.
Which is a main difference between a grassland and forest ecosystem?
the amount of trees, as forests have more
Consumers are animals that must eat other living things to survive. List and describe the three types of consumers.
Herbivore- A consumer that only eats plants
Carnivore- A consumer that only eats meat
Omnivore- A consumer that eats both plants and animals
The interconnected feeding relationship within an ecosystem
Food Web
The diagram below is an aquatic food chain.
Which will most likely occur if there is overfishing and a loss of clams?
The amount of algae would increase and the number of bass would decrease.
Which ecosystem would most likely be home to crabs and oysters?
Estuary
In which ecosystem can you find a mix of salt water and freshwater?
Estuaries
Decomposers
List and describe the two types of ecosystems found on Earth. Give at least one example of each!
Examples: Saltwater: Ocean, Salt Marsh, Estuary. Freshwater: Lakes, Ponds, Streams, Rivers, Creeks
Terrestrial- land-based ecosystem
Examples: Temperate/Deciduous Forest, Tropical Rainforest, Taiga, Desert, Grassland, Tundra
This food chain shows organisms in a classroom aquarium.
Which would benefit if the snail living in the aquarium were removed?
Algae
How are terrestrial biomes grouped or characterized?
Temperature, precipitation, vegetation (plants), climate, animals, soil
What is the difference between the taiga and tundra biomes?
The tundra is the coldest biome that has VERY few species of plants/animals.
The taiga has trees like pines, spruces, and fires. The taiga has more precipitation than the tundra.