Ecosystem Basics
Living parts of an ecosystem are called these.
What are biotic factors?
All energy in an ecosystem originally comes from this.
What is the Sun?
Matter cannot be created or destroyed but it is what?
What is recycled?
When one population changes, this happens to other populations.
What is they are affected?
The variety of living organisms in an ecosystem.
What is biodiversity?
Nonliving parts such as water, sunlight, and soil are called these.
What are abiotic factors?
Organisms that make their own food using sunlight.
What are producers?
These organisms return nutrients to the soil.
What are decomposers?
Overhunting predators usually causes prey populations to do this.
What is increase?
Ecosystems with high biodiversity are more ____________.
What is stable?
A community of living and nonliving things interacting together.
What is an ecosystem?
Why do top predators have the least energy available?
Because energy is lost as heat at each level.
Complete the cycle: Plants → Animals → __________ → Soil → Plants
What are decomposers?
List ONE cause of population change.
What is food availability, disease, predators, or environment?
Why does low biodiversity make ecosystems fragile?
Because fewer species can fill roles.
Name ONE biotic and ONE abiotic factor in a freshwater wetland.
What are answers such as plants and water?
A diagram that shows many connected feeding relationships.
What is a food web?
Name ONE type of matter that cycles in ecosystems.
What are carbon, water, or nutrients?
Pollution enters a lake. Which population is MOST likely affected first?
What are fish or aquatic organisms?
Which ecosystem is more likely to survive a disturbance: high or low biodiversity?
What is high biodiversity?
This ecosystem helps reduce flooding and filter pollution.
What are freshwater wetlands?
Put these in order: consumer, Sun, producer, decomposer.
What is Sun → producer → consumer → decomposer?
Why are decomposers essential for plant growth?
They return nutrients to the soil.
Why do population changes cause chain reactions?
Because organisms depend on each other in food webs.
How does biodiversity help ecosystems recover from change?
It provides multiple species that can survive and adapt.