Ecosystems
This term describes all the living and nonliving things interacting in an area.
ecosystem
This biome is characterized by very low temperatures, permafrost, and low biodiversity.
tundra
In a simple food chain, the organism that makes its own food using sunlight is called a ____.
producer
Producers are organisms that produce their own food. Name the organelle that plant cells use to capture sunlight energy.
chloroplast
This symbiotic relationship benefits one organism and neither helps nor harms the other.
commensalism
Name one abiotic (nonliving) factor that affects an ecosystem.
sunlight, water, temperature, soil, pH, rocks, air
Which biome typically has seasonal temperature changes, trees that shed their leaves, and moderate rainfall?
deciduous forest
What role do decomposers play in a food web? Give one example of a decomposer.
They break down dead organisms and recycle their nutrients (carbon & nitrogen) back into the soil so more producers can easily grow. Ex: worms, fungi, bacteria
A rabbit eats grass. Classify the rabbit in TWO ways.
herbivore & primary consumer
Give an example of mutualism and briefly explain how both species benefit.
bees and flowering plants — bees get nectar (food) and plants get pollinated (reproduction).
When many individuals of the same species live in the same area at the same time, this group is called a ____.
population
Give two major differences between the taiga and the desert biomes.
taiga recieves more snowfall, deserts are hot and dry, evergreen trees in taiga, cacti in desert, many differences in the animals
Create an short food chain that includes a producer, a herbivore, and a carnivore that makes sense for SCPS campus.
grass --> squirrel --> hawk
Define an omnivore and give one example of an omnivorous animal found in many biomes.
monkey, raccoon, skunk, bird
Describe parasitism and provide one example of a parasite–host pair.
Parasitism involves one organism benefiting while harming the host; example: tapeworm in mammals.
Explain what an energy pyramid is.
chart that shows that as you move up a food chain the amount of energy available decreases
Which biome is home to the most amount of DIFFERENT species?
tropical rainforest
Explain why food webs are more realistic than single food chains when describing an ecosystem.
They show all of the possible feeding relationships and not just one.
Explain how energy is transferred between trophic levels and why only a small amount of energy is available to the next level.
the emount of energy available decreases as you move up the food chain. OR ... the consumers use most of the energy to live it's life so by the time it gets eaten there is not much energy left.
Explain how commensalism might be difficult to prove in nature.
Commensalism is hard to prove because subtle benefits or harms may exist and require long-term study to detect.
Describe how a disturbance (like a wildfire or disease) might change an ecosystem over time.
If a population gets wiped out, then its prey will increase and it's predators will decrease. Creating an imbalance in the food web / circle of life.
Predict how human activities can affect the boundaries or characteristics of a biome. Provide one specific example.
Deforestation reduces biodiversity and ultimately creates an imbalance in the ecosystem. Other examples: pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, etc.
If a top predator is removed from a food web, describe two possible effects on the rest of the community.
Removal can cause prey populations to increase, leading to overconsumption of lower trophic levels.
Compare and contrast primary consumers and tertiary consumers in terms of their diets and difficulty of finding energy.
primary consumers are herbivores so it is much easier to find a meal / energy.
What type of relationship do lions and zebras have?
predator - prey