Habitat Basics
What is a habitat?
A habitat is a natural home or environment for plants, animals, or organisms.
What is a food chain?
A sequence showing how energy and nutrients are passed from one organism to another.
What is a herbivore?
Only eats plants
What is an adaptation?
An adaptation is a characteristic or trait that helps an organism survive in its environment.
What is depletion?
Decrease in the number of something (plants/resources)
What are the 6 different Habitats?
What is a food web?
A food web is a network of connected food chains in an ecosystem.
What is an omnivore?
An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals.
What is the definition and example of a structural adaptation?
A structural adaptation is a physical feature of an organism that helps it survive.
Example: A giraffe’s long neck helps it reach leaves high in trees.
Name one way human activities impact habitats.
Pollution can harm water sources, making it harder for animals and plants to survive.
What is the carrying capacity of a habitat?
The maximum number of organisms a habitat can support based on available resources.
What would likely happen if all the rabbits in a food web disappeared?
The predators that rely on rabbits would have less to eat, and plants that rabbits consume may grow more.
What is a carnivore?
A carnivore is an animal that eats only other animals.
What is a behavioral adaptation and an example?
A behavioral adaptation is an action or behavior that helps an organism survive.
Example: Birds migrating south for the winter to find warmer climates.
How can human activities have a positive effect on habitats?
Conservation efforts, such as creating protected areas, help maintain ecosystems.
What is deforestation?
The clearing or removal of forests, which often destroys habitats and affects the species living there.
What is extinction?
Extinction is when a species completely disappears from Earth.
The three types of species in a food chain are:
Producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Explain how an animal’s adaptation helps it survive in its habitat.
An animal’s adaptation helps it survive by allowing it to meet its needs in its environment. A camel’s ability to store fat in its hump helps it survive long periods without water in the desert.
Explain how deforestation negatively impacts a habitat.
Deforestation destroys habitats, forcing species to relocate or face extinction.
What is an invasive species?
A non-native species that disrupts the balance of an ecosystem by competing with native species.
Explain how the extinction of a species could affect its entire community.
The extinction of one species could disrupt the food web, causing other species to overpopulate or decline as a result.
What are the roles of the three types of species in a food web or chain?
Pick at least one animal and describe two types of adaptations.
A polar bear has thick fur to keep warm in cold environments and sharp claws to help catch prey.
Explain how human activities could potentially lead to extinction.
Activities like overhunting, habitat destruction, and pollution can reduce species populations until they no longer exist.