Ecosystems
Define ecosystem
A community of organisms
Provide an example of what an organism is
Humans, animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, etc.
Why are trees so important?
They provide oxygen, food, and shelter for organisms
Burmese pythons were found in what state in the US?
Florida
Provide an example of a NONLIVING thing in the environment
Soil, water, air, weather, rocks, pebbles, wind, etc.
Define habitat
A place where an organism lives (their "home")
In an energy pyramid, the bottom is responsible for providing energy to everything above it. What kind of organism are they?
Producers (plant, grass, trees, etc.)
Define invasive species
Non-native organisms introduced somewhere new that disrupts the ecosystem
Producers make their own food through what process?
Photosynthesis
Every organism has a role to play in their ecosystem. This called called their...
Niche
What changes are beavers responsible for?
Building dams
If an organism naturally grows and thrives in an ecosystem, they are
Native species
This is a diagram of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem
Food web
These organisms search for dead animals left behind to eat. They are called...
Scavengers
Provide an example of changes people are responsible for in the environment
Pollution, deforestation, construction, conservation, cleanup, planting trees, etc.
Provide one example of an invasive species
Acceptable answers: Kudzu vine, Burmese pythons, zebra mussels, lionfish, Brazilian elodea, water chestnut, Japanese honeysuckle, wild pigs, etc.
This ecosystem is cold, dry, treeless, and barren with a permanently frozen layer of soil called permafrost
Tundra
These organisms break down the remains of dead organisms and bring them back to the soil as nutrients for new plants. They are called...
Decomposers
What happens if something from a food web is gone?
It affects other organisms by throwing off the balance of the ecosystem (like other animals starving or an increase in the number of some organisms)
Why are invasive species bad?
They often have no natural predators and take up all the resources, throwing off the balance of the ecosystem