Ecosystems
What is an ecosystem?
A system where living and nonliving things interact
What is a food chain?
A series of organisms that eat and are eaten
What do we call plants that make their own food?
Producer
What is a predator?
(An animal that hunts other animals.)
What did the wolves do to help Yellowstone National Park?
(They controlled deer population, helping plants regrow.)
Name one nonliving part of an ecosystem.
Sunlight, water, air, rocks, etc.
In a food chain, what do arrows show?
The flow of energy
What do we call animals that eat plants or other animals?
consumers
What is the animal called that is eaten by a predator?
prey
What happened when sea otters disappeared from a kelp forest?
(Sea urchins overate the kelp.)
True or False: Ecosystems only include animals
False
What is a food web?
A group of connected food chains
What do decomposers do in an ecosystem?
(Break down dead things and return nutrients to the soil.)
What is competition in an ecosystem?
(When organisms fight for the same resources.)
Why is the sun important in a food chain?
(It provides energy to producers.)
What do we call a place where an organism lives?
Habitats
What might happen if a top predator is removed?
(Prey populations may grow too large.)
Is a mushroom a producer, consumer, or decomposer?
decomposer
What might happen if two animals eat the same food and one disappears?
(The other may have more food and increase in population.)
What did the beaver do in the mystery that changed its ecosystem?
(It built dams that created ponds and wetlands.)
How does changing one part of an ecosystem affect the rest?
It can impact food, shelter, or survival of other organisms.
Which provides more information: food chain or food web?
Food Web
Name one example of each: producer, consumer, and decomposer.
Plant, rabbit, fungi — or similar
Give an example of how plants and animals depend on each other.
(Plants give oxygen; animals spread seeds or pollinate.)
How are humans part of the web of life?
(We affect ecosystems through our choices, like pollution or conservation.)