B16 Flashcards
What are food chains?
Shows what is eaten , the feeding relationships in an ecosystem
What is always at the start of a food chain?
A producer
What is a producer?
Usually green plants or algae , they make glucose by photosynthesis. These biological molecules are the plants biomass, the mass of living material
What is biomass?
Animal material used for energy production.(glucose in plants)
How does the food chain work?
Energy is transferred through living organisms in an ecosystem when organisms eat other organisms. Producers are eaten by primary consumers . Primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers and secondary consumers are eaten by tertiary consumers.
What are predators?
Consumers that hunt and kill other animals and they prey on what they eat.
What happens in a stable community?
Equal amount of predators and prey.
What limits the population of all animals?
Limited by the amount of food available.
What happens as prey increases?
Predators will increase
What will happen if population of predators increases?
Number of prey decrease
What does out of phase mean?
The state of the predator prey cycle . It takes a while for the population to respond to changes in the other population. Isnt an immediate change
Water cycle?
1) energy from the dun makes water evaportate from the land and sea turning it to water vapour
2) water evaporates from plants - this is known as transpiration
3) warm water vapour rises. When it gets higher it cools and condenses to form clouds
4) water falls from the clouds as precipitation (rain, snow )onto land where it provides fresh water for plants and animals
5) water absorbed by soil and taken up plant roots. Provides fresh water for things like photosynthesis. Some water goes in plants tissues and is passed through to animals in the food chain.
6) animals need water for chemical reactions that happens in their bodies . Animals return water to the soil and atmosphere through excretion
7) water not absorbed will be absorbed by streams and rivers
8) then it goes back to the sea and the cycle begins again.
What does the water cycle provide?
Fresh water for plants and animals on land before draining into the seas. Water is continuously evaporated and precipitated
How are elements cycled back to the start of the food chain by decay?
Living things are made from materials they take from the world. These materials are returned to the environment in waste product, or when organisms die and decay
Why do materials decay?
Because they’re broken down by microorganism . Happens faster in warmer, moist , aerobic conditions which is better for microorganisms
