B16- Organising an ecosystem ๐ฅฌ๐๐ฆ Flashcards
What does every food chain start with ?
- every food chain starts with a producer, and in most food chains, itโs a green plant.
- For example in the sea, the producer could be an algae such as seaweed.
Why are producers extremely important in food chains ?
Hint: complex
- producers are extremely important in food chains because, they synthesise complex molecules.
- For example, green plants make the molecule glucose: by photosynthesis - as they use energy from sunlight.
- These molecules are called biomass and are important, as these molecules now pass down the food chain, to other organisms.
Fill in the gaps: ________ are the source of all the biomass in a community, which is why theyโre so important.
- producers are the source of all the biomass in a community, which is why theyโre so important.
What does synthesis mean ?
Hint: chemical
- synthesis, is the production of chemical compounds by a reaction from simpler materials.
What are primary consumers ?
- primary consumers, are organisms that eat producers.
What is a secondary consumer ?
Hint: not organism
- a secondary consumer, is an animal that eats a primary consumer
What is a tertiary consumer ?
- a tertiary consumer, is an organism that eats a secondary consumer
What are predators ๐ a top predator ?
Hint: food chain
- predators are consumers that kill and eat other animals
- ; a top predator, is an animal that is the end of its food chain and rarely has a predator
What can you tell me about the graph, that shows the populations of predator and prey in a community ? ใฐ๏ธ
- in a predator prey cycle, as the population of prey increases, then so will the population of the predators.
- ; as the population of predators increase, the number of prey will decrease.
What can you tell me about a predator-prey cycle ? ใฐ๏ธ
- the numbers of predators and prey, rise and fall in cycles- [ ; this is only true in a stable community, where all the biotic and abiotic factors are in balance.]
- ; if something changed in the community [e.g- a drought], then predator-prey cycles would start to change.
Explain in detail, why all living things depend on producers ?
Hint: nutrients
- all living things, depend on producers [such as plants] because, they create their own nutrients.
- ; primary consumers, [herbivores], rely on producers for food, as every living organism needs food to survive.
Evaluate in detail, food webs or food chains, as models to show feeding relationships. ๐ธ๏ธ
- In a food web, changes in the population of one organism have an effect on the populations of other organisms. This is called interdependence.
- although food webs do show complex feeding relationships, they are still not complete.
Evaluate in detail, food webs or food chains, as models to show feeding relationships. ๐ธ๏ธ
Hint: change their position, clearly sbow
- food webs donโt clearly show the differences in the quantity of living organisms in the different trophic levels.
- moreover, species may even change their position during their life span.
Describe the process of the carbon cycle [6]
Hint: plants, passed on to, respiration
- carbon is taken out of the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide by plants and algae during photosynthesis
- this carbon is passed on to animals (and microorganisms) when they feed on plants and algae
- it is then returned to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, during respiration by plants, animals and microorganisms (that will release CO2 during decomposition)
- if animals and plants die in conditions where decomposing microorganisms are not present, the carbon in their bodies can be converted, over millions of years and significant pressure, into fossil fuels
- When wood or fossil fuels are burned (a process is known as combustion), the carbon within them combines with oxygen and carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere
How is the carbon in the carbon cycle, used by plants ?
- the carbon is used to make glucose, which can be turned into carbohydrates, fats and proteins โ biomass โ within plants and algae
