B18 - Organisms and their environment Flashcards
What is the trophic level of a producer?
1
What is the trophic level of a primary consumer?
2
What is the trophic level of a secondary consumer?
3
What is the trophic level of a tertiary consumer?
4
What is the trophic level of a quaternary consumer?
5
describe population
A group of organisms of 1 species, living in the same area at the same time
describe consumers
An organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms
describe trophic level
The position of an organism in a food chain and food web
describe decomposers
Organisms that break down organic substances outside their bodies, releasing nutrients from them that other organisms can use / an organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic material
describe Herbivore
an animal that gets its energy by eating plants
describe carnivore
An animal that gets its energy by eating other animals
describe community
all of the populations of all the different species in an ecosystem
describe habitat
the place where an organism lives
describe producers
An organism that makes its own organic nutrients, generally using energy from sunlight, through photosynthesis
How does energy from grass reach the eagle? (Food chain: grass –> grasshoppers –> frog –> eagle)
the grass makes energy from photosynthesis, then the grasshopper eats the grass, gaining energy, the frog eats the grasshopper, gaining energy, the eagle eats the frog, gaining energy that was originally from the grass.
describe quaternary consumers
feeds on tertiary consumers
describe secondary consumers
feeds on primary consumers
explain why hawks are secondary consumers and tertiary consumers
Because hawks eat primary consumers such as beetles which makes them a secondary consumer but also eats secondary consumers such as frogs which makes them a tertiary consumer
what are feeding levels?
trophic levels
If all mice died, how would it affect the food web?
number of acorns would increase because there are less organisms that eat it but the number of owls would decrease because they lost a source of food
describe predators
organisms that hunt, catch, and kill their prey for food
describe top predator
organism that on the top of the food chain/web (they are not eaten by any other organism)
what energy is given out from the sun?
light energy
as we go more up the food chain, the organisms tend to get ______ and the number of organisms _________
bigger and decreases
How is energy from the sun transferred?
by light
carbon dioxide and water react to produce what?
glucose
what does glucose do?
stores energy in its chemical bonds
as an organism grows, does it increase or decrease in biomass?
increase
what is biomass?
mass of organisms
When organisms respire, what do they produce?
ATP
What are the 2 big ways humans impact food chains negatively?
-Over harvesting food species
-Introducing foreign species to habitats
What are the 3 outcomes of over harvesting food species?
-Decrease in biodiversity
-Risk of extinction of a species
-Disrupts natural food chains of habitat
What are the 3 outcomes of introducing foreign species to habitats?
-disrupts natural food chains
-Loss of habitat as foreign species takes over
-No natural predators to control population of species
What do the arrows mean in a food chain/web?
Transfer/flow of energy by feeding
What is the law of conservation of energy?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from 1 form to another
What does a food chain show?
transfer of energy from 1 organism to another
where does the energy in a food chain originally come from?
the sun
In what form does energy enter the food chain?
light energy
what process converts light energy into chemical energy?
photosynthesis
in what form is energy passed along the food chain?
Chemical energy
In what form is energy released from the food chain?
heat energy and kinetic energy
what are 3 ways energy is lost from the food chain?
-heat from respiration (lost to the atmosphere)
-Uneaten parts/undigested parts (bones, teeth, roots)
-Egestion and excretion
Why are there usually no more than 5 trophic levels in a food chain?
Since energy is lost at each trophic level, theres not enough energy left to support organisms at a high level (theres no more energy to pass on)
describe food web
network of interconnected food chains
why is it more efficient for humans to be vegetarians?
since vegetables are lower down in the food chain, less energy has been lost so we get more energy when eating vegetables than meat. then less land is needed to produce energy for people.
describe decomposition/decay
breakdown of organic matter
describe organic matter
dead organisms or waste material from living things (urine)
what type of organisms are decomposers?
fungi and bacteria
what do decomposers do?
break down organic matter and feed on it causing decay. they also get their energy from dead organisms and their waste
how do decomposers benefit the ecosystem?
surplus is released back to the soil to be taken up by plants
How do decomposers respiring benefit other organisms?
they release carbon dioxide for plants to photosynthesis
what are the 7 processes involved in moving carbon?
-burning
-burial and sedimentation
-death
-decomposition/decay
-feeding
-photosynthesis
-respiration
describe burial and sedimentation
formation of fossils
describe burning
release of energy from fossil fuels
describe respiration
the release of energy in living cells which produces carbon dioxide
describe feeding
consumers taking in food
what is the word equation for photosynthesis?
carbon dioxide + water –> (gives/makes) glucose + oxygen
what is the word equation for respiration?
glucose + oxygen –> carbon dioxide + water
what is the word equation for combustion?
hydrocarbon fuel (petro, coal, fuel) + oxygen –> carbon dioxide + water
does decay/decomposition release of use carbon dioxide?
release
how does decay/decomposition release carbon dioxide?
when decomposers break down waste, they respire and release carbon dioxide
does photosynthesis release of use carbon dioxide?
use
does respiration release or use carbon dioxide?
release
does combustion release of use carbon dioxide?
release
what is the impact of burning fossil fuels on the carbon cycle?
releases carbon dioxide
describe food chain
showing the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning with a producer
