Chapter 20: A Web of Interactions

Question 1

Food Chains who eats who?

Answer 1

The sequence of who eats who in an ecosystem is a food chain. Producers are autotrophs (make their own food) and are the first link in a food chain.
All other organisms are heterotrophs so are called consumers.

Question 2

6 types of consumers and a brief description

Answer 2

• Herbivore – eats plants.
• Carnivores – eat other consumers (eat live prey are predators) and can be firstorder, second-order, or third-order.
• Parasites – live and feed on other organisms causing them harm.
• Scavengers – consume dead animals.
• Detritivores – eat small particles of dead plant and animal matter that accumulates as detritus, they also eat waste products (faeces).
• Decomposers – consumers that break down dead material. Different food chains exist involving different consumers.

Question 3

Food webs and trophic levels 

Answer 3

Food webs are a series of food chains linked together. Each feeding level in a food web is called a trophic level. Producer–1st Order Consumer
2nd Order Consumer etc

Question 4

Competition between species: What is inter-specific competition

Answer 4

Inter-specific competition is a struggle between organisms of different species for the same resources and can limit a species distribution

Question 5

symbiosis

Answer 5

When different species live together in a close partnership.

Question 6

mutualism

Answer 6

Symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit.

Question 7

commensalism

Answer 7

Symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits but the other neither benefits or is harmed.

Question 8

parasitism

Answer 8

Symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed.

Question 9

pollination of flowers by pollinators (animals)

Answer 9

Pollination of flowers by pollinators (animals) is not symbiosis as they don’t live together.