Chapter 4 & 5 - Understanding Ecosystems & their Energy Transfer Flashcards
What is ENVIRONMENT?
all the living and nonliving things AROUND YOU; ie: people, other animals, plants, water, air, soil, and weather.
What is the ECOSYSTEM?
all the living and nonliving things in an AREA; ie: space under a rock, home to insects and tiny plants or a forest.
What is a POPULATION?
a group made of the same kind of individuals living in the same ecosystem. ie: hive of bees, people living in one city.
What is a COMMUNITY?
all the populations that live in the same place
What is CLIMATE?
the average weather over many years
What are BIOTIC FACTORS?
living parts of an ecosystem; ie: plants and animals
What are ABIOTIC FACTORS?
the nonliving parts of an ecosystem; ie: sunlight, air, water, soil, climate
What is POLLUTION?
it’s what happens when harmful substances mix with water, air, or soil
What is HABITAT RESTORATION?
when groups work together to repair damage to ecosystems ie: planting new trees, building parks
What are RENEWABLE RESOURCES?
air, sunlight, water, plants, animals
What are NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES?
coals, gas, oil – after we use it all, it will be gone forever
What are PRODUCERS?
produce = to make – any living thing that can make its own food ie: plants
What are CONSUMERS?
consume = to eat – an animal that eats plants or other animals
What are three kinds of consumers?
herbivore, omnivore, carnivore
What are HERBIVORES?
an animal that only eats plants ie: horses
What are HERBIVORES?
an animal that eats both plants and other animals ie: bears
What are CARNIVORES?
an animal that eats only other animals ie: lions
What is a DECOMPOSER?
a living thing that feeds on wastes and on the remains of dead plants and animals. Decomposers break down wastes into nutrients. These nutrients become part of the soil ie: bacteria, earthworms
What are HABITATS?
an environment that meets the needs of a living thing; each living thing in a habitat has a role.
What is a NICHE?
a role; how a living thing interacts with its habitat. Part of a living thing’s niche is how it gets food and shelter. Also how it reproduces, cares for its young, and avoids danger.
What is a FOOD CHAIN?
is the MOVEMENT OF FOOD ENERGY in a sequence of living things. Every food chain starts with producers at the very bottom and consumers at the top.
What is a PREY?
Consumers that are eaten by other consumers. They are HUNTED
What is are PREDATORS?
Consumers that eat prey. HUNTERS
What are FOOD WEBS?
when food chains overlap
What is an ENERGY PYRAMID?
shows how much energy is passed from one living thing to another living thing along a food chain
What factors influence ecosystems?
Living things
Nonliving things
Climate
Humans
How do living things influence the ecosystems?
plants provide food - to insects, birds, animals, humans
plants provide shelter
animal droppings make soil richer
How do nonliving things influence the ecosystems?
sunlight, air, water, and soil
ie: a change in water supply
How does climates influence the ecosystems?
it affects plants, animals, soil, humans
How do humans influence ecosystems?
positively - build new parks, plant trees, recycle
negatively - destroying habitats, pollution, buildings
Where do producers get their energy?
the sun
Where do consumers get their energy?
by eating plants, or by eating other animals that have eaten plants
Who can make their own food?
producers
What do plants need to live and grow?
sunlight
What would happen to animals without plants?
animals that eat plants would die and animals that eat other animals would die
Who gets their food from eating producers?
consumers
Who are consumers?
Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores
How do herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores get their energy?
by eating other living things; they can not make their own food
What would happen without decomposers?
Earth would be covered with dead plants and animals
Where do all living things belong?
in a habitat
What does each living thing have in a habitat?
a role
What is a food chain that overlaps called?
Food Web
