chapter 4 - ecosystems

Question 1

producer (autotroph)

Answer 1

living thing that makes their own food (either photosynthesis or chemosynthesis)

Question 2

consumer (heterotroph)

Answer 2

living that gets its food from other organisms

Question 3

herbivore

Answer 3

eats plants to gain energy

Question 4

decomposer

Answer 4

breaks down and consumes dead matter (no mouth)

Question 5

carnivore

Answer 5

kills and eats other animals

Question 6

omnivore

Answer 6

eats plants and animals

Question 7

detritivores

Answer 7

eats detritus (already dead material) with mouth

Question 8

scavengers

Answer 8

eats already killed animals

Question 9

food chain

Answer 9

series of organisms transferring energy

Question 10

food web

Answer 10

more complex and realistic food chain

Question 11

10% rule

Answer 11

only 10% of the energy is available between each trophic level

Question 12

trophic level

Answer 12

each level in a food chain/web

Question 13

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 13

flow of matter through a food chain/web

Question 14

nutrient

Answer 14

needed by every organism to build tissue and grow

Question 15

nitrogen fixation

Answer 15

conversion of nitrogen to amonia

Question 16

denitrification

Answer 16

conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas

Question 17

limiting nutrient

Answer 17

nutrient which controls the ecosystem; if it is low/high in levels than growth will be low/high in levels

Question 18

what are the three ecological pyramids?

Answer 18

biomass, energy, and pyramid of numbers