Chapter 5 - Ecosystems Flashcards
Feeding Levels (4)
Producers - Primary Consumers - Secondary Consumers - Decomposers
Producers
Organisms (usually plants) that convert some of the suns energy into stored chemical energy.
Primary Consumers
Herbivores. They obtain energy by consuming producers.
Secondary Consumers
Carnivores. The obtain energy by consuming primary consumers.
Decomposers
Organisms that obtain energy by breaking down dead organisms from the three other levels.
Energy Pyramid
Top - Secondary Consumers
Middle - Primary Consumers
Bottom - Producers
Conservation
Only a small amount of energy is passed on to the next level. E.g. in a leaf, not all the suns energy makes it into the leaf. Remaining energy will be lost in many ways (heat) energy that is left over becomes available to the next feeding level when the plant is eaten.
Food Chain
A feeding hierarchy in which organisms in an ecosystem are grouped into trophic (nutritional) levels and are shown in a succession to represent the flow of food energy and the feeding relationships between them.
Food Chain Example
- Plant - Producer
- Insect - Herbivore/ Primary consumer
- Mouse - Omnivore/ Secondary Consumer
- Hawk - Carnivore/ Tertiary Consumer
Food Web
The best way to model a feeding relationship. More elaborate that single unbranched chains.
Carrying Capacity
The maximum number of organisms that a particular environment can support over time.
Lag Phase
Population size grows very slowly, and organisms mature and adapt to the environment.
Exponential Phase
With plentiful food, the population will grow quickly.
Stationary Phase
When the population size outgrows the amount of available food, growth will begin to plateau.
Limiting Factors (6)
Food Available Births Deaths Number Coming In Number Moving Elsewhere Competition
