Ecological Relationships & Energy Flow Flashcards by Holly K

Consumer

2 marks

Animal that eats a plant or another animal in order to obtain energy.

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Egestion

3 marks

Process of passing out the remains of food that has not been digested - as faeces - through the anus.

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Excretion

2 marks

Process by which waste products from chemical reactions in an organism are removed.

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Producer

2 marks

Plant that produces its own food by Photosynthesis.

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Trophic level

3 marks

Position of an organism in a food chain, food web or pyramid.

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Respiration

2 marks

Chemical reaction that happens in every living cell to release energy from food molecules.

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Original source of energy for almost all organisms on the Earth

(1 mark)

The Sun

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Energy flow;
Detailed

(3 marks)

Amount of energy that moves through a food chain.

Energy input/energy that enters the ecosystem - measured in Joules/calories.

Alt. name = calorific flow.

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Plants trap sunlight energy in…

1 mark

Chlorophyll

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Why do plants trap sunlight energy in Chlorophyll?

2 marks

To use it during photosynthesis to make food (sugar + starch)

it then can be passed onto animals.

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Animals/consumers obtain the food made by plants/producers through…?

(1 mark)

Feeding

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Feeding

1 mark

Animals/consumers obtain the food made by plants/producers through feeding.

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What type of consumers are Herbivores?

1 mark

Primary consumers

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Herbivores

1 mark

Plant eating animals.

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What type of consumers are Carnivores?

1 mark

Secondary consumers

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Carnivores

1 mark

Animals who eat other animals.

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Those that feed on secondary consumers

1 mark

Tertiary consumers

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The Sequence of Feeding

1 mark

Producers ➡️ Primary Consumers ➡️ Secondary Consumers ➡️ Tertiary Consumers

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Tertiary Consumers

1 mark

Feed on Secondary Consumers.

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Secondary Consumers

1 mark

Feed on Primary Consumers.

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Producers

1 mark

Feed Primary Consumers.

Primary Consumers

1 mark

Feed on Producers.

This sequence of feeding shows

1 mark

The flow of energy.

The different stages in the feeding sequence

1 mark

Tropic levels

Trophic levels | 1 mark

The different stages in the feeding sequence.

Energy flow | 1 mark

Amount of energy that moves through a food chain.

Energy flow alternative name | 1 mark

Calorific flow

What is the energy input/energy that enters the ecosystem measured? (2 marks)

Joules or Calories

Trophic Level 1 | 1 mark

Primary Consumers

Trophic Level 2 | 1 mark

Secondary Consumers

Trophic Level 3 | 1 mark

Tertiary Consumers

How can the Specific feeding sequences (and therefore flow of energy) be represented? (1 mark)

Food chain

Arrows between each organism show the direction of: | 4 marks

- Feeding (consumption). - Energy flow. - Transfer of substances such as Carbon + Nitrogen.

Food webs | 2 marks

Show a number of food chains that are interlinked - due to the organisms involved living in close proximity.

Most organisms will have more than 1 food source that can be seen in a food web but not... (1 mark)

A food chain.

What is lost between each trophic level? | 1 mark

Energy

When is energy lost when the sun is shining on the producer (Plant)? (2 marks)

Energy is lost when light is reflected off the leaf - or passes through but misses the chloroplasts

Why is it not a problem when light misses a plants (producers) chloroplasts or reflects off a leaf - losing a plant energy? (1 mark)

There is no shortage of light from the sun.

Between each Trophic Level, how much of the energy is transferred to the next? (1 mark)

10- 20%

How much energy is lost between each trophic level? | 1 mark

80-90%.

Why is energy lost between each trophic level? | 3 marks

Whole organism not being eaten (skeleton + fur). Not all food digested – some passes out of the animal in excretion or egestion. Some lost as heat in respiration + therefore not being passed onto the next level

What does respiration provide an animal with? | 1 mark

Energy for movement, reproduction + growth

What is energy required for (in animals)? | 3 marks

Movement, reproduction + growth.

Benefit of shorter food chains | 1 mark

More energy efficient as energy is lost at each stage.

Pyramid of Numbers | 2 marks

Number of organisms in each trophic level counted + presented in a diagram - they are referred to as pyramids because of their shape.

Producers have a higher value... | 1 mark

than the primary consumers; primary consumers have a higher value than secondary consumers and so on.

Advantage of Pyramid of Numbers | 1 mark

Counting numbers is easy to do.

Disadvantages of Pyramid of Numbers | 2 marks

They do not take the organism’s size into account so may not always resemble a pyramid. E.g if producer is 1 tree then pyramid will look inverted.

Inverted | 1 mark

Smaller on bottom.

Pyramid of Biomass | 2 marks

Biomass - (amount of living material) - of organisms in each trophic level is measured + presented in a pyramid of biomass.

Advantages of Pyramid of Biomass | 2 marks

More accurate as the organism’s size is taken into account. E.g bar representing 1 tree will be largest as it has more mass than primary consumers.

Why are Pyramids of Biomass used? | 1 mark

To overcome the problem of inverted pyramids of number.