ecology

Question 1

food web

Answer 1

A food web consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem.

Question 2

food chain

Answer 2

Food webs connect many different food chains, and many different tropic levels.

Question 3

producers

Answer 3

Producers make up the first trophic level.

Question 4

autotrophs

Answer 4

Producers make up the first trophic level.

Question 5

consumers

Answer 5

The next trophic levels are made up of animals that eat producers. These organisms are called consumers.

Question 6

carnivore

Answer 6

carnivores (animals that eat other animals)

Question 7

omnivore

Answer 7

omnivores (animals that eat both plants and animals)

Question 8

trophic levels

Answer 8

trophic levels are made up of animals that eat producers

Question 9

primary consumer

Answer 9

Primary consumers are herbivores

Question 10

herbivore

Answer 10

Herbivores eat plants, algae, and other producers

Question 11

secondary consumers

Answer 11

Secondary consumers eat herbivores

Question 12

tershiary consumers

Answer 12

Tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers

Question 13

apex predators

Answer 13

Top predators, also called apex predators, eat other consumers

Question 14

detritovores

Answer 14

Detritivores are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains

Question 15

scavenger

Answer 15

Detritivores are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains

Question 16

decomposers

Answer 16

Decomposers, like fungi and bacteria, complete the food chain. Decomposers turn organic wastes, such as decaying plants, into inorganic materials, such as nutrient-rich soil

Question 17

environment

Answer 17

The environment is all around us. It includes all the things an organism needs to survive. Humans change the environment in many ways.

Question 18

biosphere

Answer 18

The biosphere includes all places on Earth where life exists. We find living things in cold regions, in tropical rain forests, deserts, oceans, and in cities.

Question 19

habitat

Answer 19

The place in which an organism lives is known as its habitat. The habitat provides the organism with food, water, and shelter. The Everglades are the habitat of the bog frog. Here, it gets lots of insects to eat and water to drink.

Question 20

species

Answer 20

Organisms that share the same characteristics and features belong to the same species. Animals that belong to the same species can reproduce and create offspring. Pets like cats, dogs, and goldfish are each a different species.

Question 21

population

Answer 21

A population is made up of the same kind of organisms. They live together in the same habitat.

Question 22

community

Answer 22

Maple and oak trees are producers in a forest ecosystem. Animals like birds and deer are consumers. Small bugs live on rotten and decayed vegetation. They are decomposers.

Question 23

niche

Answer 23

A snake’s niche includes what it eats and what environment it needs to survive. Snakes depend on warm temperatures. Snakes eat mice, lizards, birds, and eggs. They are food for eagles, owls, and hawks.

Question 24

competition

Answer 24

In the tropical rain forest biome, there is competition for sunlight. Trees need to grow tall to absorb maximum sunlight. These trees branch out at the top, forming a canopy that prevents sunlight from reaching the forest floor, making it difficult for smaller trees to compete with them.

Question 25

biotic

Answer 25

Biotic components are the living things that shape an ecosystem.

Question 26

Abiotic

Answer 26

Abiotic components are the non-living factors in an environment.

Question 27

predator

Answer 27

A predator is an animal that hunts other animals for food. Lions are the most feared and ferocious predators of the grassland biomes. They hunt animals like zebras, wildebeest, impalas, and buffalo.

Question 28

prey

Answer 28

A prey is an animal that is hunted by other animals. In a grassland ecosystem, a mouse is the prey of a snake and the snake in turn, is preyed on by hawks.

Question 29

parasite

Answer 29

A parasite is an organism that lives on or in another organism. It takes nourishment from its victim. Some parasites do not harm the host organism. Others may actually cause it to die or become weak and sickly.

Question 30

host

Answer 30

A relationship in which one organism benefits at the host’s expense is called parasitism.

Question 31

symbiosis

Answer 31

relationship between two species that interact in ways that influence each other’s evolution

Question 32

parisatism

Answer 32

A relationship in which one organism benefits at the host’s expense is called parasitism.

Question 33

mutualism

Answer 33

Mutualism is a relationship between two species in which both benefit from the relationship.

Question 34

commensalism

Answer 34

Commensalism is a relationship between two organisms in which one is benefited and the other is neither benefited nor harmed. Barnacles and whales share a commensalistic relationship that benefits the barnacles.