Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
The study of ecosystems
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere).
What is a biome?
A very large ecosystem or collection of ecosystems with similar biotic and abiotic factors such as an entire Rain forest with millions of animals and trees, with many different water bodies running through them.
What ways do organisms interact with each other?
Competitive, harmful and beneficial.
What is a decomposer?
Decomposers break down dead plants and animals. They also break down the waste (poop) of other organisms. Decomposers are very important for any ecosystem. If they weren’t in the ecosystem, the plants would not get essential nutrients, and dead matter and waste would pile up.
What is a scavenger?
Scavengers are animals that find dead animals or plants and eat them. While they eat them, they break them into small bits. In this simulation, flies, wasps and cockroaches are scavengers. Earthworms are also scavengers, but they only break down plants.
What is a food chain?
A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community (an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition.
What are consumers?
a person who purchases goods and services for personal use.
What are producers?
A person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods or commodities for sale.
