Ecology Flashcards
Name FOUR contemporary environmental challenges
Climate change, loss of biodiversity, Chemical pollution, land use changes, water cycle (access to fresh water)
Define stewardship using a Catholic perspective
We are supposed to care for God’s creation. We are supposed to use the resources responsibly and share them justly with others.
Explain why Gaia Hypothesis is in contradiction with Catholic teaching.
It is because we are supposed to worship the Creator not his creation by accumulating wealth and therefore depriving others of access to e.g. safe drinking water or fuel for heating, etc.
What is a food chain?
shows what eats what in the ecosystem
What is a food web?
Several food chains in the ecosystem that show the real representation of what eats what
What is ecology?
The study of the relationships between living things and their environment
What is a producer? Give an example
An organism (living thing) that makes its own food. Plants- e.g. tree
What is a consumer? Give example
An organism that gets food by eating other organisms. E.g. animal - fox eats mice
What is a herbivore? Give example
An animal that only eats plants. E.g. cow
What is an omnivore? Give example
An animal that east both plants and animals. E.g. racoon or bear
What is a carnivore? Give example
An animal that feeds on other animals. E.g. lion
What is detritus?
Waste from animals and plants including their remains.
What is a decomposer? Give example
An organism that breaks down detritus and release the nutrients to the soil and water. E.g. bacteria
What is a habitat?
The place where an animal lives.
What is a niche?
A role (job) of a living thing. For example lion is a predator.
What is a population?
All the living things of the same species living in the same area. (E.g. all squirrels living in a forest)
What is a community?
All the organisms living in a certain area
What is a biome?
An area of a biosphere with a characteristic vegetation determined by its temperature and rainfall
What is an ecosystem?
Living and non-living parts of a specific environment. E.g. ocean, jungle, forest, etc.
What is a biosphere?
The narrow zone of life on earth
What is the trophic level?
The feeding level of an organism in a food chain or food web.
What is a food web?
Combining or overlapping of many food chains.
What is photosynthesis?
The food making process in plants.
What is respiration?
Process by which organisms obtain energy from food.
Air, muddy lake bottom, sunlight and water are examples of these parts of the ecosystem.
Non-living
Frogs, minnows, bacteria and algae are examples of these parts of the ecosystem.
Living.
How much of the energy is available to the next trophic level?
10%
All food chains begin with _______________s
Producers
Why are the producers always at the beginning of a food chain? Why can’t consumers be at the beginning of the food chain?
Producers can make food by using the energy from the sun. Consumers cannot use the sun energy to make food, therefore they rely on eating other things, like producers and/or other consumers.
What biome do we live in?
Deciduous forest
Give examples of three biomes, other the one we live in.
Desert, coniferous forest, grassland, tropical rainforest, and tundra
Permafrost is a characteristic of what biome?
Tundra
In which biome the fewest animals survive?
Desert
Which biome supports the most plant and animal species?
Tropical rainforest
What is the name of the biome that is made up of trees such as pines, spruce, and fir?
Coniferous forest
What is the name of the biome in which most trees loose their leaves in the late autumn?
Deciduous forest
What do we call the release of energy by living things?
Respiration
What are the waste products of respiration?
Carbon Dioxide and water
What fuel do living things use for energy?
Glucose
What is the food making process of plants called?
Photosynthesis
What are the starting products of photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide and water
What are the end products of photosynthesis?
Glucose and oxygen
What are the starting products of respiration?
Glucose and oxygen
What are the end products of respiration?
Carbon dioxide and water
In addition to carbon dioxide and water what else is required for photosynthesis to take place?
The green substance called chlorophyll and sunlight.
