Ecosystems Flashcards
What are large eco-systems called?
Biomes
Animals that only eat plants are called…
Herbivores
Animals that eat other animals are called…
Carnivores
What is an eco-system?
a complex natural system of living and non-living things with a variety of species.
What does biotic mean?
living things
What does abiotic mean?
non-living things like rocks, sunlight, atmosphere
Give an example of a small scale eco-system.
a pond, woodland,
Give an example of a large scale eco-system.
rainforest, deserts
What are producers? Give an example.
They convert energy from the environment into sugars like glucose such as plants.
What are consumers? Give an example.
They get energy from the sugars produced by producers such as a pond snail because it eats plants.
What are decomposers? Give an example.
They break down plant and animal material and return the nutrients to the soil such as bacteria and fungi.
What is a food chain?
They show direct links between producers and consumers in the form of a simple line.
What is a food web?
They show all the connections between producers and consumers in a rather more complex way.
What are nutrients?
They are foods that are used by plants or animals to grow.
What are the 2 main sources of nutrients?
Rainwater washed chemicals out of the atmosphere.
Weathered rock releases nutrients into the soil.
What causes change an eco-system?
global- scale changes, such as climate change.
local-scale changed, such as changes to a habitat.
How many biomes are there in the world?
11
What type of trees lose their leaves in the winter?
Deciduous trees
What is a biome?
a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities that are well adapted to the region’s physical environment.
The Earth’s biomes make up the …
biosphere
Where are tropical rainforests?
they are close to the equator
What is it like in tropical rainforests?
It has high temperatures and heavy rainfall.
Where are deserts located?
Roughly 30 degrees north and south of the equator.
What are deserts like?
Very hot but cold in the night.
Where is Polar found?
Found at the far northern and southern regions.
What is Polar like?
Low temperatures and dry conditions.
What are the main polar regions?
Antarctica, Greenland
Where are deciduous and coniferous forests located?
Roughly 50-60 degrees north of the equator.
What are deciduous and coniferous forests like?
Deciduous trees shed their leaves in the winter to retain moisture.
Coniferous trees are cone- bearing evergreens, retaining their leaves to maximise photosynthesis during the brief summer months.
Where are temperature grasslands located?
Roughly 30-40 degrees north and south of the equator. Usually in the middle of the continent.
What are temperature grasslands like?
Warm, dry summers and cold winters. Mainly used for grazing animals. It’s too hot for trees to grow.
Where are Mediterranean biomes located?
Roughly 40-45 degrees north of the equator.
What are Mediterranean biomes like?
hot, sunny and dry summers, with warm winters. Good to grow citrus fruits.
Where are Savanna biomes located?
Between 15-30 degrees north and south of the equator
What are Savanna biomes like?
Has very distinct seasons: dry seasons are very hot and wild fires can break out, wet seasons have violent thunderstorms.
