Energy and Ecosystems Flashcards
What is the coldest, driest ecosystem on Earth?
Tundra
In the tundra, there are what kind of summers and what kind of plant life
short summers, little plant life
In the tundra, what do animals often do?
Migrate or hibernate during the long, cold winters
If there are short summers in the tundra, what does that mean about the winter?
There are long, cold winters
Describe a basic food chain in the tundra
- Reindeer moss uses energy from sun to make and store sugar (producers)
- Caribou are herbivores and eat the reindeer moss and other producers (first-level consumers)
- Wolves are predators and eat caribou (second-level consumers)
Path that shows the transfer of food energy from one organism to the next called
Food chain
How do producers capture energy?
From the sun
When producers capture energy from the sun, it is called what
photosynthesis
What happens in photosynthesis?
light energy is converted into chemical energy in sugars used for food
Herbivores eat who?
Producers
Herbivores are considered what kind of consumers…
First-level consumers
After herbivores, what comes next in the food chain
carnivores and omnivores
carnivores and omnivores are what kind of consumers
second-level consumers
Second-level consumers eat who?
herbivores
Third-level consumers eat what level consumers
second-level consumers
A scavenger that eats organisms that have died, may be what?
second or third-level consumer
what is the final link in any food chain?
Decomposer
What does a decomposer do?
get energy as they break down the remains of dead plants and animals and return nutrients to the soil
Example of a scavenger
Arctic gull that feeds on dead bodies of caribou, wolves
Example of decomposer
fungi and bacteria that decompose final remains
What does a food web show?
How food chains overlap (what eats what)
In a food web, the arrows point in which direction?
where energy moves (what’s being eaten)
All the organisms in a food web are interdependent? True or false
True
If you removed a predator like a snake from a food web, what might happen?
There would be more mice, more plants would be eaten, meaning mice might run out of food and begin to die off, affecting the hawks that eat mice
What does an energy pyramid show?
How much energy passes from one organism to another up a food chain
In an energy pyramid, the organisms in a layer of the pyramid feed on those in which layer
a lower layer
In an energy pyramid, which layer has the most organism
the producers in the bottom layer
Environmental changes can affect energy flow in an energy pyramid. If too many people are fishing salmon, what might happen to seals that eat salmon?
May go hungry
What is the first organism in a food chain?
Producer
Herbivores are the ________-level consumers
first
_________ and _______ are the second-level consumers
carnivores and omnivores
____________ are the final organisms in all food chains. They recycle materials by breaking down plant and animal remains and return materials to the environment.
decomposers
A food web shows how food chains do what?
overlap
Arrows in a food web show the direction of….
energy transfer
Most of the energy in an ecosystem is present in the….
producers
At each level of an energy pyramid, organism use ___percent of the available energy for life processes.
90
Only ___percent of the energy is passed from one level to the next level above in an energy pyramid
10
Put this food chain in order….
hawk - bacteria - corn - mouse
corn - mouse - hawk - bacteria
Complete the facts:
The shrubs use __ percent of their energy and pass on ___ percent to the deer that eat them
90, 10
Which organisms get the least amount of energy?
-wolves
-deer
-shrubs
wolves
Which organisms must be the most plentiful to support this food chain?
-wolves
-deer
-shrub
shrubs
Which organisms might a hawk eat?
- tree
-bird
-fly
-shrub
-mouse
-rabbit
-deer
-squirrel
-grasshopper
describe the food chain of cheese that is used for a sandwich. Here’s a start…
sun - grass - cow - _____-_______
milk, cheese
Most plants contain a green, food-producing molecule called…
chlorophyll
Plants make their own food through a process called…
photosynthesis
Organisms that make their own food are called….
producers
Organisms that do not make their own food are called…
consumers
Which one would be the correct way to classify a mountain lion?
a) omnivore, prey, consumer
b) carnviore, predator, consumer
c) herbivore, predator, producer
d) carnivore, prey, consumer
carnivore, predator, consumer
If a pet rabbit is an herbivore, what should you feed it?
a) lettuce
b) bacteria
c) metal scraps
d) insects
lettuce
Which of these is the final link in every food chain?
a) producers
b) decomposers
c) first-level consumers
d) second-level consumers
decomposers
What is the initial source of energy in most ecosystems?
a) decomposers
b) sunlight
c) nutrients in soil
d) oxygen in air
sunlight
Nolan has an hamburger and a salad for lunch. What does this tell you about him?
a) he is a producer
b) he is a scavenger
c) he is a herbivore
d) he is an omnivore
he is an omnivore
Plants rely on animals to produce carbon dioxide. What do plants produce for animals?
a) food and oxygen
b) sunshine and rain
c) carbon dioxide and food
d) herbivores and carnivores
food and oxygen
Look at this food chain:
pine seed - mouse - snake - hawk
what would happen if all the mice died from a disease?
a) The snakes would eat pine seeds instead of mice
b) The producers would stop making food
c) The population of snakes would increase
d) The population of snakes would decrease
population of snakes would decrease
A snake is preparing to eat a fish swimming near it. What is the best way to describe the relationship here?
a) predator and prey
b) producer and consumer
c) herbivore and omnivore
d) scavenger and producer
predator and prey
Some animals are known for their food-gathering behaviors. Vultures are an example of the following:
a) predator
b) producer
c) scavenger
d) decomposer
scavenger
Which is the correct diagram of photosynthesis?
a) sunlight + carbon dioxide + water – sugar + oxygen
b) sunlight + oxygen _ water – sugar + carbon dioxide
c) sunlight _+ carbon dioxide + sugar – water + oxygen
d) sunlight + oxygen + sugar –carbon dioxide + water
sunlight + carbon dioxide + water – sugar + oxygen
Wyatt notices some fungi growing on his favorite tree. What is the role of this fungi?
a) Fungi are producers. They are making their own food.
b) Fungi are scavengers. They are eating the dead parts of the tree.
c) Fungi are producers. They are providing the tree with food.
d) Fungi are decomposers. They are decomposing a part of the tree.
Fungi are decomposers. They are decomposing a part of the tree.
If a level of a food pyramid dies out, how does that affect the other levels?
Will be more of them - no one to eat them
