Energy In Ecosystems- life on earth Flashcards
What is a biotic factor?
A living factors such as habitat, competition and food supply
What is an abiotic factor?
This refers to non living factors such as light intensity, water, soil, ph
When does competition occur?
It occurs when several different organisms are eating or using the same resource which is in limited supply
What does the arrows in a food chain indicate?
The direction of energy flow
What is the green plant that starts the food chain called?
A producer
What is the source of energy in every food chain?
Sunlight
When are food webs said to be balanced?
When they can support a constant number of organisms
How do food webs lose their balance?
If organisms disappear from it if they die or catch a disease or move to another area
What percentage of energy is lost through a food chain?
90%
How is energy lost through a good chain?
As heat energy
In movement
In building bones and hair (not eaten)
Decomposition of dead matter
What is the pyramid of numbers?
It represents the number of organisms in a food chain at each feeding level
What is the pyramid of biomass?
It represents the populations in a food chain as the total mass of living matter
What is the pyramid of energy?
It shows the transfer if chemical energy from the bodies of all the organisms in a food chain over a particular time period
What is intra specific competition?
Competition between organisms of the same species
What is interspecific competition?
Competition between organisms of different species
Which type of competition is more intense and why?
Intra specific because they need exactly the same resources
If organisms share resources what does this reduce?
Competition
Why are nutrient cycles important?
To recycle nutrients so they don’t run out
Why is nitrogen important?
It is needed to make protein
What happens to animals protein when they die?
Decomposers such as bacteria and fungi turn
Protein➡️ammonia
What is the ammonia in the soil then converted into?
Nitrifying bacteria turn
Ammonia➡️nitrites➡️nitrates
Some nitrates are converted into nitrogen gas by which type of organism?
Denitrifying bacteria
Some nitrogen gas is then converted back into nitrates by which organism living in the soil?
Nitrogen fixing bacteria
What is a community?
All of the organisms in a given area
What is an ecosystem?
This is a natural biotic unit made up of abiotic and biotic factors
What is a habitat?
Where an organism lives
What is a population?
The number of organisms of the same type within a community
Why are the producers called the producers?
Because they make their own food
What is a consumer?
Animals that can’t produce their own food so eat food for energy are called consumers
What is a carnivore?
A consumer that only eats meat
What is a herbivore?
A consumer that only eats plants
What is an omnivore?
A consumer that eats both plants and animals
