Food chains and foodwebs Flashcards
What is an abiotic factor?
A non-living thing in an ecosystem
Abiotic factors include sunlight, water, sand and rocks.
What is algae?
A diverse group of organisms that are producers in water environments
Algae include seaweed, phytoplankton and tiny organisms that live inside corals.
What is an apex predator?
An organism located at the top of a food chain or food web
Apex predators are hunters that do not have any natural predators.
What are biotic factors?
A living thing in an ecosystem
Biotic factors include corals, sea jellies, whales and seabirds.
What are carivores?
An animal that only eats meat
Lions are carnivores. They eat antelopes, buffaloes and zebras.
What is a case study?
A real-life example investigated in depth
Scientists examine case studies to better understand complex problems, such as invasive species.
What is the definition for competition?
The struggle between organisms for the same resources
Competition occurs when resources are limited, either between organisms of the same species or of different species.
What is a consumer?
A living thing that gets its food by eating other living things
Animals are examples of consumers because they must eat other living things for energy.
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down dead matter by releasing chemicals
Fungi and bacteria are decomposers. The mould on rotting fruit is a type of fungus.
What is decomposition?
The **process of breaking down dead matter **and waste
Dead bodies, faeces and leaves are broken down into nutrients that go back into the soil.
What is a detritivore?
An organism that eats dead matter and waste
Worms are detritivores because they eat faeces, dead leaves and other plant and animal wastes.
What is Ecology?
The branch of science that studies ecosystems
Ecology is a branch of science that studies ecosystems and their interactions.
What is an ecosystem?
A** collection of organisms interacting **with **each other **and their environment
A coral reef ecosystem includes a wide variety of living things and their non-living environment.
In terms of living things energy is?
The ability to move, grow and function
Producers get energy from sunlight while** consumers **get energy by eating other organisms.
What is a food chain?
A simple model that shows energy flow from one species to another
The arrows in a food chain show the flow of energy from one type of organism to another.
What is a food web?
A complex model that shows energy flow through an ecosystem
A food web is built by connecting all the food chains in a particular ecosystem.
What is habitat?
The** natural environment of a species**
Habitats include rainforests, grasslands, deserts or shallow seas. They provide the resources a species needs to survive.
What is a herbivore?
An animal that only eats plants
Elephants are herbivores. They eat grasses, tree bark and fruits.
What is an invasive species?
A** species that is introduced **to a new ecosystem and then causes harm
Rabbits are an invasive species in some parts of the world. They cause harm to native plants and the animals that depend on them for food.
In terms of an ecosystem what is matter?
Any substance that takes up space and has mass
Matter is cycled through ecosystems by processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, feeding and decomposition.
What is an omnivore?
An animal that eats both meat and plants
Baboons are omnivores. They eat fruits and grasses as well as mice and young antelope.
What is an organism?
A living thing; something that carries out life processes
Organisms move, respire, grow, reproduce, eat, excrete and respond to their environment.
What is photosynthesis?
The **process in producers that uses sunlight energy to make food
**
Photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide, water and sunlight into food to support life processes.
What are** phytoplankton**?
Tiny organisms that float near the water surface
Phytoplankton include algae and some types of bacteria. They are producers and carry out photosynthesis.
What is a **predator? **
A living thing that** hunts and eats other living things for food**
A bird is a predator to the insects it hunts and eats.
What is prey?
A living thing that is hunted and eaten by another living thing
A fish is prey to the bear that hunts and eats it.
What is a primary consumer?
An organism that feeds on producers
Primary consumers are animals that feed on plants, such as water snails that feed on algae.
What is a producer?
A living thing that produces its own food by using sunlight
Producers, such as plants and algae, create their own food through photosynthesis.
What is a quaternary consumer
An organism that feeds on tertiary consumers
Quaternary consumers are usually apex predators, at** the top of the food chain.**
ie humans
What is a secondary consumer?
An **organism that feeds on primary consumers
**
Secondary consumers feed on other animals, such as frogs that feed on water snails.
What is a species?
A group of similar living things that can breed with each other
At least 8 million species are believed to exist on Earth but only 1.7 million have been discovered.
What is a tertiary consumer?
**An organism that feeds on secondary consumers
Tertiary consumers feed on other animals, such as snakes that feed on frogs.
