Grade 6 - Ecosystem Flashcards
What term refers to a community of living organisms interacting with their environment, which can vary in size from large areas like a pond or a backyard to smaller environments like a discarded bottle or a log, and can be either natural, such as a wilderness area, or human-made, like an aquarium?
Ecosystem
What term is used to refer to any living species or organism?
Individual
Refers to a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce offspring.
species
What do you call a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific and similar geographic area at a given time?
population
True or False: Organisms in a population may have different characteristics such as color, covering, shape, and size between themselves and other populations.
True
This refer to populations of different species in a specific area at a given time.
community
This refers to the variation of living things together in one area.
biodiversity
This includes some communities of living organisms interacting with the nonliving environment.
ecosystem
This refer to a groups of ecosystems with similar climate (weather, temperature) and the same kind of biotic and abiotic factors in a large area on Earth’s surface.
biome
What is formed when we all consider all the different biomes, the atmosphere and with all the community of living and nonliving things in their defined habitats. This is the sum of all these ecosystems on Earth.
biosphere
What do you call the living components of an ecosystem and give some examples.
biotic factors.
- plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and protists.
They are producers in an ecosystem. They make their own food using materials from the nonliving environment through photosynthesis
plants
They are consumers in an ecosystem. They cannot carry out photosynthesis so they get food from the environment by eating or consuming other organisms.
animals
They are organisms that feed on dead organic matter, such as decaying plants and animals.
scavengers and detritivores
Examples of organisms that feed on dead plants and animals.
earthworms, beetles, vultures, crabs, and some seabirds
Examples of decomposers, they get energy from waste materials and help break down dead animals and plants into minerals that enhance the composition of soil.
bacteria and fungi
They are the nonliving components of an ecosystem.
abiotic factors
Give some examples of abiotic factors?
sunlight, water, soil, minerals, air, and climate.
What term is used to describe any part or condition of the abiotic environment that determines whether or not an organism can survive?
limiting factor
Examples of limiting factor?
physical barriers
sunlight
food supply
space
water
temperature
soil
The primary source of energy for all living components in the planet. It provides energy for the plants to manufacture food and for crops to grow.
Sun
A series of organisms showing a one-way path of feeding relationship. The energy from food eaten is passed on from one organism to another in a sequence of events.
food chain
What is the feeding mechanism or trophic level in a food chain that always begins with, such as green plants or algae?
producers
What are the main groups of consumers based on the type of food they eat?
Herbivores - (plant-eaters)
Carnivores - (meat-eaters)
Omnivores - (both plant and meat eaters)
The organism that feeds directly on a producer is called?
primary or first-order consumer
The one that eats the primary consumer is called?
secondary or second-order consumer
A number of food chains that are interconnected together is called?
food web
What are the two general categories of a food web:
grazing food web
detrital food web
Discuss the grazing food web flow.
In a grazing food web, the flow begins with green plants, algae, or photosynthetic planktons. The energy or food materials are passed from producers to consumers.
Discuss the detrital food web flow.
The flow begins with organic remains. The energy or food materials are passed from dead animal or plant matter to decomposers and scavengers and then to consumers.
A complete view of how the amount of energy flow in an ecosystem is provided by?
energy pyramid
How does the energy pyramid works?
It shows the amount of energy available at every trophic level. It also illustrates the decreasing amount of energy as the energy is passed on from one trophic level to another.
Who trap the energy from the sun and convert it to chemical energy for food making, growth, and reproduction at the base of an energy pyramid?
Producers
What level of the energy pyramid where most energy is stored?
At the base of an energy pyramid.
What represents the second level of an energy pyramid?
The first-order consumers.
What do organisms of the same species perform?
Intraspecific interactions
Fill in the blanks:
Many animals use 1._______ to communicate, while plants and other animals use chemical signals called 2.________.
1.sound
- pheromones
Usage of pheromones for ants?
to track and guide their way
How does honeybees distinguish mates from intruders?
Honeybees touch their antennae.
What do organisms of different species perform?
Interspecific interactions
In an ecosystem, this occurs when two or more organisms struggle to get and use the same resources at the same time.
competition
An interaction where one organism (the predator) hunts, kills, and consumes another organism (the prey) for food?
Predation
This is called the predator-prey relationship.
Predation
A type of relationships that involve two or more species living together and interacting with one another. Interactions are not limited to feeding; it may also include sharing or reciprocal relationships
symbiotic relationships
Is a type of symbiotic relationships where one organism is benefitted while the other is neither benefitted nor harmed.
commensalism
Is a type of symbiotic relationships where two organisms benefit from each other. The two organisms live harmoniously together.
mutualism
Is a type of symbiotic relationships where one organism benefits while the other is harmed.
parasitism
A vast area of woodlands covered by a thick vegetation, tall timber trees, and a wide range of foliage, which is a group of leaves, flowers, and branches. It occupy almost 6-7% of Earth’s surface, and receive warmth and abundant rainfall throughout the year.
Tropical rain forest
The highest layer of the rain forest. It receives most of the sunlight, thus helps in growing tallest trees. It is home to many wild birds such as eagles and hummingbirds, and insects such as crickets.
emergent layer
The third layer and consists of the upper part of the trees. This is the primary layer of the forest.
canopy layer
A layer under the thick leaves but above the ground, making it darker but cooler.
understory layer
The bottom layer of the rain forest. The layer is covered with fallen leaves and small plants such as mosses.
forest floor
Importance of rain forests, provide as many ways.
- Forests and its green plants produce oxygen, which is the gas that humans and animals breathe in.
- Forests help in soil conservation and flood prevention. Forests also lessens siltation and leaching of nutrients in the soil.
- Forests regulate climate. Forest trees absorb sunlight and help cool the environment.
- Forests provide habitats for various exotic and endemic species of plants and animals.
- Forests serves as watersheds. The underground water from rivers and streams that are connected to the forests become a source of water for home and industrial use.
- Forests serve as sources of food, medicine, and raw materials for commercial products.
- Forests provide opportunities for recreation and education. People go to forests to enjoy the beauty of nature and to find peace in the surroundings. Scientists and other professionals select forests to conduct field study and research about biodiversity.
Like rain forests, they are mostly found in the tropical regions. They are from hard and soft corals, which took millions of years to form.
coral reefs
What is the name of the coral reef found in Palawan, which is included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
Coral polyps form limestone skeletons from the absorbed calcium in seawater and are deposited and the build up a chain of large rocky formations called ________.
reef
Most reef-building corals contain photosynthetic algae, called ________, which live in their tissues.
zooxanthelae
Different formations of coral reefs.
fringing
barrier
atoll
An underwater set of living corals that grow closer to the shore and around an island.
Fringing reef
Formed offshore and is separated from the shorelines by channels called lagoons.
Barrier reef
A circular reef formation that surrounds a deep or large lagoon.
Atoll
What are the famous atolls in our country, Philippines?
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
Apo Reef
Importance of Coral Reefs
- They serve as habitat, shelter, and breeding sites for different species of marine animals.
- They act as barriers that protect coasts and communities from the damaging effects of tropical storms, strong current, and wave actions by slowing down the water before getting to the shorelines.
- They increase the biodiversity of the world and supply food for millions of people every year.
- They provide resources and income to people to feed their families.
- They help decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the water.
- They help in developing the socio-economic status of a community with the eco-tourism and educational research on marine ecosystem it offers.
They are wetlands along coasts and are found in tropical and subtropical regions such as the Philippines. They are characterized by salt loving trees, shrubs, and other plants.
Mangrove swamps
They are recognized by DENR as the rain forest of the sea.
Mangrove forest
Importance of Mangrove Swamps
- Mangroves protect the shoreline from erosion caused by damaging storms, winds, waves, and floods.
- They filter pollutants and trap sediments from the land.
- Mangroves serve as valuable nursery areas for swamp animals.
- Mangroves swamps provide commercial and fishing industries.
- Mangroves support threatened and endangered species.
- Mangroves offer renewable resources.
A massive and large scale clearing of forests without replacing the collected trees.
Deforestation
What are some of the effects of deforestation?
Global warming
Greenhouse effect
Erosion
Flash flood
Landslide
Drought
Extinction of species
Then whitening of the coral that is due to the disappearance of the zooxanthellae.
Coral bleaching
A brownish algae that live symbiotically with the corals.
Zooxanthellae
What are some illegal fishing methods that destroy coral reefs?
dynamite fishing
cyanide fishing
Muro ami
toxic chemical bleaching
The total quantity of human inhabitants of a particular area at a specified time.
Human population
This arises when the population grows to a certain size that the food, water, space and other resources are not enough to sustain life.
Overpopulation
What are the effects of overpopulation?
Malnutrition due to food shortage
Unsanitary lifestyle due to overpopulation
Diseases and epidemics due to overcrowding
Natural habitats converted into relocation sites for urban poor.
___________ is needed in utilizing the available resources to meet the needs of today without sacrificing the needs of the future.
Sustainable development
The measure of human demands on Earth’s ecosystems. It is the measure of the amount of natural resources we use each year.
ecological footprint
WWF -
World Wildlife Fund
