🦋 • Lesson 1.9 : Organisms, Environment, Ecosystems (Bio) Flashcards
In this final biology lesson, we will cover all about organisms and their environment, including; energy flow, food chains and food webs, the carbon cycle, destruction of natural habitats, and human influences on ecosystems.
What is the principal source of energy for biological systems?
The Sun is the principal source of energy input to biological systems.
How does energy flow through living organisms?
Energy flows through living organisms as light energy from the Sun, which is converted into chemical energy, and eventually transferred to the environment.
What is a food chain?
A food chain shows the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, starting with a producer.
How do you construct and interpret simple food chains?
A simple food chain can be constructed by identifying the producer, followed by primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.
What is a food web?
A food web is a network of interconnected food chains that shows the relationship between different organisms.
What is a producer?
A producer is an organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually through photosynthesis, using energy from sunlight.
What is a consumer?
A consumer is an organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms.
How are consumers classified in a food chain?
Consumers are classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary based on their position in a food chain.
What is a herbivore?
A herbivore is an animal that gets its energy by eating plants.
What is a carnivore?
A carnivore is an animal that gets its energy by eating other animals.
What is a decomposer?
A decomposer is an organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic material.
How do humans impact food chains and webs?
Humans impact food chains and webs through overharvesting of food species and introducing foreign species to a habitat.
What is a trophic level?
A trophic level is the position of an organism in a food chain or food web.
What are the different trophic levels in food webs and food chains?
The trophic levels in food webs and food chains include:
producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and quaternary consumers.
Why is the transfer of energy from one trophic level to another often inefficient?
The transfer of energy from one trophic level to another is often inefficient because energy is lost as heat and through metabolism at each level, leaving only a small fraction available for the next level.
Why is it more energy efficient for humans to eat crop plants than livestock fed on crop plants?
Humans use less energy by eating plants directly rather than consuming livestock, which lose energy at each trophic level.
What is the first step of the carbon cycle?
Photosynthesis.
(Plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and convert it into glucose using sunlight).
What happens after photosynthesis in the carbon cycle?
Feeding.
(Herbivores eat plants, and carnivores eat herbivores, transferring carbon through the food chain).
What happens after feeding in the carbon cycle?
Respiration.
(Organisms break down glucose for energy, releasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) back into the atmosphere).
What happens after respiration in the carbon cycle?
Decomposition.
(Decomposers break down dead organisms, releasing carbon back into the soil and atmosphere).
How is carbon stored over time in the carbon cycle?
Formation of Fossil Fuels.
(Over millions of years, carbon from dead organisms gets trapped and forms fossil fuels).
What is the last step of the carbon cycle?
Combustion.
(Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) back into the atmosphere).
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a unit containing the community of organisms and their environment, interacting together.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the number of different species that live in an area.
What are the reasons for habitat destruction?
Habitat destruction can occur due to the increased area for housing, crop plant production, and livestock production.
How does pollution contribute to marine habitat destruction?
Freshwater and marine pollution lead to habitat destruction by contaminating water and harming aquatic life.
Why is deforestation harmful?
Deforestation reduces biodiversity, causes extinction, leads to soil loss, increases flooding, and raises carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
Why do organisms become endangered or extinct?
Organisms can become endangered or extinct due to climate change, habitat destruction, hunting, overharvesting, pollution, and introduced species.
How do introduced species contribute to species becoming endangered or extinct?
Introduced species can outcompete, prey on, or bring diseases to native species, leading to their endangerment or extinction.
How does captive breeding help conserve endangered species?
Captive breeding programs breed endangered species in controlled environments, increasing their population and supporting reintroduction into the wild.
How do seed banks help conserve endangered plant species?
Seed banks store seeds from endangered plants, preserving their genetic material for future restoration efforts.
