ORGANISING AN ECOSYSTEM Flashcards
Where are producers in the food chain?
At the start because they produce glucose by photosynthesis.
What are primary consumers?
They eat the producers. On land, these are herbivores eg sheep, hippos and rabbits. In the ocean, shrimp, crabs and sea urchins are primary consumers.
What are secondary consumers?
They eat the primary consumers. Carnivores eg lions, foxes, blue tits. Or, in oceans, larger fish, turtles and seals.
What are tertiary consumers?
They eat secondary consumers. Eg large carnivores such as polar bears, birds of prey or tigers.
What are the disadvantages of eating plants?
The cellulose is very difficult to digest. Primary consumers have to find and eat enough plant material to provide them with the nutrients they need.
What is the advantage of eating plants?
They don’t move around.
What are predators?
Consumers that eat other animals. Predators are always secondary consumers or above.
What are prey?
Consumers that are eaten.
What happens to prey and predators in a stable community?
The numbers of prey and predators rise and fall in linked cycles.
What are the chemicals that make up living organisms mainly made up of?
carbon oxygen hydrogen nitrogen These are the elements that need to be recycled to provide building materials for new life.
What are detritus feeders?
Also known as detritivores. Eg maggots and some types of worms and beetles often start the process of decay. They eat dead animals and produce waste materials.
What are decomposers?
A group of microorganisms that include bacteria and fungi. They feed on waste droppings and dead organisms.
After the detritus feeder starts the process of decay, the decomposers digest everything - dead animals, plants and detritus feeders plus their waste.
They use some of the nutrients to grow and reproduce and release carbon dioxide, water, and mineral ions as waste products.
What happens in the decay cycle?
Decomposers return mineral ions, including nitrates, to the soil. Plants take them up through their roots and use them to make other chemicals in their cells. Decay returns carbon to the atmosphere as co2 that can be used by producers in photosynthesis. The decomposers also ‘clean up’ the environment, removing the bodies of all the dead organisms.
What happens in the water cycle?
Water evaporates.
Condenses as it rses into cooler air and forms clouds.
Precipitation.
Water passes through the bodies of animals and is released during respiration, as well as when organisms decay. Also, urine and faeces and sweat (mammals).
Plants release water during transpiration.
How does photosynthesis have an effect on the carbon cycle?
Green plants and algae remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for photosynthesis. They use the carbon from carbon dioxide to make carbohydrates, proteins and fats. These make up the biomass of the plants and algae. The carbon is them passed through food chains.
