Unit Review Flashcards
Components of an ecosystem
Abiotic and biotic
Ecosystem
All living organisms that share a region and interact with one another.
Population
Group of the same species
Community
All the different species that make up the ecosystem
Lithosphere
The rocky shell of the planet, which is above the organic mantle
Food chains
A chart that shows who eats whom in nature, and shows where an organism sits in its appropriate feeding level
Food webs
A much more complex version of food chains, and shows the impact of introducing or eliminating species in a web
Herbivore
Animal that eats plants or producers
Mutualism
A relationship in where both species benefit
Invasive species
A foreign species whose introduction negatively impacts the natural environment
Bioaccumulation
Increase in concentration of a substance the higher it goes up the food chain
Atmosphere
Gas layer hundreds of kilometres above the earth’s surface
Hydrosphere
All water above and below the earth
Producer
Able to make its own food through photosynthesis
Carnivores
Animal that eats other animals
Abiotic
Non-living
Biotic
Living
Carrying capacity
The maximum population size in an ecosystem
Commensalism
A relationship where one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed or benefited
Niche
How an organism interacts with its environment
Consumer
Must get their energy by eating other organisms
Terrestrial
On earth
Omnivores
Animal that eats both plants and animals
Biosphere
Places in the 3 other spheres where life can exist
Decomposers
Consume dead animals/plants and reduce them to simpler forms of matter
Parasitism
A relationship where one species is harmed and the other species is benefited
Pesticides
Chemicals that are used to control the living organisms through poison or toxicity
Sustainability
The ability to maintain balance in an ecosystem
Biodiversity
The variety of life in an ecosystem, which is highest around the equator
Sustainable ecosystem
Ecosystems that have the ability to maintain balance
What causes an ecosystem to not be sustainable?
Its limiting factors, as well as negative human interaction
Photosynthesis
The process that allows light energy to be converted into chemical energy
True or false: all of the energy on earth comes from plants
False. Energy is harnessed by plants, but the energy itself comes from the sun
Where in the producer does photosynthesis happen?
The chlorophyll
Limiting factor
Any factor that limits the size of a population
True or false: Biotic factors determines where species live
False. It is the abiotic factor
A food chain shows…
Simple feeding relationships
Give an example of both an abiotic and biotic limiting factor.
For a terrestrial ecosystem, an abiotic limiting factor would be the temperature. A biotic limiting factor would be the producers.
How do limiting factors effect the sustainability of an ecosystem?
They effect the sustainability because they control almost everything in the ecosystem, such as…
Tolerance range
A specific range of factors that determine if a species can survive if it is in said range.
Name 4 ways the humans have decreased the biodiversity in ecosystems
Deforestation
Housing and Farming Development
Pollution
Climate Change
Biomass
The total mass of all the species in a trophic level, which decreases as you go up the food chain
What percentage of energy carries over each trophic level? Why?
10%, because the rest of the energy is used up by doing daily tasks
