Ecosystems & Interactions Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is an ecosystem?
A community of organisms and their environment.
What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food (like a plant).
What is a consumer?
An organism that eats other organisms.
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down dead things (like fungi or bacteria).
What is a food chain?
A simple path showing who eats whom in an ecosystem.
What is a food web?
A network of interconnected food chains.
What is a trophic level?
A step in a food chain (producers, primary consumers, etc.).
What happens to energy as it moves through a food chain?
It decreases; only about 10% moves to the next level.
What is biodiversity?
The variety of life in an ecosystem.
Why is biodiversity important?
It makes ecosystems more stable and resilient.
What is symbiosis?
A close relationship between two species (can be mutualism, parasitism, or commensalism).
What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors?
Biotic = living; Abiotic = non-living (like water, temperature, sunlight).
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum number of organisms an environment can support.
What can cause population sizes to change?
Availability of resources, predation, disease, human impact.
