key area 1:energy in ecosystems Flashcards
(29 cards)
what is the definition of biodiversity?
Variety and abundance of organisms which exist in an ecosystem.
what is the definition of an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a natural biological unit in which organisms interact with their environment e.g. coral reef, desert, pond, forest.
what is the definition of a species?
Organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring.
what is the definition of population?
Number of individuals of the same species in a habitat.
what is the definition of a habitat?
The place an organism lives.
what is the definition of a community?
All the living organisms that live within a habitat.
what is the definition of a producer?
a producer is usually a green plant that will produce its own food. Plants will do this by the process of photosynthesis .
what is the definition of a consumer?
Consumers eat other organisms. These will have special names depending on what they eat.
what is the definition of a herbivore?
These eat producers (plants).
what is the definition of a carnivore?
These eat other consumers.
what is the definition of an omnivore?
Eat a mixed diet of producers and consumers.
what is the definition of a predator?
Predators are carnivores that hunt.
what is the definition of prey?
Prey species are the food that predators hunt for.
what is the definition of niche?
The role an organism plays in its community/ ecosystem
what does interdependence mean?
All organisms in an ecosystem depend upon each other. If the population of one organism rises or falls, then this can affect the rest of the ecosystem.
what are examples of species that depend on other species for different things?
food,seed dispersal, shelter and pollination
what is a food chain?
A food chain is a pathway that shows how energy flows through an ecosystem.
what does the arrow in a food chain represent ?
how energy is transferred through the chain
give an example of a food chain?
grass->grasshopper->frog->snake
what is a food web?
Food webs show more complex interactions in an ecosystem. It involves more than one food chain.
what 3 things can effect how much energy is lost when it is passed from one level of the food chain to the next?
heat,movement and waste matter
what is a pyramid of energy?
A pyramid of energy shows the total quantity of available energy stored in the biomass of organisms at each level in the food chain of an ecosystem.
why do pyramids of energy always have the same shape?
Pyramids of energy always have the same shape because energy is lost at each level in the food chain.
what is a pyramid of numbers?
A pyramid of numbers shows the total number of individual organisms at each level in the food chain of an ecosystem.
