Yr 9 Food Chains Flashcards
(75 cards)
What is a producer?
-organism that makes its own food, usually by photosynthesis
What is a food chain?
-representation of the feeding relationships within a community
What is a consumer?
-organism that eats other organisms for food
What is a herbivore?
-organism that only eats producers (plants/algae)
What is a predator?
-organism that kills and eats other organisms
What is a prey organism?
-organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
What is an apex predator?
-carnivore with no predators
What proportion of biomass is transferred from each trophic level to the one above?
-approximately 100%
Why is biomass lost between trophic levels?
-some ingested material is egested
-some material is lost as waste (carbon dioxide as water in respiration, water and urea in urine)
-used in life processes such as respiration
-energy is used in movement and to keep animals warm
What is the carbon cycle?
-process that returns carbon from organisms to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, which can then be used by plants
What is a decomposer?
-organism that breaks down dead plant and animal material
What is the role of decomposition?
-returns carbon to to the atmosphere and mineral ions to the soil from dead matter
Give the environmental changes that can affect the distribution of organisms:
-temperature
-availability of water
-composition of atmospheric gases
What is an ecosystem?
-the interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment
What is competition?
-contest between organisms within a community for resources
What is interdependence?
-when species in a community depend on others for resources and shelter
What do animals often compete for?
-food
-mates
-territory
What do plants often compete for?
-light
-space
-water
-mineral ions
-some compete for pollinators also
What is an abiotic factor?
-non-living factor that can affect a community
List the abiotic factors that can affect a community
-carbon dioxide levels for plants
-light intensity
-moisture levels
-oxygen levels for animals that live in water
-soil pH and mineral content
-temperature
-wind intensity and direction
What is a biotic factor?
-living factor that can affect a community
List the biotic factors that can affect a community
-availability of food
-new predators
-new pathogens
-competition between species
How do adaptations help an organism?
-they enable the organism to survive in the conditions in which it lives
What are the three types of adaptations?
-structural
-behavioural
-physiological