All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What trophic level do carnivores that eat herbivores occupy?
Answer: Secondary consumers. They consume primary consumers (herbivores).
Flashcard 2: Which trophic level do herbivores belong to?
Answer: Primary consumers. They feed directly on producers (plants).
Flashcard 3: What percentage of energy is typically lost between trophic levels?
Answer: 90%. Due to metabolic processes and heat loss.
Flashcard 4: What is the primary purpose of a food chain?
Answer: To illustrate energy flow through an ecosystem. Shows the linear transfer of energy between organisms.
Flashcard 5: What is the term for energy lost as heat at each trophic level?
Answer: Entropy. Energy dissipated during metabolic processes at each level.
Flashcard 6: Identify the type of consumer that eats both plants and animals.
Answer: Omnivores. They can function at multiple trophic levels simultaneously.
Flashcard 7: What is the significance of keystone species in trophic levels?
Answer: They play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem balance. Their removal can cause cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.
Flashcard 8: What is a pyramid of biomass?
Answer: A graphical representation of biomass at each trophic level. Typically pyramid-shaped due to energy loss at each level.
Flashcard 9: What is the role of decomposers in an ecosystem?
Answer: Break down dead material and recycle nutrients. Essential for nutrient cycling in ecosystems.
Flashcard 10: Which organisms are at the base of the food chain in the ocean?
Answer: Phytoplankton. Primary producers that convert sunlight into chemical energy.
Flashcard 11: What is the role of an apex predator?
Answer: Top of the food chain; no natural predators. Controls prey populations and maintains ecosystem balance.
Flashcard 12: What is the significance of the 10% rule in energy transfer?
Answer: Only 10% of energy is passed to the next trophic level. Explains why food chains are typically short.
Flashcard 13: Identify the process through which energy is transferred in food webs.
Answer: Consumption. One organism eating another transfers energy up trophic levels.
Flashcard 14: Which trophic level contains organisms like mushrooms?
Answer: Decomposers. Fungi that break down dead organic material.
Flashcard 15: Which level of the food web do detritivores belong to?
Answer: Decomposers. They consume dead organic matter and waste products.
Flashcard 16: What is the typical energy transfer efficiency between trophic levels?
Answer: Approximately 10%. Known as the 10% rule in ecology.
Flashcard 17: Name an organism that functions as a decomposer.
Answer: Fungi. Breaks down organic matter and recycles nutrients.
Flashcard 18: What term describes organisms that produce their own food?
Answer: Autotrophs. They make their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
Flashcard 19: Identify the primary producers in a terrestrial ecosystem.
Answer: Plants. They convert sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
Flashcard 20: Identify a factor that affects the length of food chains.
Answer: Energy availability. Limited energy restricts the number of sustainable trophic levels.
Flashcard 21: What is net primary productivity?
Answer: Energy available to consumers after plant respiration. Energy remaining after producers use some for cellular respiration.
Flashcard 22: State one consequence of removing a top predator from an ecosystem.
Answer: Disruption of trophic balance. Can lead to prey population explosions and ecosystem instability.
Flashcard 23: Which trophic level has the most available energy?
Answer: Primary producers. They capture energy directly from the sun through photosynthesis.
Flashcard 24: Identify a primary producer in an aquatic ecosystem.
Answer: Phytoplankton. Microscopic plants that form the base of marine food webs.
Flashcard 25: Which process converts solar energy into chemical energy?
Answer: Photosynthesis. Used by plants to create glucose from carbon dioxide and water.
Flashcard 26: What is the name for organisms that feed exclusively on plants?
Answer: Herbivores. Primary consumers that only eat plant material.
Flashcard 27: What is the primary source of energy for most ecosystems?
Answer: Sunlight. Powers photosynthesis in primary producers.
Flashcard 28: State the formula for calculating energy transfer efficiency.
Answer: Energy at lower trophic levelEnergy at higher trophic level×100. Measures the percentage of energy transferred between levels.
Flashcard 29: What term describes the total energy captured by producers?
Answer: Gross primary productivity. Total energy fixed by photosynthesis before respiration losses.
Flashcard 30: Identify a key difference between food webs and food chains.
Answer: Food webs show multiple interactions; chains are linear. Webs are more realistic representations of ecosystem complexity.