All flashcards
Flashcard 1: Which trophic level do producers occupy?
Answer: The first trophic level. They are always at the base of energy pyramids.
Flashcard 2: What is net primary productivity (NPP)?
Answer: Energy stored as producer biomass after respiration. Energy remaining after producer respiration costs.
Flashcard 3: What is a detritivore?
Answer: An organism that eats dead organic matter (detritus). They physically consume dead plant and animal material.
Flashcard 4: What is an omnivore in terms of trophic role?
Answer: A consumer that eats both producers and consumers. Mixed feeders can occupy multiple trophic levels.
Flashcard 5: Which option is the secondary consumer: grass, rabbit, fox?
Answer: Fox. Predator that eats the rabbit primary consumer.
Flashcard 6: If producers store 10,000 kJ, about how much reaches primary consumers at 10% transfer?
Answer: 1,000 kJ. Apply the 10% rule: 10,000×0.1.
Flashcard 7: If primary consumers have 500 kJ, about how much reaches secondary consumers at 10% transfer?
Answer: 50 kJ. Apply the 10% rule: 500×0.1.
Flashcard 8: Which statement is correct: energy cycles or energy flows through producers and consumers?
Answer: Energy flows; it does not cycle. Energy is continuously lost as heat.
Flashcard 9: What is an herbivore in terms of trophic role?
Answer: A primary consumer that eats producers. Plant-eaters occupy the second trophic level.
Flashcard 10: What is a tertiary consumer?
Answer: A consumer that eats secondary consumers. Third level above producers, often apex predators.
Flashcard 11: What is a secondary consumer?
Answer: A consumer that eats primary consumers. Second level above producers in energy transfer.
Flashcard 12: What is a primary consumer?
Answer: A consumer that feeds directly on producers (usually an herbivore). First level above producers in food chains.
Flashcard 13: Which term describes organisms that must eat others for energy: autotroph or heterotroph?
Answer: Heterotroph. 'Hetero' means other, indicating dependence on others.
Flashcard 14: Which term describes organisms that make their own food: autotroph or heterotroph?
Answer: Autotroph. 'Auto' means self, 'troph' means feeding.
Flashcard 15: What type of producer uses chemical energy instead of sunlight to build sugars?
Answer: A chemosynthetic autotroph (chemoautotroph). Found in deep ocean vents or sulfur-rich environments.
Flashcard 16: What process do most producers use to make glucose from CO2 and water?
Answer: Photosynthesis. Light energy + CO2 + H2O → glucose + O2.
Flashcard 17: What is the primary role of consumers in energy flow through ecosystems?
Answer: They transfer energy by feeding on producers or other consumers. They move energy up through trophic levels.
Flashcard 18: What is the primary role of producers in energy flow through ecosystems?
Answer: They convert external energy into chemical energy in biomass. They form the base of all food chains.
Flashcard 19: What is a carnivore in terms of trophic role?
Answer: A consumer that eats other consumers. Meat-eaters occupy higher trophic levels.
Flashcard 20: What is a consumer in an ecosystem?
Answer: A heterotroph that obtains energy by eating other organisms. They cannot produce their own food.
Flashcard 21: What is a producer in an ecosystem?
Answer: An autotroph that makes organic food from inorganic sources. They are the foundation of food webs.
Flashcard 22: What is a decomposer?
Answer: An organism that breaks down dead matter and wastes into simpler substances. They secrete enzymes to externally digest organic matter.
Flashcard 23: Which group is typically considered decomposers: fungi, grasses, or hawks?
Answer: Fungi. They release nutrients back to soil and water.
Flashcard 24: What is the key difference between detritivores and decomposers?
Answer: Detritivores ingest detritus; decomposers chemically break it down. Physical vs. chemical breakdown methods differ.
Flashcard 25: What is a trophic level?
Answer: A feeding position in a food chain or food web. Each level represents one step in energy transfer.
Flashcard 26: Which trophic level do primary consumers occupy?
Answer: The second trophic level. They directly consume producers for energy.
Flashcard 27: What is a food chain?
Answer: A linear pathway showing who eats whom for energy transfer. Each arrow shows direction of energy flow.
Flashcard 28: What is a food web?
Answer: A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem. It shows complex feeding relationships in ecosystems.
Flashcard 29: What is biomass in the context of producers and consumers?
Answer: The total mass of living organic material in a trophic level. More biomass supports more consumers at that level.
Flashcard 30: What is primary productivity?
Answer: The rate at which producers convert energy into biomass. Higher rates support more complex food webs.