All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is a scavenger in a food web model?
Answer: An organism that eats dead animals without hunting them. Feeds on carrion rather than live prey.
Flashcard 2: Identify the trophic level of rabbit in a food web: grass → rabbit → fox.
Answer: Primary consumer. Rabbit eats the producer (grass).
Flashcard 3: Identify the trophic level of fox in a food web: grass → rabbit → fox.
Answer: Secondary consumer. Fox eats the primary consumer (rabbit).
Flashcard 4: Which organism is the producer: algae, zooplankton, small fish, or heron?
Answer: Algae. Only algae performs photosynthesis in this list.
Flashcard 5: Find and correct the arrow error: hawk → mouse (hawk eats mouse).
Answer: Correct: mouse → hawk. Arrow should point toward the consumer.
Flashcard 6: What is the most likely food web effect if producers sharply decrease?
Answer: Consumer populations decrease due to reduced energy supply. Less food at the base affects all higher levels.
Flashcard 7: What is a limitation of food web models compared with real ecosystems?
Answer: They simplify interactions and usually omit amounts and changes over time. Real ecosystems are more complex and dynamic.
Flashcard 8: What is a food web model in an ecosystem?
Answer: A diagram showing interconnected feeding relationships among organisms. Shows who eats whom in an ecosystem.
Flashcard 9: What is the key difference between a food chain and a food web?
Answer: A chain is one path; a web is many connected paths. Webs show multiple feeding relationships, not just one.
Flashcard 10: What do arrows represent in a food web model?
Answer: The direction of energy transfer between organisms. Energy flows from eaten to eater.
Flashcard 11: Which direction should an arrow point: from predator to prey or prey to predator?
Answer: From prey to predator. Energy flows in the direction of consumption.
Flashcard 12: What is a producer in a food web model?
Answer: An organism that makes its own food, usually by photosynthesis. Forms the base of the food web.
Flashcard 13: What is a primary consumer in a food web?
Answer: An organism that eats producers (an herbivore). First level of consumers in the energy pyramid.
Flashcard 14: What is a secondary consumer in a food web?
Answer: An organism that eats primary consumers. Second level consumers, often carnivores.
Flashcard 15: What is a tertiary consumer in a food web?
Answer: An organism that eats secondary consumers. Third level consumers in the energy pyramid.
Flashcard 16: What is an apex predator in a food web model?
Answer: A top consumer with no natural predators in that web. Sits at the top of the food web.
Flashcard 17: What is an omnivore in a food web model?
Answer: A consumer that eats both producers and consumers. Has varied diet from multiple trophic levels.
Flashcard 18: What is a decomposer and what role does it play in a food web?
Answer: Breaks down dead matter and recycles nutrients to the ecosystem. Essential for nutrient cycling in ecosystems.
Flashcard 19: Identify the trophic level of grass in a food web: grass → rabbit → fox.
Answer: Producer. Grass produces its own food through photosynthesis.
Flashcard 20: What is a trophic level in a food web model?
Answer: A feeding position based on how an organism gets energy. Each level represents a step in energy transfer.
Flashcard 21: What is a secondary consumer in a food web?
Answer: A consumer that eats primary consumers. Second-level consumers are typically carnivores.
Flashcard 22: What is a primary consumer in a food web?
Answer: An herbivore that eats producers. First-level consumers feed directly on plants.
Flashcard 23: Which option best describes an omnivore in a food web?
Answer: An organism that eats both producers and consumers. Feeds at multiple trophic levels in the web.
Flashcard 24: Identify the predator: hawk eats snake; which organism is the predator in this link?
Answer: Hawk. The hunter in a predator-prey relationship.
Flashcard 25: Identify the term for an organism that eats both plants and animals in a food web.
Answer: Omnivore. Has a varied diet spanning multiple trophic levels.
Flashcard 26: Which organisms should be placed at the base of a food web model?
Answer: Producers. They're the primary energy source for all consumers.
Flashcard 27: Which statement best distinguishes a food chain from a food web?
Answer: A chain is one path; a web shows many connected paths. Webs show complex interconnections, not single paths.
Flashcard 28: What is a keystone species in a food web model?
Answer: A species with a disproportionately large effect on the ecosystem. Its removal dramatically alters ecosystem balance.
Flashcard 29: What is the most direct food-web result of removing most producers?
Answer: Energy input drops, causing consumer populations to decline. Producers support all higher levels with energy.
Flashcard 30: Find and correct the arrow error: "fox e2c292 rabbit" when the fox eats the rabbit.
Answer: Correct: rabbit e2c2a0e2c292e2c2a0 fox. Arrow must point from prey to predator.