Ecology: Food Webs and Energy Flow

Front

What is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems?

Back

The sun.

Front

What is the correct term for different levels on an energy pyramid?

Back

Trophic Level.

Front

Why are there rarely more than three or four trophic levels in any food chain?

Back

Because there is not enough energy for higher trophic levels.

Front

What is a predator-prey relationship?

Back

A relationship where one organism (the predator) hunts and eats another organism (the prey).

Front

Give an example of a predator-prey relationship in a food web.

Back

The hawk and snake.

Front

What happens to the phytoplankton population if seals that eat fish are added to the ecosystem?

Back

The phytoplankton population would decrease.

Front

Define producers in an ecosystem.

Back

Organisms that produce their own food, typically through photosynthesis, such as plants.

Front

What are consumers in an ecosystem?

Back

Organisms that cannot produce their own food and must eat other organisms.

Front

What is a food chain?

Back

A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Front

What is a food web?

Back

A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.