Ecology - FINAL EXAM Review

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What is a food web?

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A food web is a complex network of feeding relationships among various organisms in an ecosystem, showing how energy and nutrients flow through different trophic levels.

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What is biodiversity?

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Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem, including the number of different species and their relative abundance.

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What happens to a food web if a key species is removed?

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Removing a key species can disrupt the balance of the food web, leading to population declines or increases in other species, and potentially causing ecosystem collapse.

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What is a producer in an ecosystem?

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Producers are organisms, typically plants or algae, that can make their own food through photosynthesis, forming the base of the food web.

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What is a consumer?

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Consumers are organisms that cannot produce their own food and must eat other organisms (plants or animals) to obtain energy.

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What is a primary consumer?

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Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers (plants) to obtain energy.

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What is a secondary consumer?

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Secondary consumers are carnivores that eat primary consumers to obtain energy.

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What is a predator?

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A predator is an organism that hunts and kills other organisms (prey) for food.

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What is an ecosystem?

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An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with their physical environment, including both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components.

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What is an energy pyramid?

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An energy pyramid is a graphical representation showing the flow of energy at different trophic levels in an ecosystem, illustrating that energy decreases as it moves up the pyramid.