Ecology review

Front

What is a trophic cascade?

Back

A trophic cascade is an ecological phenomenon where the removal or addition of a top predator causes a ripple effect through the food web, impacting the population sizes of various species in the ecosystem.

Front

What are abiotic factors?

Back

Abiotic factors are the nonliving components of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, temperature, water, and minerals, that influence the living organisms within that environment.

Front

What is the approximate efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels?

Back

The efficiency of energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is roughly 10%.

Front

Who is considered a tertiary consumer in a food chain?

Back

A tertiary consumer is an organism that eats secondary consumers; in the provided example, the fox is a tertiary consumer.

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What does a trophic level represent?

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A trophic level represents a feeding level in an ecosystem, indicating the position of an organism in the food chain.

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What is the role of producers in an ecosystem?

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Producers, such as plants, convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis, forming the base of the food chain.

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Define 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 is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

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A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass, while a food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains.

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What are primary consumers?

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Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers (plants) and are the second trophic level in a food chain.

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What impact do top predators have on ecosystems?

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Top predators help maintain the balance of ecosystems by controlling the populations of other species, which can prevent overgrazing and promote biodiversity.