NY Regents Energy flow and Symbiotic relationships

Front

What are primary consumers?

Back

Primary consumers are organisms that eat producers (plants) to obtain energy. Examples include herbivores like deer, mice, and crickets.

Front

What is a carnivore?

Back

A carnivore is an organism that primarily eats other animals. For example, frogs and hawks are classified as carnivores.

Front

What are secondary consumers?

Back

Secondary consumers are organisms that eat primary consumers. Examples include snakes and hawks that eat herbivores.

Front

What group has the greatest biomass in an ecosystem?

Back

Producers have the greatest biomass in an ecosystem because they convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis.

Front

What role do decomposers play in an ecosystem?

Back

Decomposers break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients back into the environment, making them available for other organisms.

Front

Define producers in an ecosystem.

Back

Producers are organisms that create their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, such as plants and algae.

Front

What is the significance of energy flow in an ecosystem?

Back

Energy flow refers to the transfer of energy from one organism to another through food chains and food webs, essential for ecosystem functioning.

Front

What is a food chain?

Back

A food chain is a linear sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another in an ecosystem.

Front

What is a food web?

Back

A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains that illustrates how different organisms are related through feeding relationships.

Front

What is the difference between herbivores and carnivores?

Back

Herbivores are animals that eat plants, while carnivores are animals that eat other animals.