Introduction to Eutrophication

Organisms & their environment

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SURAH LUQMAN VERSE 20

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Have you not seen that Allah has subjected for you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and has lavished His favours upon you, both seen and unseen? Still, there are some who dispute about Allah without knowledge, or guidance, or an enlightening scripture.

SUN

the principal source of energy input to biological systems

terminology

• food chain

• food web

• producer

• consumer

• herbivore

• carnivore

• decomposer

ecosystem

• a unit containing all of the organisms and their environment, interacting together, in a habitat

• trophic level - the position of an organism in a food chain or food web

​Discussion:

• how energy is transferred between trophic levels?

• why food chains usually have fewer than five trophic levels?

Open Ended

Construct a simple food chain in a lake.

Multiple Choice

In Australia the farmers had a problem with beetles eating the sugar cane. So they introduced the cane toad to control that population. Instead of eating the beetles, they ate the source of food and other organisms. What would be a possible consequence of this?

• The other organisms attacks the toad population
• The ecosystem would be destroyed
• The cane toads would get too much food and die
• The food web was changed by this one organism

Multiple Choice

Use the diagram answer the question.
What is a fitting description for this diagram?

• A Food Chain
• An Ecosystem
• A Food Web
• Biotic and Abiotic Factors

Multiple Choice

A connection of food chains with many food energy paths in an ecosystem is a ____________

• ecosystem
• food web
• environment
• population

Multiple Choice

What is a producer? 

• Organism that creates their own food.
• Organism that eat other organisms for energy
• Organism that eat other dead organisms

Multiple Choice

Where does the energy start in this food chain?

• Plant
• Sun
• Deer
• Wolf

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a producer?

• Maple tree
• Sunfish
• Bunny
• Bear

Multiple Choice

An animal that eats only plants is an...

• carnivore
• omnivore
• herbivore
• decomposer

Multiple Choice

Animals that are being hunted and eaten by predators.

• prey
• extinct

Multiple Choice

An animal that eats other animals is a....

• carnivore
• omnivore
• herbivore
• decomposer

Multiple Choice

An organism that lives by breaking apart dead organic matter into simpler parts is...

• scavenger
• consumer
• decomposer
• carnivore

Multiple Choice

Where do all life forms get their energy?

• Earth's Core
• Water
• Plants
• The Sun

Open Ended

Effects of the combustion of fossil fuels and cutting down of forests on the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.

Open Ended

List three undesirable effects of deforestation.

Multiple Choice

In eutrophication, what does 'algal bloom' refer to?

• The rapid increase in the number of bacteria

• The rapid increase in the number of plants

• The rapid decrease in the number of fish

• The rapid increase in the amount of nitrates in the river

Multiple Choice

In eutrophication, what directly causes the death of fish?

• The plants use up oxygen in respiration

• The fish are poisoned by high CO₂ levels

• Bacteria use up oxygen in respiration

• The fish use up oxygen in respiration

Multiple Choice

What is the very next thing that happens after plants die in eutrophication?

• Fish die due to a lack of oxygen

• The number of plants increases again as they have more access to sunlight

• The number of aerobic bacteria increases

• The number of nitrates in the river increases again

Multiple Choice

What is the very next thing that happens after fast growth of plants in eutrophication?

• Fish die due to a lack of oxygen

• Plants below the surface die due to a lack of sunlight

• The number of aerobic bacteria increases

• Plants on the surface die due to too much sunlight

Multiple Choice

What is the very next thing that happens after fertilisers enter a river in eutrophication?

• Fish die due to a lack of oxygen

• Plants below the surface die due to a lack of sunlight

• The number of aerobic bacteria increases

• Fast growth of plants

Multiple Select

What can be a source of nitrates for eutrophication in rivers?

• fertilisers

• plastic bottles

• paper

• sewage