Unit 5: Changes in Ecosystems

Identify the most important factor in an ecosystem’s resilience.

• pioneer species

• population sizes

• amount of water available

• biodiversity

The living and non-liivng things that interact in an environment.

• Living/Non-living cycle

• Food Web

• Ecosystem

• Organism

The living and non-liivng things that interact in an environment.

• Living/Non-living cycle

• Food Web

• Ecosystem

• Organism

Which kind of organism is an autotroph?

• consumer

• producer

• decomposer

• herbivore

Which organisms are heterotrophs?

• photosynthesizers

• producers

• consumers

• plants

Why are mushrooms important to the food chain?

• They recycle nutrients into the ecosystem.

• They produce food energy for other living things.

• They recycle oxygen into the atmosphere.

• They consume excess herbivores in the ecosystem.

Maggots feed on dead and decaying organisms for energy. What are maggots?

• autotrophs

• producers

• decomposers

• heterotrophs

Which is the primary consumer in this food chain?

• rabbit

• grass

• snake

• hawk

Food chains show energy transfer between organisms. The size of a food chain can vary, yet there is a limit to the number of levels that a food chain can reach. Why is there a limit to the number of levels that a food chain can reach?

• Plants are not infinitely in the world

• Producers can only eat what is available

• Carnivores are too big to be eaten

• Energy is lost when you move up a trophic level

What would happen to the organisms in the food web below if the number of phytoplankton and vegetation decreased?

• Only the small fish would be affected

• Only the osprey would be affected

• The small fish and wading birds would be affected

• The entire food web would be affected