Name:
Ecosystems Study Guide
Fill in the blanks using the word bank below:
community
ecosystem
consumer
population
aquatic
producer
limiting factor
decomposers
apex predator
1. A(n) __________________ is the top consumer in a food chain.
2. A ___________________ does not need other living things to survive or produce
energy.
3. All members of one kind of organism that live in a particular area are called a
_______________________.
4. A group of different populations of organisms is called a ______________________.
5. An organism that needs to eat/prey on other organisms to survive is called a
_______________.
6. A habitat involving both the biotic and abiotic factors is __________________.
7. Consumers that break down dead or decaying matter are _____________________.
8. A water-based ecosystem is _________________________.
9. A condition or resource that keeps a population at a certain size is known as a
_________________________________.
1
Write C for a consumer. Write P for a producer.
1. ______ Zebra
6. ______ Worm
2. ______ Fern
7. ______ Wolf
3. ______ Apple Tree
8. ______ Fungi/Mushrooms
4. ______ Lion
9. ______ Palmetto Tree
5. ______ Grass
10. ______ Sunflower
Name the 4 types of consumers and what they eat.
1. _______________________________ -
2. _______________________________ -
3. _______________________________ -
4. _______________________________ -
2
Match the ecosystem with its description:
A. Forest
B. Grasslands
C. Ocean
D. Lakes/Ponds
E. Estuaries
__________ Found where the freshwater rivers meet the oceans. The amount of salt
(salinity) changes as the tides come in and out. They contain salt marshes with
grasses and marsh plants adapted to this changing water. Some examples of animals
that live in the here may be crabs, shrimp, birds such as blue heron and egrets, and
muskrats.
_________ Contain many trees (with needles or with leaves), shrubs, grasses and
ferns. Temperatures vary depending on where it is located. Some examples of animals
that live here are deer, squirrels, and foxes.
_________ Bodies of freshwater that are surrounded by land. The temperature of the
water usually stays the same from top to bottom. Plants and algae usually grow along
the edges where the water is shallow. Some examples of animals that live here may
be different types of fish, amphibians, ducks, turtles, or beavers.
_________ Fertile soil covered with tall grasses. They usually get a medium amount of
rain. Temperatures vary depending on where it is located. Some examples of animals
that live here are prairie dogs, bison, and grasshoppers.
_________ Large bodies of saltwater divided by continents. They have many types of
ecosystems depending on the conditions (sunlight, temperature, depth, salinity). Some
examples of organisms that live here may be drifters (jellyfish or seaweed), swimmers
(fish), crawlers (crabs), and those anchored to the ocean floor (corals).
3
Food chain:
Leaves
Beetle
Bat
Boa Constrictor
1. Which ecosystem would you find this food chain? (circle one)
Terrestrial- Forest
Aquatic- Ocean
Terrestrial- Grassland
Aquatic- Lake/Pond
Aquatic- Estuary
2. Who is a predator in the food chain? (hint: there are 2) ___________________
________________________________________________________________
3. Who is prey in the food chain? (hint: there are 2) _______________________
________________________________________________________________
4. What type of consumer is the:
Beetle? ______________________________________
Bat? ______________________________________
Boa Constrictor? _____________________________________
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5. Describe the flow of energy in this food chain:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Suppose the bat was missing from the food chain.
6. What would this mean for the boa constrictors?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Suppose the bat was missing from the food chain.
7. What would happen to the beetles?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5
Using the root and prefix information below, classify the following words as biotic or
abiotic.
The root “Bio” means life
The prefix “a” means not.
water
bear
rock
trash
sunlight
fish
air
soil
Biotic
owl
snake
oak tree
snow
Abiotic
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1. What type of ecosystem is the picture below? _______________________________
2. Name a population of animals in the picture ________________________________
3. What is it called when groups of different populations live in one area (like the one
below)? _______________________________
4. Suppose a drought (lack of rainfall) lasted for several months and dried up the
watering hole. How would this limiting factor affect a population of zebras? (“They
would all die” is not an acceptable answer).
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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