Ecology Test #2 Review
Power Points to Watch are on my Weebly Page
“ Ecology Test 2 ” & “Food Chains & Food Webs, & Energy Pyramids”
Make sure you re-watch the all the videos…
Study your notebook pages 9-14
Extra info…
Vocabulary
Term
Energy
Pyramid
Definition
A model that illustrates how much energy is
available at each trophic level in the
ecosystem.

There are always a large number of
producers at the bottom and fewer top
consumers.
Food Web
A more complete model that illustrates all the
feeding relationships and the flow of energy in
an ecosystem.

Shows the direction energy passes from
one organism to another organism.
Food Chain
A model that illustrates one feeding
relationship and flow of energy in an
ecosystem.

Shows the direction energy passes from
one organism to another organism
Carrying
Capacity
The largest number of a individual species that
an ecosystem can support.

Occurs when a population cannot grow
any larger.
If a population overshoots the carrying
capacity the population will eventually
Decrease.
Food, predators, nesting, water
Limiting factors determine the carrying
capacity of an ecosystem.
Be able to identify a real life example of
the organisms.
Producer-plant
Consumer-animal
Decomposer-fungi, worms

Limiting
Factors
Energy Flow
Decomposer
Primary
Consumer
Secondary
Consumer
Anything that will limit the growth of a
population.

Know the 3 organisms in every food
chain/web and know what order they
follow.
 Producers
 Consumers
 Decomposers
Definition: Organism that breaks down dead
matter and returns the nutrients to the soil for
plants to use.
Definition:
 Usually a herbivore (but can be an
omnivore).
 The first consumer in a food web
 The first consumer in an energy
pyramid (but the second trophic level
in the pyramid).
Definition:
 NEVER a herbivore, can be a
carnivore or omnivore.







Example: Mushroom (fungi), worms, bacteria
Example:
 Deer, Grasshopper, Rabbit-(herbivores).
 Squirrel (omnivore)
Example:
 The mouse that eats a grasshopper
 The snake that eats a rabbit.


The second consumer in a food web.
The second consumer in an energy
pyramid (but the third trophic level in
the pyramid)
Tertiary
Consumer
Definition:
 NEVER a herbivore, can be a
carnivore or omnivore.
 The third consumer in a food web.
 The third consumer in an energy
pyramid (but the fourth trophic level in
the pyramid)
Apex Predator
Definition: Top predator, no one eats this
organism.
Energy
Pyramid
Example:
 The snake that eats the mouse that eats a
grasshopper
 The Hawk that eats the snake that eats a
rabbit.



Where do the organisms in the first trophic
level get their energy from? Sun

How much energy from the sun is passed on
in each trophic level? 10%

Which trophic level is most important?
Producer
Which is the largest level and why?
Producer because they make all the energy
for the ecosystem.

Exponential
Growth
Shows… HOW MUCH energy is available.
Definition: Populations that grow fast at a
constant rate.

Occurs when there are
(few limiting factors)
If the producer level has 9000 kcal…
 How much does level 2 have? 900
 How much does level 3 have? 90
 How much does level 4 have? 9
Energy
Pyramid
Energy
Pyramid
Why is there usually only one apex predator
in an ecosystem?
Because there is not enough energy for more
than one.
Label the organisms in each level
A. tertiary consumer
B. secondary consumer
Be able to identify examples of each type of
organisms.
A. hawk
B. snake
C. primary consumer
D. producer
Biotic
Potential
Definition: An organism’s ability to reproduce
under ideal conditions.
C. grasshopper
D. plants

Occurs when there are
(few limiting factors)