Ecosystems Study Guide
Name: ________________ Test Date: ________________
Parent: X________________
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Food Chain Example: sun
grass
rabbit
fox
Be prepared to put organism in the order they would appear in a food chain.
o Example: hawk, grass, cricket, mushrooms, mouse would be put in the following
order: grass cricket mouse hawk
mushrooms
Each living thing in a food chain plays a role in the flow of energy in an ecosystem.
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Energy starts with the sun, moves to producers, and finally to consumers.
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The amount of energy available decreases as you move further down the food chain. (In the
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example above, the fox will have less energy then the rabbit or grass.)
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A producer in a food chain makes (produces) food. All green plants are producers. (In the
example above, the grass is the producer.)
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Decomposers in a food chain are important in a food chain because they return nutrients to
the soil and keep waist and remains from piling up.
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All animals are consumers because they do not make their own food.
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Producers begin all food chains and decomposers end all food chains with consumers
being in the middle.
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Be prepared to label what part an organism plays in the food chain.
o Example: flower-producer, dog-consumer, mushroom-decomposer
A food web is a series of linked food chains.
Plant and Animal Adaptations
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Plants and animals have adaptations that help them survive.
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The color of a plant or animal can be an adaptation when it blends into its environment.
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Hibernation and migration are adaptations of animals that help them survive the cold during
the winter.
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A bee’s stinger, a porcupine’s quills, a plant’s thorns, and a skunk’s spray are all adaptations.
Threats to Plant and Animal Populations
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Droughts
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Floods
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Pollution
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Human Development (building of houses, roads, parking lots, buildings, etc.)
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Storms (hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rain)
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Fire
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Disease
Ecosystems Vocabulary
1. environment: all of the living things and nonliving things surrounding an organism
2. ecosystem: a community and its physical environment together
3. population: all the individuals of the same kind living in the same ecosystem
4. community: all the populations of organisms living together in an environment
5. decomposer: a living thing that feeds on the waste of plants and animals
6. habitat: an environment that meets the needs of an organism
7. niche: the role of an organism in its habitat
8. food chain: a series of organisms that depend on one another for food
9. prey: consumers that are eaten by predators
10. predator: a consumer that eats prey
11. food web: a group of food chains that overlap
12. energy pyramid: a diagram showing how much energy is passed from on organism to
the next in a food chain
13. biotic: a living part of an ecosystem
14. abiotic: a non-living part of an ecosystem
15. producer: a living thing, such as a plant, that can make its own food
16. consumer: a living thing that can’t make its own food and must eat other living
things to survive
17. herbivore: an animal that eats only producers, or plants
18. carnivore: an animal that eats only other animals
19. omnivore: animal that eats both producers (plants) and other animals