Ecosystems and Food Webs Packet

Name _________________________________ Period _____________

This entire packet is due on ________________

Part A (Use the Skinny Green Environmental Science Textbook as a resource)

An environment that provides the things that an organism needs to survive is called a habitat.

What three things does an organism need from its habitat?

1-

2-

3-

An organism interacts with both living and non-living things in its habitat. These are factors.

Biotic Factor: _________________________ such as ____________________________

Abiotic Factor: ________________________ such as _____________________________

Give 2 examples of biotic and abiotic factors for deer living on Mount Ben Lomond

Biotic___________________________ Biotic ___________________________

Abiotic __________________________ A biotic___________________________

What might happen to the population of deer on Ben Lomond in a year when there was very little rainfall? (an abiotic factor)________________________________________________

Define the following levels of environmental organization.

Organism:_______________________________________________________________

Population: ______________________________________________________________

Community: _____________________________________________________________

Ecosystem: _____________________________________________________________

Ecology: ________________________________________________________________

Draw the environment “bullseye” here and label the levels of organization

How might a change in the population of prairie dogs affect the population on owls in a grasslands ecosystem? ______________________________________________________________________

Part B (Use pages 42-47 in the green Environmental Science Textbook as a resource)

An organism’s energy role is determined by how it obtains energy and how it interacts with other organisms. The three basic energy roles are producer, consumer, and decomposer.

A PRODUCER is __________________________________________________________________

A CONSUMER is __________________________________________________________________

A DECOMPOSER is ________________________________________________________________

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web? _______________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Imagine a pond ecosystem. There are grasses dipping into the water, mosquitoes buzzing, and frogs croaking. Nearby are trees that house sparrows and hawks. A pair of ducks have made a nest in the reeds and a fox has been seen prowling the shoreline. What is the energy role of each of these:

Tadpole: ___________________________ Beetle ____________________________

Algae: ____________________________ Hawk ____________________________

Heron: ____________________________ Cat tails __________________________

Do you think there would be more foxes (a third level consumer) or frogs (a second level consumer) in this ecosystem? Explain ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

What does it mean when your teacher says that all biological energy comes from the sun. Isn’t sunlight an abiotic factor? Explain _____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Draw as many arrows as needed going to the mushroom.

Create a food web made of several food chains with decomposers.

ü Color, cut and paste organisms (from the ? page supplied) below to create a food web.

ü Include the original energy source, the sun.

ü Draw arrows that show the direction of biological energy flow.

ü Label each drawing as abiotic, producer, consumer, or decomposer. (Hint: energy transfer ends with decomposers, but they do return nutrients, such as nitrogen, back to the soil.)

Part C In Dr. Art’s Guide to Science, Read pages 146 through 153. Recreate the biological energy pyramid from page 153 below.

Why is the bottom part of the triangle so much bigger than the top two levels of the pyramid? __________________________________________________________________________

Why are decomposers shown throughout the pyramid from top to bottom? ______________

__________________________________________________________________________

From what you know about root words, what do you think an autotroph is? _____________

_________________________________________________________________________

From what you know about root words, what do you think a heterotroph is? ______________

__________________________________________________________________________

Define these organism labels:

Herbivore____________________________________________________

Carnivore ___________________________________________________

Omnivore ___________________________________________________

What is the name of the reaction that is the chemical opposite of photosynthesis, where sugar and oxygen are “burned” to create energy for animals? _____________________________

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