Ecosystems and Food Chains Quiz

Ecosystems are broadly categorized into freshwater, marine, and terrestrial.

Relatively uncommon, freshwater ecosystems include lakes, rivers, streams, and springs, and are home to a variety of life forms.

The most common ecosystem type, comprising 75% of Earth's surface and including shallow ocean, deep ocean water, and deep ocean bottom.

Ecosystems located on land, often categorized into biomes.

Organisms within an ecosystem compete for limited resources like food, water, sunlight, space, and mineral nutrients.

Climate (seasons, sunlight, rainfall), elevation, and geology significantly influence which organisms can survive in an ecosystem.

Ecosystems like coral reefs in shallow ocean waters and the deep ocean support many different plants and animals, protists, bacteria, and fungi.

Phytoplankton in shallow ocean waters are major producers of oxygen, performing 40% of Earth's photosynthesis.

A linear sequence of organisms where nutrients and energy are passed as one organism eats another.

An organism's position in a food chain or food web, representing its energy level.

Photosynthetic organisms (plants or phytoplankton) that form the base of the food chain.

Herbivores that eat producers.

Organism at the top of the food chain.

The ability of an ecosystem to resist change and recover from disturbances.

A network of interconnected food chains.

Energy is lost as heat and in transfer to decomposers at each trophic level.

Organisms that use chemical energy to synthesize organic molecules.

Underwater openings where hot, mineral-rich water is released.

Increased concentration of toxins at higher trophic levels.

Substances that remain in the environment and organisms for a long time.

A pesticide that biomagnifies and harms apex consumers.

Toxins stored in fat tissues.

The continuous movement of carbon atoms between Earth's living and non-living systems. It involves processes like photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and fossil fuel burning.

The part of the carbon cycle that focuses on the rapid exchange of carbon between living organisms, particularly plants and animals.

Organisms like plants and algae that make their own food using energy from sunlight (photosynthesis). They are the primary producers in the biological carbon cycle.

Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms. They rely on autotrophs for food and carbon.

The process where autotrophs use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars (glucose) and oxygen.

The process where organisms break down glucose (sugar) to release energy and carbon dioxide as a by-product. It's the opposite of photosynthesis.

Combustible deposits formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient organisms (plants and animals). They release stored carbon back into the cycle when burned.

The long-term, global increase in Earth's average temperature due to the buildup of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The process by which atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) is converted into usable forms, primarily ammonia (NH3), by certain bacteria.

The conversion of organic nitrogenous matter from living or dead organisms into ammonium (NH4+).

The process of converting ammonium (NH4+) into nitrates (NO3-), performed by nitrifying bacteria.

The conversion of nitrates (NO3-) back into atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) by bacteria.

Humans contribute to excess nitrogen in the environment through burning fossil fuels, which releases nitrogen oxides, and using artificial fertilizers.

Increased nitrogen in the environment contributes to acid rain (from nitric acid), greenhouse gas effects (from nitrous oxide), and potential climate change.

The process by which producers, like plants, convert sunlight into energy, using nitrogen in this process.

The breakdown of dead organisms by decomposers, releasing nitrogen back into the environment as ammonium.

Excess nutrients, often from fertilizers, cause an overgrowth of algae in water, leading to oxygen depletion and harm to aquatic life.

A nutrient essential for growth, but present in limited amounts, controlling the overall productivity of an ecosystem.

Phosphorus, primarily from marine organisms and their waste, forms ocean sediments that are uplifted to land over time, contributing to terrestrial phosphorus sources.

The form in which phosphorus exists in nature, essential for building bones and nucleic acids.

Marine bacteria and archaea convert nitrogen compounds through ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification, playing a crucial role in ocean life.

Phosphorus is often the limiting nutrient in aquatic ecosystems, meaning it controls the overall growth and productivity of those ecosystems.

A back-and-forth transfer of phosphorus between dissolved phosphate in the ocean and marine organisms.