Ecosystems Overview Quiz

Ecosystems

• An ecosystem includes all living and non-living things in an area, and how they affect each other
• The environment surrounding an organism includes all things that affect its life.
• Ecosystem components include producers (plants), consumers (animals), and decomposers (fungi, bacteria).
• Producers create their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide
• Consumers, like animals, depend on producers or other consumers for food
• Decomposers break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil
• Food chains follow the flow of energy from one organism to another during feeding
• Examples of a food chain: green plants → deer → lion
• Food webs display the interconnectedness of multiple food chains within an ecosystem
• Trophic levels are different steps in the flow of energy through an ecosystem (producers → primary consumers → secondary consumers → tertiary consumers)
• Abiotic components include air, water, soil, and climate
• Biotic components encompass all living things in an environment (plants, animals, microorganisms)
• Examples of abiotic components: air, water, soil, climate, temperature, sunlight, and humidity

Biotic Components

• Biotic components are living organisms in an ecosystem
• Examples include plants, animals, microorganisms
• Groups of living organisms based on how they obtain food
• Producers: Make their own food (plants)
• Consumers: Obtain food by eating other organisms (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores)
• Decomposers: Obtain food by breaking down dead organisms (fungi, bacteria)

Abiotic Components

• Non-living components of an ecosystem
• Examples include air, water, soil, sunlight, temperature, and humidity

Food Chains and Food Webs

• A food chain shows the transfer of energy from one organism to another
• A food web shows the interconnectedness of multiple food chains in an ecosystem
• Producers are on the bottom of the food chain
• Primary consumers eat producers
• Secondary consumers eat primary consumers
• Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers
• Food chains always move from producers to consumers and eventually to decomposers

Types of Ecosystems

• Natural: Terrestrial (forests, grasslands) and Aquatic (ponds, rivers)
• Man-made: Gardens, parks, farms

Importance of Forests

• Forests are a storehouse of biodiversity and biological resources.
• Regulate climate and atmosphere
• Absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen
• Maintain water cycle and prevent soil erosion
• Provide timber, fuel, fodder, medicines
• Reduce global warming

Test your understanding of ecosystems, including the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers. This quiz covers the flow of energy through food chains and food webs, as well as the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem. Dive into the interconnectedness of life and the environment!