Environmental Science Energy Flow in Ecosystems Name: Date: 1. Match the following fill in the blanks 1. Biodegration 2. Biomass 3. Consumer 4. Decomposers 5.Decomposition 6. Energy Flow 7. Food Chains 8.Food Pyramids 9.Food Webs 10.Photosynthesis 11. Primary Consumers 12. Primary Producers 13. Secondary Consumers 14. Tertiary Consumers 15. Trophic a. refers to the total mass of living plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria in a given area. b. The flow of energy from an ecosystem to an organism and from one organism to another is called c. Plants are called producers because the produce food in the form of carbohydrates during d. An insect such as a bee, that feeds on a plant is called a e. is the breaking down of organic wastes and dead organisms. f. are models that show that flow of energy from plant to animal and from animal to animal. Each step is called a level. g. Plants and phytoplankton, such as algae, are at the first trophic level and are referred to as h. obtain their energy from the primary producers. obtain their energy from eating primary producers. i. In the forth trophic level are that feed on secondary consumers to obtain energy. j. are models of the feeding relationships within an ecosystem. show the loss of energy from one trophic level to the next. 2. What does the term energy flow describe in an ecosystem? 3. Describe each of the following as a producer, consumer, or decomposer (more than one may apply). (a) breaks down fallen leaves (b) does not need to consume other organisms to live _ (c) assists with biodegradation (d) is the first step in energy flow through an ecosystem (e) may consume another consumer
4. Draw a food chain that contains the following five organisms: grass, black bear, earthworm, cougar, rabbit. Label the grass as producer, and label each of the other organisms according to the kind of consumer that they are. 5. Are Herbivores primary consumers? Why or why not? 6. Are carnivores primary consumers? Why or why not? 7. How much energy is lost from producers to secondary consumers? 8. What is decomposition? 9. A fox s diet can contain beetles, eggs, berries, fish, and mice. What kind of consumer is a fox? 10. Which is most likely to occupy the second trophic level in a food chain: a potato, a worm that eats the potato, a bird that eats the worm, or a fox that eats the bird? 2
11. Explain why there cannot be an unlimited number of trophic levels. 12. a. What level of the food pyramid stores the least energy? b. What level of the food pyramid stores the most energy? c. Where does all of the energy come from? 13. 14. 15. 16. 3
17. 18. Biogeochemical Cycles 19) Water or Hydrologic Cycle: Fill in the steps of the water cycle Accumulation - the process in which water pools in large bodies (like oceans, seas and lakes). Condensation - the process in which water vapor (a gas) in the air turns into liquid water. Condensing water forms clouds in the sky. Water drops that form on the outside of a glass of icy water are condensed water. (This term appears twice in the diagram.) Evaporation - the process in which liquid water becomes water vapor (a gas). Water vaporizes from the surfaces of oceans and lakes, from the surface of the land, and from melts in snow fields. Precipitation - the process in which water (in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail) falls from clouds in the sky. Subsurface Runoff - rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in underground streams, drains, or sewers. Surface Runoff - rain, snow melt, or other water that flows in surface streams, rivers, or canals. Transpiration - the process in which some water within plants evaporates into the atmosphere. Water is first absorbed by the plant's roots, then later exits by evaporating through pores in the plant. 4
20) Carbon Cycle 10. Write the equation for respiration 21) Nitrogen Cycle Atmosphere Nitrate 78% nitrogen-fixing ammonia plants proteins animals denitrificating waste plants 1. Our atmosphere is nitrogen gas. 2. Animals and plants cannot directly use all the nitrogen found in our. 3. Only special bacteria can directly use nitrogen in our atmosphere and fix it so other organisms can benefit. These bacteria are called - bacteria. 4. Higher organisms use nitrogen to make their. 5. Animal waste decay by the action of bacteria which create and products rich in nitrogen, and useful for plants to use again. 6. bacteria in the soil can break down the ammonia into the gaseous form of nitrogen, which is not available for use by plants or animals. 7. In another part of the cycle, animals eat containing nitrogen, which is again returned to the soil by animal or decaying and. 5
22) Phosphorus Cycle Pollution basins rocks and minerals waste DNA overgrowth plants 1. Phosphorus in NOT found in the free state in Nature, but is contained mostly in and. 2. It is an essential nutrient for life, as it makes up important chemicals such as. 3. In the Phosphorus Cycle, phosphorus moves between the soil and, which are eaten by animals. The animals use phosphorus, and then their products help return the Sulfur for the next generation of phosphorus in the soil. 4. Some of the phosphorus in soils can be washed away into water. 5. Another source of phosphorus in water comes from man-made. 6. Too much phosphorus in water leads to plant, strangling all other life forms in the water. 7. Why is the use of too much phosphorus-rich fertilizers bad for the environment? 6
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