Ecology Flashcars

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• Q1: What is an ecosystem? All living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things in an area interacting with each other.
• Q2: Give one abiotic factor. Sunlight, water, temperature, soil.
• Q3: What is a producer? An organism (like plants) that makes its own food using photosynthesis.
• Q4: What is a consumer? An organism that eats other organisms for energy (humans, animals).
• Q5: What is a decomposer? Organisms that break down dead plants and animals and recycle nutrients (fungi, bacteria).
• Q6: What does an arrow in a food chain show? The direction of energy transfer.
• Q7: Why is energy lost between trophic levels? Energy is lost as heat through respiration, movement, and life processes.
• Q8: Why does biomass usually decrease at higher trophic levels? Less energy reaches higher levels, so there’s less living mass.
• Q9: What is a food web? Many connected food chains showing energy flow in an ecosystem.
• Q10: What is bioaccumulation? Toxins build up in organisms, especially top predators.
• Q11: Give one example of a top predator. Lion, eagle, shark.
• Q12: Why are food chains rarely longer than 4–5 levels? Energy decreases at each level, so higher levels can’t get enough energy.
• Q13: What is evolution? Gradual change of species over many generations.
• Q14: What is variation? Differences between individuals of the same species.
• Q15: What is an inherited trait? A characteristic passed from parents to offspring (e.g., eye color).
• Q16: Give an example of environmental variation. Muscle size from exercise, sun tan.
• Q17: What is a mutation? A random change in DNA.
• Q18: What is natural selection? Process where the best-adapted individuals survive and reproduce more.
• Q19: Who proposed natural selection? Charles Darwin
• Q20: What is an adaptation? A feature that improves survival.
• Q21: What is a common ancestor? A species that other species evolved from.
• Q22: What evidence do fossils provide? Show how organisms have changed over time.
• Q23: What is a pentadactyl limb? Limb with five digits (fingers or toes) showing common ancestry.
• Q24: How are pentadactyl limbs adapted for different animals? Swimming (dolphin), running (horse), flying (bird), grasping (human).
• Q25: Why are pentadactyl limbs evidence of evolution? Many species share the same basic structure but use it differently, suggesting a common ancestor.

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