AP Biology ecology unit covering energy flow, population dynamics, community interactions, and ecosystem cycles.
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- What are producers in an ecosystem?
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Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.- What are primary consumers?
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Herbivores that feed on producers.- What are secondary consumers?
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Carnivores or omnivores that feed on primary consumers.- Define tertiary consumers.
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Carnivores that feed on secondary consumers.- What is a trophic level?
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A step in a food chain representing organisms at the same nutritional level.- What percentage of energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?
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About 10 percent.- How does a food chain differ from a food web?
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A food chain shows a linear sequence of organisms; a food web shows multiple interconnected food chains.- What does a pyramid of energy represent?
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The total energy stored at each trophic level, with producers containing the most energy.- What role do decomposers play in energy flow?
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They break down dead organic matter and return nutrients to the soil.- Are autotrophs the same as producers?
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Yes, both organisms make their own organic food from inorganic molecules.- What is carrying capacity?
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The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely.- Describe exponential population growth.
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Population growth where size increases by a constant percentage per generation, producing a J-shaped curve.- Describe logistic population growth.
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Population growth that starts exponentially but slows as the population approaches carrying capacity, producing an S-shaped curve.- Give an example of a density-dependent limiting factor.
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Disease, competition for food, predation, or parasitism.- Give an example of a density-independent limiting factor.
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Natural disaster, drought, extreme temperature, or flood.
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