Name ___________________________

1.3 Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

Pages 22-28

Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a group of many different populations of living organisms,
from all five or six kingdoms, and the abiotic factors that influence them;
temperature, precipitation, and the type of soil especially.

Lake, Wetland, Pine Forest, Prairie, River, Ocean Coastline, Deciduous Forest
are all examples of ecosystems.

1) Does energy cycle through an ecosystem to be used again and again or does
it flow through an ecosystem to be used only once?
__________________

____________________________________________________________

2) Where does all the energy used in an ecosystem (or an organism) originate?

________________________________________

3) What is a producer? __________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

4) What does a producer do that makes them so important to all other

organisms in an ecosystem?
______________________________________

____________________________________________________________

5) What occurs during photosynthesis? _______________________________

___________________________________________________________
6) List four general types of producers. ______________________________

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7) What is the difference between a producer and a consumer? ___________

___________________________________________________________

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8) Read and examine the picture at the top of page 24. Why is the caterpillar
identified as a primary (first) consumer and the bird is identified as a
secondary (second) consumer?
___________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

9) If the diagram had a hawk eating the bird, what do you think the hawk
would be identified as?
_________________________________________

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10) What does a scavenger eat? ____________________________________

11) What is a decomposer? ________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

12) What do decomposers do that makes their role in an ecosystem so

important?
__________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________
13) Read about food chains on page 26, examine the wetland food chain on
page 27 and then draw a food chain using the organisms listed below.
Remember, in a food chain the arrows always show the direction the
energy is flowing through the ecosystem.

Large Fish , Aquatic Insect , Aquatic Plants , Frog

SUN  ____________  ____________  ____________  __________

14) Match the following from the food chain in number 13.

_____ Large Fish A) Producer

_____ Aquatic Insect B) Primary (First Order) Consumer

_____ Aquatic Plants C) Secondary (Second Order) Consumer

_____ Fungi and Bacteria D) Tertiary (Third Order) Consumer

_____ Frog E) Decomposer

15) A food chain is a single strand showing how energy flows through an
ecosystem. How would you explain what a food web is?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

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Examine the food web on page 27 and answer the following questions.

16) What would happen to the bulrush population if all the cattails were
removed from the wetland ecosystem?
____________________________

__________________________________________________________
17) What would happen to the blackbird population if all the frogs were
removed from the wetland ecosystem?
___________________________

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18) What would happen to the snail population if all the Herons were
removed from the wetland ecosystem?
___________________________

__________________________________________________________

19) What is an energy pyramid? ____________________________________

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20) Why did ecologist choose a pyramid that is smaller on top and larger on
the bottom as the shape for this diagram?
________________________

__________________________________________________________

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21) In the space below draw an energy pyramid for the food chain you made
in question 13.