Chapter

When gray wolves were wiped out as the wilderness was settled, what happened to the grass and elk in some areas?

It's a domino effect.....When the gray wolf was almost wiped out, the elk were no longer controlled. And the overpopulation of elk would overgraze. The overgrazing left too little grass to support the elk and other populations who depended upon it for food. (rabbits, etc.)

Producers use a process called what to make food.....

Photosynthesis

Organisms that use sunlight directly to make food are called.........

Producers

What three groups can animals be divided into based on how they get their energy

Producers, consumers and decomposers

In food webs and food chains, does the arrow point toward the plant or animal doing the eating or the one that is eaten?

The arrow points to the animal doing the eating

Why isn't all of the energy that grass gets from sunlight passed on to the prairie dogs that eat the grass?

The grass uses most of the energy and stores it in it's tissues

Why are the ranchers near Yellowstone worried about wolves returning?

They are concerned about the safety of their livestock because cows and sheep are the prey of wolves.

What effect does the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service think the return of wolves will have in Yellowstone National Park?

They think that the return of wolves will restore the natural energy flow in the area, which will bring populations back into the balance and help restore the park's wholeness

How have three populations of organisms changed since the reestablishment of wolves in Yellowstone National Park?

Wolves kill the non-functioning elks and this process is letting more plants grow so the number of animals that eat the plants, such as the snow-shoe hare and the animals that eat the hare, like the fox, are increasing.

food web

a diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem

energy pyramid

a triangular diagram that shows an ecosystem's loss of energy, which results as energy passes through the ecosystem's food chain

carnivore

an organism that eats animals

omnivore

an organism that eats both plants and animals

herbivore

an organism that eats only plants

An example of an omnivore......

bear

An example of an herbivore.......

black-tailed prairie dog

A consumer that eats only animals.....

carnivore

Herbivores, carnivores and omnivores that eat other organisms are known as.......

consumers

Organisms that break down dead organisms to get energy are called.......

decomposers

The diagram that shows an ecosystem's loss of energy at each level of the food chain is known as.....

energy pyramid

A simple diagram that shows how energy in food flows from one organism to another is called....

food chain

A food chain does not show energy connections in nature as accurately as what....

food web

List two decomposers......

fungi and worms

A consumer that eats only plants is called......

herbivore

List the two main food webs on Earth

land and aquatic

A consumer that eats both plants and animals is called..

omnivore

Omnivores that eat dead plants and animals are called..

scavengers

food chain

the pathway of energy transfer through various stages as a result of the feeding patterns of a series of organism