Section 4 Food Chains and Food Webs

Principles of Ecology Study Guide B Answer Key SECTION 4. FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. producer, consumer, ecosystem herbivore carnivore omnivore detritivore decomposer primary consumer secondary consumer tertiary consumer trophic levels A food web shows the complex network of feeding relationships within an ecosystem, while a food chain is simpler, showing only a single chain of producers and consumers. 12. Some energy is stored within an organism, and some energy is dissipated into the environment. 13. producer 14. a specialist is a consumer that primarily eats one specific, or particular, organism or feeds on a very small number of organisms, while generalist is a consumer that has a general, or varying diet, and doesn’t rely on any one organism on which to feed 15. herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat meat, omnivores eat both plants and meat Principles of Ecology Study Guide B Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date __________________ Section 4: Food Chains and Food Webs Study Guide B KEY CONCEPT Food chains and food webs model the flow of energy in an ecosystem. VOCABULARY food chain herbivore carnivore omnivore detritivore decomposer specialist generalist trophic level food web MAIN IDEA: A food chain is a model that shows a sequence of feeding relationships. Complete the following sentence with the correct terms. 1. A food chain follows the connection between one _____________ and a single chain of _____________ within an _____________________. Choose the correct term from the box below to fit each description. carnivore herbivore secondary consumer decomposer omnivore tertiary consumer detritivore primary consumer trophic levels 2. I eat only plants. I am a(n) _________________________________________ . 3. I eat only other animals. I am a(n) __________________________________ . 4. I eat both plants and animals. I am a(n) ______________________________ . 5. I eat dead organic matter. I am a(n) _________________________________ . 6. I break down organic matter into simpler compounds. I am a(n) ___________ . 7. I am the first consumer above the producer level. I am a(n) _______________ . 8. I am a carnivore that eats herbivores. I am a(n) ________________________ . 9. I am a carnivore that eats other carnivores. I am a(n) ____________________ . 10. The levels of nourishment in a food chain are called ____________________ . 1 Study Guide B Principles of Ecology Section 4: Food Chains and Food Webs Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date __________________ Study Guide B continued MAIN IDEA: A food web shows a complex network of feeding relationships. 11. How is a food web different from a food chain? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 12. What happens to energy at each link in a food web? _______________________________________________________________ 13. What type of organism provides the base of a food web? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Vocabulary Check 14. Use your knowledge of the words special and general to explain the diets of a specialist and a generalist. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 15. Word Part Meaning herba vegetation carnus flesh omnis all Use the word origins to explain the diets of each of the following consumers: herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2 Study Guide B Principles of Ecology Section 4: Food Chains and Food Webs