Name:
Ecosystems Study Guide
Fill in the blanks using the word bank below:
community
community terrestrial
terrestrial cell
cell
population
population aquatic
aquatic nucleus
nucleus
limiting
limiting factor
factor decomposers
decomposers vacuoles
vacuoles
1. The ___________________ is the smallest unit of living material having major
structures within it allowing it to live.
2. The ___________________ is a small structure that controls everything the cell
does.
3. All members of one kind of organism that live in a particular area are called a
_______________________.
4. A group of different populations of organisms is called a ______________________.
5. A land-based ecosystem is __________________________.
6. ________________________ are storage space inside of the cell that hold water,
nutrients, and waste.
7. Consumers that break down dead or decaying matter are _____________________.
8. A water-based ecosystem is _________________________.
9. A condition or resource that keeps a population at a certain size is known as a
_________________________________.
1
Write C for a consumer. Write P for a producer.
1. ______ Zebra 6. ______ Worm
2. ______ Fern 7. ______ Wolf
3. ______ Apple Tree 8. ______ Fungi/Mushrooms
4. ______ Lion 9. ______ Palmetto Tree
5. ______ Grass 10. ______ Sunflower
Name the 4 types of consumers and what they eat.
1. _______________________________ -
2. _______________________________ -
3. _______________________________ -
4. _______________________________ -
2
Match the ecosystem with its description:
A. Forest
B. Grasslands
C. Ocean
D. Lakes/Ponds
E. Estuaries
__________ Found where the freshwater rivers meet the oceans. The amount of salt
(salinity) changes as the tides come in and out. They contain salt marshes with
grasses and marsh plants adapted to this changing water. Some examples of animals
that live in the here may be crabs, shrimp, birds such as blue heron and egrets, and
muskrats.
_________ Contain many trees (with needles or with leaves), shrubs, grasses and
ferns. Temperatures vary depending on where it is located. Some examples of animals
that live here are deer, squirrels, and foxes.
_________ Bodies of freshwater that are surrounded by land. The temperature of the
water usually stays the same from top to bottom. Plants and algae usually grow along
the edges where the water is shallow. Some examples of animals that live here may
be different types of fish, amphibians, ducks, turtles, or beavers.
_________ Fertile soil covered with tall grasses. They usually get a medium amount of
rain. Temperatures vary depending on where it is located. Some examples of animals
that live here are prairie dogs, bison, and grasshoppers.
_________ Large bodies of saltwater divided by continents. They have many types of
ecosystems depending on the conditions (sunlight, temperature, depth, salinity). Some
examples of organisms that live here may be drifters (jellyfish or seaweed), swimmers
(fish), crawlers (crabs), and those anchored to the ocean floor (corals).
3
Leaves Beetle Bat Boa Constrictor
Food chain:
1. Which ecosystem would you find this food chain? (circle one)
Terrestrial- Forest Aquatic- Ocean Aquatic- Estuary
Terrestrial- Grassland Aquatic- Lake/Pond
2. Who is a predator in the food chain? (hint: there are 2) ___________________
________________________________________________________________
3. Who is prey in the food chain? (hint: there are 2) _______________________
________________________________________________________________
4. What type of consumer is the:
Beetle? ______________________________________
Bat? ______________________________________
Boa Constrictor? _____________________________________
4
5. Describe the flow of energy in this food chain:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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Suppose the bat was missing from the food chain.
6. What would this mean for the boa constrictors?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Suppose the bat was missing from the food chain.
7. What would happen to the beetles?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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5
Using the root and prefix information below, classify the following words as biotic or
abiotic.
The root “Bio” means life
The prefix “a” means not.
water sunlight owl
bear fish snake
rock air oak tree
trash soil snow
Biotic Abiotic
________________________________________________________________
Label the parts of a cell
The soft, flexible outside
covering of the cell that controls Storage space inside of the cell
what comes in and out. that hold water, nutrients, and
waste.
The gel-like fluid that fills most of
the cell. It contains the other
Structure in the center of the cell that
organelles and keeps them
controls everything the cell does.
protected.
6
1. What type of ecosystem is the picture below? _______________________________
2. Name a population of animals in the picture ________________________________
3. What is it called when groups of different populations live in one area (like the one
below)? _______________________________
4. Suppose a drought (lack of rainfall) lasted for several months and dried up the
watering hole. How would this limiting factor affect a population of zebras? (“They
would all die” is not an acceptable answer).
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