Ecology Answers

Why is nitrogen so important?

How do living things obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere?

What happens to producers/plants when you remove consumers from an ecosystem?  (hint: think about carrying capacity)

How does bacteria help ecosystems?

Why does a human eating lower on the food chain benefit Earth by conserving energy?

How does energy move up the food chain, how does the amount of usable energy change?

What is the original source of energy for all life on Earth?

What makes up the bottom of the food chain, the base/lowest level of every ecosystem?

What would happen if this level were decimated/all organisms here died?

Explain the form carbon is in and the processes that could move it in and out of:

• tissues of living thing
• the atmosphere
• a plant

Answer the following question using Claim Evidence Reasoning (CER):

What are the similarities and differences between matter/nutrients and energy in an ecosystem?