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Food Chains and Food WebsCambridge IGCSE Biology: Flashcards

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Define a food chain.

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Define a food chain.
A diagram showing the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning with a producer.
What must a food chain always begin with?
A producer.
Define a food web.
A network of interconnected food chains showing the feeding relationships within a community.
How is a food web different from a food chain?
A food web links many food chains together, showing that most organisms eat and are eaten by more than one species, whereas a food chain shows just one feeding sequence.
What is a primary consumer?
An organism that feeds directly on producers.
What is a secondary consumer?
An organism that feeds on primary consumers.
Define herbivore.
An animal that only eats plants.
Define carnivore.
An animal that only eats other animals.
Define decomposer.
An organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic material.
What effect does overharvesting a species have on a food web?
It reduces numbers of that species faster than they can reproduce, disrupting every species connected to it in the web.
What effect can introducing a foreign species have on a habitat's food web?
It can outcompete native species, lack natural predators, or prey on species with no defences against it, disrupting the existing food web.
In the food chain grass -> rabbit -> fox, identify the producer.
Grass.
In the food chain grass -> rabbit -> fox, what type of consumer is the fox?
Secondary consumer.
Why are decomposers important even though they are not usually drawn in simple food chains?
They break down dead material and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem for producers to use.
What does an arrow in a food chain represent?
The direction that energy flows, from the organism eaten to the organism that eats it.