Energy Pyramids, Food Webs, and Food Chains

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What is an energy pyramid?

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An energy pyramid is a graphical representation that shows the flow of energy through different trophic levels in an ecosystem, illustrating how energy decreases as it moves from producers to various levels of consumers.

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What are autotrophs?

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Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food using sunlight or chemical energy, such as plants and some bacteria.

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What are heterotrophs?

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Heterotrophs are organisms that cannot produce their own food and must consume other organisms for energy, including animals, fungi, and some bacteria.

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What is a food chain?

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A food chain is a linear sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another in an ecosystem, starting with producers and moving up to various levels of consumers.

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What is a food web?

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A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, illustrating how different organisms are related through feeding relationships.

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What are carnivores?

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Carnivores are organisms that primarily eat other animals for energy, such as lions, wolves, and hawks.

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What are herbivores?

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Herbivores are organisms that primarily consume plants for energy, such as cows, rabbits, and deer.

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What are omnivores?

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Omnivores are organisms that eat both plants and animals, such as humans, bears, and pigs.

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How much energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?

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Typically, only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next level, with the rest lost as heat.

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What happens to a population of grasshoppers if their predator population decreases?

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If the predator population (like snakes) decreases, the grasshopper population would likely increase due to reduced predation.