Chapter 5 Review questions Habitats and Interactions

5.1 questions Q2 State the meaning of the term habitat A habitat is a place where an organism lives. Q3 List the important things a habitat must provide so that organisms will be able to live there. A habitat must provide: Food and water Shelter and living space A suitable temperature Mating partners for reproduction Gases such as oxygen Q4 Recall the name for a scientist who studies the environment. ecologist

5.1 questions Q5 Explain what an adaptation is. An adaptation is a special characteristic that helps an organism to get food and water, protect itself, build a home and reproduce Q9 Use examples to describe two types of symbiosis. Commensalism: This is an interaction between two organisms in which only one of them benefits, but the other one is not affected. For example, on the Great Barrier Reef there are small colourful fish called clown fish, which live in the tentacles of the sea anemones and are protected from predators. They also get bits of food not eaten by the anemones. Mutualism: This is an interaction in which both organisms benefit from the relationship and neither is harmed. Lichen consists of a fungus and an alga growing together. The alga manufactures its own food using energy from sunlight and the fungus uses this food. The fungus provides the alga with a protected place to live. Parasitism: This is an interaction where one type of organism (the parasite) lives on or in the host (another type of organism, usually a plant or an animal). The parasite obtains food and shelter from its host, but often harms or may even kill the host in return. Heartworm is a parasite that lives in the hearts of dogs. The worm uses the dog for shelter and food, but in the end the dog often dies, because the large number of worms can clog up the dog’s heart.

5.1 questions Q11Contrast biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are living factors, that is, other living things in the environment. Abiotic factors are non-living. Q13 Classify the following as commensalism, mutualism or parasitism. Give reasons for your answers A) Parasitism. The leech is provided with food and the other animal gains no benefit and could be harmed by the loss of blood. B) Commensalism. The baby kangaroo is provided with food and the mother gains no benefit. However, it is unlikely that the mother will be harmed unless she is malnourished. C) Mutualism. The cleaner fish gains food by eating the parasites and the health of the large fish is improved by the removal of these parasites.

Q14 Complete the following table by proposing adaptations that an animal or a plant would need to live in each environment. 5.1 questions D) Mutualism. The bees gain the pollen which is used as a source of nutrients and the flowers are pollinated so that fertilisation can occur and seeds can be produced. E) Commensalism. The vine reaches the light but the tree gains nothing from the relationship.

5.2 questions Q1 State what the arrows in a food chain indicate. In a food chain the arrow shows the direction in which the energy is moving. Q2 Name the process that plants use to make their food. The process that plants use to make their food is photosynthesis. Q3 State where the energy in a plant’s food comes from. The energy in a plant’s food comes from sunlight.

5.2 questions Q4 Define the following terms: A) producer - an organism that can manufacture (make) its own food B) consumer - an organism that must eat other organisms to get the energy and nutrients it needs C) decomposer - an organism that gets the energy it needs by breaking down dead matter and waste products Q5 Explain why all food chains begin with the Sun. It is from sunlight that energy enters the food chain. Producer organisms trap the energy in the form of food. Q6 Explain why a producer is the first living thing in a food chain. Only producer organisms are able to trap energy from the Sun and convert it into energy in food.

5.2 questions Q8 A) Using the food web identify the: (i) producers plants (ii) consumers grub, aphid, beetle, large bird, small animal, small bird, snail B) Identify and record three food chains that are contained within the web. Plants  grub  small bird  large bird Plants  aphid  beetle  large bird Plants  small animal  large bird

5.2 questions Q10 Compare carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. A carnivore is a consumer that eats only other animals. A herbivore is an animal that eats only plants An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals.

5.2 questions Q12 Propose what could happen in the food web if the number of: A) small birds decreased If the number of small birds decreased, the numbers of beetles, aphids, grubs and snails would increase because they would no longer be preyed on by the small birds. The numbers of plants would decrease as more would be eaten by the increased numbers of grubs, aphids and snails. The food supply for the large bird would decrease. The large bird would eat more small animals to compensate for the lack of small birds and so the number of small animals would decrease.

5.2 questions Q12 Propose what could happen in the food web if the number of: B) large birds increased If the number of large birds increased, the numbers of small birds and small animals would decrease due to increased predation. The organisms below them in the food web would increase in numbers due to decreased predation. C) plants decreased If the number of plants decreased, the herbivores (grub, aphid and snail) would decrease in numbers. This would cause a decrease in numbers up the food web.

5.2 questions Q13 Use the following information to construct a food web: • algae (a producer) • snail (eats algae) • small fish (eats algae and snails) • water beetle (eats small fish) • frog (eats beetles) • snake (eats beetles and frogs) • decomposers.

Chapter review Q1 State why a producer organism is normally part of every food chain. It is through the producer that energy enters the food chain. Q2 Recall the original source of energy for food chains. Sunlight Q7 Figure 5.4.1 shows a food web where an eagle is the consumer at the top of the food chains. A) Predict what would happen to the number of eagles in the area if foxes were introduced. (Note: foxes would eat koalas, birds and kangaroos.) The fox and the eagle would be in direct competition for food and the amount of prey available to the eagle would decrease; therefore, eagle numbers would decrease.

Chapter review Q7 B) Redraw the food web and modify it to include the foxes. Q8 Compare the role of prey and predator in a habitat. The prey is the source of food for the predator. The prey is being eaten; the predator is doing the eating.

Chapter review Producers Consumers rose cat eucalypt magpie grass Q9 Classify the organisms in the following list as either producers or consumers: cat, magpie, rose, eucalypt, sparrow, worm, ant, grass, daisy. Producers Consumers rose cat eucalypt magpie grass sparrow daisy worm ant

Chapter Review Abiotic Factors Biotic Factors water temperature Q10 Construct two lists by classifying the following items as biotic or abiotic environmental factors in a wetland ecosystem: Abiotic Factors Biotic Factors water temperature water birds rate of water flow crocodile amount of salt in the water water plants frogs fish

Chapter review Q13 A) Identify the organisms that compete with each other for food. The lizard, bandicoot and bilby compete for grass seeds and insects. The wallaby and insects compete for grass. B) Deduce which organism would be affected most by the use of insecticides (chemicals that kill insects). The lizard, bandicoot and bilby would be equally affected because they all eat insects. They all have another source of food. C) Propose the consequences for the remaining organisms in the food web if bandicoots became extinct in the area. Eagles would eat more bilbies and wallabies. Insect numbers could increase, providing more food for bilbies and lizards. They would also have more grass seed. Therefore their numbers should increase. This results in more predation of the insects.

Thinking scientifically Q1Environmental factors may be biotic (living) or abiotic (non-living). Identify the list that has these sorted correctly. biotic: predators, prey, bacteria, parasites abiotic: water, living space, light, wind, rock, soil Q2 This fish is adapted to its habitat; it has characteristics that assist it to survive in its environment. Which characteristic will help it swim through the water? its streamlined shape D) C)

Thinking scientifically Q3 First-order consumers feed directly on producers. A producer can manufacture its own food from energy in sunlight. From the food web in Figure 5.5.2, identify the group of organisms that are all first-order consumers. tadpole, water beetle, snail Q4 From the food web, identify the organism that is both a second-order and a third-order consumer. frog A) C)

Thinking scientifically Q5 Identify the plant in Figure 5.5.3 that would be adapted to get the most water from its environment.