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Ecology Flashcards
Free GCSE Biology Cards for Ecology Revision
From food webs and energy pyramids to biodiversity, conservation and the impact of human activity, these free Ecology flashcards cover everything you need for GCSE and A Level Biology.
Question
What is an ecosystem?
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Answer
A community of living organisms (biotic factors) interacting with each other and their non-living environment (abiotic factors) in a specific area.
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Question
What is the difference between a habitat and a niche?
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Answer
A habitat is where an organism lives. A niche is the role it plays in that ecosystem — including what it eats, when it is active, and how it interacts with other species.
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Question
What is a food chain?
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Answer
A linear sequence showing how energy is transferred from one organism to the next through feeding relationships, starting with a producer.
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Question
What is a food web?
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Answer
An interconnected network of food chains within an ecosystem, showing the complex feeding relationships between multiple species.
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Question
What are producers?
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Answer
Organisms (mainly plants and algae) that make their own food via photosynthesis. They form the base of every food chain.
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Question
What are primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers?
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Answer
Primary consumers eat producers (herbivores). Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers (top predators).
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Question
What is a decomposer and why are they important?
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Answer
Organisms (bacteria and fungi) that break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil and completing the nutrient cycle.
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Question
What is biomass and why does it decrease at each trophic level?
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Answer
Biomass is the total mass of living organisms at a trophic level. It decreases up the chain because energy is lost as heat through respiration, movement, and waste at each level.
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Question
What is the 10% rule in energy transfer?
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Answer
On average only ~10% of energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next. The rest is lost as heat, in waste, or used for the organism's own respiration.
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Question
What is the carbon cycle?
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Answer
The continuous movement of carbon through the atmosphere, living organisms, oceans, and Earth. Photosynthesis removes CO₂; respiration, combustion, and decomposition release it.
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