Components of an ecosystem

Food chain system

Producers → primary consumers → secondary consumers → tertiary consumers

What does biomass do up the food chain

decrease

Why does biomass decrease up the food chain

energy is lost eg. respiration, and not all the food is eaten eg. roots, hair

What do food webs show

interdependence and food relationships

Nutrient cycling

nutrients from soil to litter to biomass as a cycle, with inputs and outputs

Nutrient cycling exmaple

Nutrients → litter via rain Litter nutrients → soil via decomposition Litter nutrients → loss as runoff Soil nutrients → biomass via plants Nutrients → soil via weathering & rocks

Important inputs in an ecosystem

sunlight and rainwater

An important output in an ecosystem

water evaporation

Rewilding

the restoration of an area to a natural state

Ecosystem restoration

the process of assisting recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed by humans

How many packs of wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone

16 packs of 10

What happened to elks after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone

population halved in 8 years

What happened to vegetation after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone

increased due to decreased grazing

What happened to scavengers after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone

increased dud to more wolf kills

What happened to erosion after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone

decreased due to trees stabilising banks

What happened to birds after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone

increased due to more tree cover

What happened to beavers and aspen after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone

increased due to building ponds (interdependent on each other)