Habitats and Food Webs Lecture Notes

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key terminology related to habitats, food chains, food webs, and the specific ecological interactions in forest and Arctic environments.

Habitat

The area where something lives, including the living and non-living things it relies on to survive.

Basic Animal Needs

The four essential requirements for survival: food, water, shelter, and space to live.

Food Chain

A model used to describe the flow of energy between living things.

Food Web

Big, tangled systems that include every plant and animal in a habitat, made of many overlapping food chains.

Plants

Organisms such as trees and grass that change energy from the sun into sugar.

Decomposers

Insects, fungi, and bacteria that break down leftover matter, such as rotten fruit or animal carcasses, to provide nutrients for plants.

Phytoplankton

Tiny plants found in sea water that convert energy from the sun.

Zooplankton

Really small creatures that eat phytoplankton.

Krill

Tiny organisms in the Arctic that are eaten by humpback whales.

Beluga Whales

Big marine mammals in the Arctic that eat fish.

Humpback Whales

Big marine mammals in the Arctic that eat tiny plankton and krill.

Arctic Decomposers

Mainly bacteria that break down matter much more slowly than those in the forest due to the cold climate.

Habitat Conditions

Factors such as flat or mountainous land and the amount of water that affect what kind of plants and animals can live in an area.

Body Adaptations

Physical traits that allow an animal, like a polar bear, to survive and feel comfortable in specific conditions like the super cold.

Polar Bear Diet

Consists primarily of seals, but can include walrus, dead whales, bird's eggs, and plants when necessary.