STD- VIII

SUBJECT- BIOLOGY

CHAPTER -4. ECOSYSTEMS

A. Fill in the blanks.

1. Herbivorous animals that eat only plants

2. Primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers

3. Air, water and soil are abiotic components of the earth.

4. Microorganisms like bacteria and fungi that feed on dead bodies are called
decomposers.

5. The primary source of light on the earth is the sunlight.

6. In an ecosystem, the energy is lost in the form of heat

B. State whether the given statements are true or false.

1. Everything that surrounds us is called ecosystem- false

2. Animals and plants are interdependent - True

3. Predators always kill their prey before eating - False

4. Plants are called consumers as they make their own food- False

5. The most abundant natural resource on the earth is land- False

6. All plants absorb solar energy and fix it in the form of food energy through
photosynthesis-False.
C. Identify the errors in the given statement.

1. An aquarium is a natural ecosystem

Ans. An aquarium is an artificial ecosystem

2. Winter is absent in temperate forest.

Ans. Winter is absent in tropical forest.

D) Give reasons for the following statements:

1) Green plants are called primary producers.

Ans- Green plants are called primary producers because they can prepare their own
food bythe process of photosynthesis.
2) Food chains never operate as linear sequences.

Ans- Food chains never operate as linear sequences but they are interconnected
with eachother through different types of organisms.
3) Light is the chief source of energy.

Ans- The primary source of light on the earth is the [Link] is the chief source of
energybecause it is used by green plants to make their food.
4) The distribution of plants and animals in a place depends upon the amount of
water presentthere.
Ans- The distribution of plants and animals in a place depends upon the amount of
water present there because vegetation is less where water is scarce(deserts) and it
is dense in theareas of heavy rainfall(western ghats and hills of Assam in India|).
5) Biotic and abiotic components interdependent.

Ans- When plants and animals die, decomposers reduce their dead into minerals
which are reused by plants for their growth. Thus, the biotic and abiotic components
of the environmentare interdependent.
E. Define the following

1. Autotrophs- the living organisms that can manufacture their own food.

2. Heterotrophs- the living organisms that depend on food prepared by autotrophs.

3. Canopy- A cover or a roof formed by the branches of trees in the upper region.

4. Flora- The plant life of a forest

5. Fauna- The animal life of a forest.

F. Answer in short:

1) Who are omnivores?

Ans- Omnivores are the animals which eat both plants and animals. For example, crow,
cockroach, bear and human beings.
2) What is the role played by decomposers?

Ans- Decomposers are the microorganisms like bacteria and fungi that feed upon the
dead bodies of plants and animals and break them down into simpler substance.
These microorganism secrete certain digestive enzymes and decompose the dead
bodies into minuteparticles called [Link] minerals are again taken up from
the soil by the plants. Thus decomposers help not only in cleaning the environment
but also in recycling the minerals.
3) What is man-made environment?

Ans- In social science, the term built environment refers to the man-made u surro ndings
that
provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from buildings to parks. It
has been defined as "the humanitarian-made space in which people live, work, and
recreate on a day-to-day basis.
G. Explain the following terms:

1. Consumers- Organisms that eat the food prepared by producers are called
consumers orheterotrophs. All animals fall in this category. They depend on
producers for their food directly or indirectly.
2. Pyramid of numbers- The pyramid of numbers depicts the relationship in terms
of the number of producers, herbivores and carnivores at their successive trophic
levels. The number pyramid varies from ecosystem to ecosystem. There are three
types of pyramid ofnumbers.
• Upright pyramid of number.
• Partly upright pyramid of number.
• Inverted pyramid of number.
3. Ecosystem- A system of interacting biotic and abiotic components of the
environment is called [Link], forests and grasslands are some examples
of natural ecosystem. An aquarium is an example of an artificial [Link] large
area of land where various plants,animals and microorganisms exist is forest
ecosystem.
4. Biome: Several connected ecosystem in a large area of land or sea together form a
biome.
 H. Differentiate between the following:

1 Producers and consumers

Producers Consumers
All living things that can manufacture Organisms that eat the food prepared by
theirfood are called producers. producers are called consumers or
heterotrophs.
Only green plants can prepare their own All animals and human beings fall under
food this
by the process of photosynthesis. category.

[Link] chain and Food web

Food chain Food web

The series of organisms which are The interconnected and interlocking

linked with each other through a patternof food chains is known as food
process of eatingand being eaten form web.
a food chain.
Each level in a food chain is called a There are alternatives in nature and
trophiclevel or energy level. togetherthey all constitute some sort of
interlocking pattern to form the food
web.

3. Consumers and Decomposers

Consumers Decomposers
Organisms that eat the food Decomposers are the micro organisms
prepared byproducers are called thatsecrete certain digestive enzymes
consumers or heterotrophs. and
decompose the dead bodies into minute
particles called minerals.
All animals and human beings fall under Decomposers are the micro organisms
thiscategory. likebacteria and fungi.

Ans- Abiotic components include non-living things like light, air, water, soil and
[Link] on earth is not possible without these components.
• Light- The primary source of light on the earth is the sun. It is the chief source of
energywhich is used by green plants to make their own food. Light also
influences other activities of plants like opening and closing of stomata,
germination of seeds and flowering.
• Soil- Soil of a place determines the type of vegetation growing there. Terrestrial
plants are completely dependent on soil in which they grow for anchorage,
water and [Link] animals like rats, snakes and termites also live in the
soil in burrows and caves inside the earth. Soil is also home to many small
organisms like bacteria, fungi, worms and insects.
2. How are biotic and abiotic components interlinked?

Ans: The biotic and abiotic components are interlinked with each other. Some
reasons fortheir interconnections are as follows:
a) The biotic components of the environment include plants, animals and
[Link] these organisms cannot survive without the aid of non-biotic
components.
b) Plants depend on nature for sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to prepare food.
They needsoil and minerals for their growth.
c) When plants and animals die, decomposers reduce their dead bodies into
minerals whichare reused by plants for their growth.
Thus both are interlinked with each other.

3- What is meant by a food web? Explain with the help of examples.

Ans- In natural conditions, food chains never operate as linear sequences, but remain
interconnected with each other through different types of organisms. The
interconnected andinterlocking pattern of food chains is known as food web.
For example:, in grazing food chain of grassland, in the absence of a grasshopper,
grass mayalso be eaten by a mouse which in turn may be eaten by a snake or
directly by a hawk. Thus,there are alternatives in nature and together they all
constitute some sort of interlocking pattern to form the food web.
4. How does energy flow through the ecosystem?

Ans- Energy flow in an ecosystem would begin with the autotrophs that take energy
from thesun. Herbivores then feed on the autotrophs and change the energy from
the plant into energythat they can use. Carnivores subsequently feed on the
herbivores and, finally, other carnivores prey on the carnivores.
In each case, energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next trophic level and
each time some energy is lost as heat into the environment. This is due to the fact
that each organism must use some energy that they received from other organisms
in order to [Link] top consumer of a food chain will be the organism that
receives the least amount of energy. In this way energy flow through ecosystem.
[Link] are aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem with examples?

Ans: a) If the ecosystem exists in a water body, such as in an ocean, a lake or even
in apuddle called as aquatic ecosystem
Example: Fresh ecosystem and marine ecosystem

b) If the ecosystem exists on land called as terrestrial ecosystem.

Example: Grassland ecosystem, forest ecosystem, mountain ecosystem and desert

ecosystem