Biology

Question 1

What are the different levels within ecosystems?

Answer 1

Organism → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Landscape → Biosphere

Question 2

What are biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem?

Answer 2

Biotic = living organisms; Abiotic = non-living factors like sunlight, water, temperature

Question 3

What is DDT and what effects did it have?

Answer 3

A synthetic pesticide that caused environmental harm, especially to birds of prey

Question 4

Who wrote Silent Spring and what was its impact?

Answer 4

Rachel Carson; it raised awareness of pesticide dangers and started the environmental movement

Question 5

What abiotic factors influence life in the biosphere?

Answer 5

Sunlight, temperature, water, nutrients, and wind

Question 6

What adaptations help pronghorns survive in plains/deserts?

Answer 6

Speed, efficient oxygen use, keen vision, and endurance

Question 7

How does solar energy and Earth’s movement affect climate?

Answer 7

They influence heat distribution and global climate patterns

Question 8

How do landforms affect local climate?

Answer 8

Mountains alter rainfall and temperature; valleys trap air

Question 9

Why do different seasons occur?

Answer 9

Earth’s axial tilt and orbit cause seasonal changes; hemispheres experience opposite seasons

Question 10

Why do prevailing winds and ocean currents exist?

Answer 10

Caused by Earth’s rotation and uneven solar heating

Question 11

What are ocean zones/realms?

Answer 11

Pelagic (open water), Benthic (sea floor), Photic (light), Aphotic (dark), Intertidal (shore)

Question 12

What are freshwater biomes?

Answer 12

Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, wetlands

Question 13

What are the nine major terrestrial biomes?

Answer 13

Tropical forest, savanna, desert, chaparral, temperate grassland, broadleaf forest, coniferous forest, tundra, polar ice

Question 14

Why do distant biomes have similar species traits?

Answer 14

Convergent evolution from similar environments

Question 15

What links all parts of the biosphere?

Answer 15

Energy flow and nutrient cycling

Question 16

What is behavior and its causes?

Answer 16

Behavior is an action; proximate = immediate, ultimate = evolutionary cause

Question 17

What is a fixed action pattern (FAP)?

Answer 17

A hardwired, unchangeable behavior (e.g., goose retrieving egg)

Question 18

How do genes and environment shape behavior?

Answer 18

Behavior is influenced by both genetics and environment

Question 19

What are the types of learning?

Answer 19

Habituation, imprinting, spatial learning, associative learning, social learning, problem solving

Question 20

What is the optimal foraging model?

Answer 20

Maximizes energy gain with least effort

Question 21

What is a signal in animal behavior?

Answer 21

A stimulus meant to influence another organism’s behavior

Question 22

What is the waggle dance?

Answer 22

Bee movement indicating food location

Question 23

What are the three mating systems?

Answer 23

Promiscuous, monogamous, polygamous

Question 24

What is agonistic behavior?

Answer 24

Conflict behavior over resources

Question 25

What is kin selection?

Answer 25

Helping relatives to improve shared genetic success

Question 26

What is population density?

Answer 26

Number of individuals per unit area

Question 27

What are the three dispersion patterns?

Answer 27

Clumped, uniform, random

Question 28

What are survivorship curves?

Answer 28

Type I (humans), Type II (birds), Type III (insects/fish)

Question 29

What is the difference between exponential and logistic growth?

Answer 29

Exponential = rapid and unlimited; Logistic = levels at carrying capacity

Question 30

What causes boom-and-bust cycles?

Answer 30

Predation, food supply, weather conditions

Question 31

Compare r-selection and K-selection

Answer 31

r: many offspring, little care; K: few offspring, much care

Question 32

What are interspecific interactions?

Answer 32

Competition, mutualism, predation, herbivory, parasitism

Question 33

What is a keystone species?

Answer 33

A species with a large effect on community structure

Question 34

What is ecological succession?

Answer 34

Community change over time; primary = new area, secondary = disturbed area

Question 35

How does energy move through ecosystems?

Answer 35

From producers to consumers, with energy lost at each level

Question 36

What are biogeochemical cycles?

Answer 36

Movement of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus through the biosphere

Question 37

What is eutrophication?

Answer 37

Nutrient buildup that reduces oxygen and kills species