Ecology exam questions

Question 1

what is biology

Answer 1

study of life

Question 2

what is the primary source of energy for all living organisms?

Answer 2

sun

Question 3

what term is used to describe the wide variety of organisms?

Answer 3

diversity

Question 4

name two characteristics that organisms must exhibit if they are to be classified as living

Answer 4

highly organized and composed of cells

Question 5

metabolism

Answer 5

chemical reactions that take place in cells

Question 6

continuity

Answer 6

ability of an organism to exist from one generation to the next

Question 7

name the characteristic necessary for the survival of a species

Answer 7

reproduction

Question 8

ecology

Answer 8

the study of the interactions between living thins (organisms) and between organism and their environment

Question 9

food chain

Answer 9

a sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next member in the chain

Question 10

edaphic factor

Answer 10

relate to soil: factors such as the soil pH, soil type and the moisture, air and mineral content of soil

Question 11

quantitative survey

Answer 11

records the number of amounts that are present

Question 12

omnivore

Answer 12

n animal or person that eats a variety of food of both plant and animal origin

Question 13

contest competition

Answer 13

an active physical contest between two individual organisms

Question 14

nitrogen fixation

Answer 14

the chemical processes by which atmospheric nitrogen is assimilated into organic compounds, especially by certain microorganisms as part of the nitrogen cycle

Question 15

biosphere

Answer 15

that part of the planet containing living organisms

Question 16

niche

Answer 16

of an organism is the functional role it plays in the community

Question 17

symbiosis

Answer 17

occurs when two organisms of different species live in close association and at least one of them benefits

Question 18

suggest one reason why dragonflies are such successful predators

Answer 18

Huge eyes

Question 19

Give two benefits for dragonfly populations living near freshwater vegetation

Answer 19

Protection
Laying eggs

Question 20

Suggest a benefit of the adult and the nymph having different food sources

Answer 20

Not in competition for same resource

Question 21

What type of ecological relationship exists between birds and dragonflies?

Answer 21

Predator-prey

Question 22

Suggest one possible effect on the dragonfly population of:

Answer 22

a disease affecting swallow Increases population

Question 23

Suggest one reason why volunteers are being asked to identify dragonflies

Answer 23

Conservation

Question 24

Suggest one reason why volunteers are being asked to identify dragonflies

Answer 24

Conservation

Question 25

What might a volunteer use to help them identify a dragonfly

Answer 25

key

Question 26

Outline the main events of the carbon cycle

Answer 26

Carbon enters the atmosphere as CO2. CO2 is absorbed by autotrophs such as green plants. Animals consume plants, thereby, incorporating carbon into their system. Animals and plants die, their bodies decompose and carbon is reabsorbed back into the atmosphere

Question 27

Explain why the carbon cycle is critical to life on Earth

Answer 27

For Carbon to be reused by organisms

Question 28

Explain the term ‘pollution’

Answer 28

any harmful addition to the enviroment

Question 29

Give one example of waste management from agriculture or fisheries or forestry

Answer 29

landfill

Question 30

Other than global warming or pollution, give two factors that can have an effect on human population

Answer 30

war, famine

Question 31

why do organisms need nitrogen?

Answer 31

to make protein

Question 32

name processes that occur at A and B

Answer 32

A - nitrogen fixation B - denitrification

Question 33

name the type of bacteria involved in the process indicated by c in the diagram above

Answer 33

nitrifying bacteria

Question 34

two possible outcomes of applications of fertilizers

Answer 34

more nitrification more nitrogen absorbed in plants

Question 35

give one limitation of the use of pyramids of numbers in ecology

Answer 35

does not take size of organisms in to account

Question 36

one advantage of females giving birth in early summer and not in spring

Answer 36

more insects food for bats to feed offspring

Question 37

name and explain one human activity that impacts on Irish bat populations

Answer 37

use of peticides reduces bat population du to less roosting sites

Question 38

name one the type of adaptation necessary for organisms to survive

Answer 38

compeitive

Question 39

give two adaptations that bats possess

Answer 39

hibernate sleep upside down

Question 40

what is meant by conservation of species

Answer 40

management of organisms and their enviroment

Question 41

what is the importance in nature of recycling elements such as carbon and nitrogen

Answer 41

to return elements to environment

Question 42

name two types of bacteria that play a role in the nitrogen cycle

Answer 42

nitrogen-fixing and and nitrifying

Question 43

predation

Answer 43

catching or hunting and killing and eating another organism

Question 44

suggest why the mink has become a successful predator of the gulls

Answer 44

mink have suitable adaptation for catching gulls

Question 45

why are omnivores advantageous to mink

Answer 45

they can benefit from both animal and plant matter as food

Question 46

suggest a way in which the mink could cause a decline in the population of these gulls

Answer 46

introduce disease

Question 47

suggest another impact on food chains in this ecosystem caused by the presence of mink on these islands

Answer 47

could lead to an overpopulation of the gulls prey

Question 48

biotic factor

Answer 48

living factor

Question 49

habitat

Answer 49

where an organism lives

Question 50

community

Answer 50

all the ogranisms in an area

Question 51

population

Answer 51

all the orgnaims of a particular species living in an area

Question 52

qualitative survey

Answer 52

to establish the presence of organisms

Question 53

explain why pyramids of number are usually restricted to three or four levels

Answer 53

due to large energy loss

Question 54

the benefit of N2 changing to nitrates

Answer 54

plants can absorb nitrate