Ecology Test Flashcards
Compare and contrast biotic and abiotic factors.
Biotic Factors: living parts of an ecosystem, including remains and wastes. Abiotic Factors: Non-living parts of an ecosystem, includes light, temperature, weather, soil and water.
Discuss how to recognize the predator and the prey in a predation relationship.
A predator is an organism that eats another organism. The prey is the organism which the predator eats.
Classify a pet dog as a heterotroph or an autotroph, and then as a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore. Explain.
A pet dog is a heterotroph because it doesn’t produce its own food and its an omnivore because it eats anything.
Compare and contrast autotrophs and the different types of heterotrophs. Use the terms carnivore, producer, herbivore, and omnivore in your discussion.
The difference between an autotroph and heterotrophs is that autotrophs make their own food and heterotrophs don’t make their own food. One type of autotroph is a producer. Heterotrophs have 3 different types. Carnivores only eat meat. Herbivore only eat plants. Omnivores eat meat and plants.
What is released at each level of a pyramid of energy?
They release heat within each level of the pyramid.
- Explain the role of decomposers in the nitrogen cycle.
Some bacteria are decomposers and break down the complex nitrogen compounds in dead organisms and animal wastes.
- Hypothesize why there are no fourth-level consumers in this ecosystem?
There is not enough energy to go all the way up to the 4th level. It would take up more energy to intake the food than the actual energy the food contains.
Analyze the image above. Infer the effect on organism numbers if a disease reduced the number of primary producers to 750,000?
The whole population would start to decline because of lack of resources in the primary producers category and then they higher up the pyramid the more the toxic chemicals go up.
Hypothesize how top carnivores, such as lions, wolves, and eagles, that are tertiary consumers, increase the variety of species found in the ecosystems they inhabit.
Population control, disease control, less competition for resources, producers, herbivores and habitat.
List 4 limiting factors?
Water,food,Habitat,mate.
Give an example and name three types of biodiversity
Genetic diversity, Species diversity, Ecosystem diversity.
Enrique hears about the accelerated global extinction rate due to rain forest deforestation and the destruction of other habitats worldwide. He concludes that all extinctions are caused by humans and are harmful to the biosphere. Critique his conclusion.
I agree with Enrique. Extinction nowadays occurs due to human activities. Mass extinction will have adverse effects on the biosphere.
Explain why the disruption of habitat affects the biodiversity of an ecosystem.
Habitat loss leaves large numbers of species to gradually decline and go extinct.
What environment is most likely to have a lot of generalist species?
rain forest
What environment is most likely to have a lot of specialist species?
They will be in more of a diverse environment with lost of different species like a rainforest.
Using the image of the food web, infer what the effect would be on the sea otter population if the number of fish were to significantly decrease.
The whole populations would drop and there may not be enough fish for the people to eat or fish anymore.
Explain why reserves protect biodiversity.
It makes sure that animals who live there dont die off and create an inbalance within the ecosystem.
The ginger plant is considered an invasive species in Hawaii. Explain how biodiversity is maintained by killing ginger plants.
The ginger plant massive roots limit the water resources for animals. By killing the ginger plant it will let other animals have water.
Define biological magnification and give an example.
Its the increase of toxic chemicals as the food chain increases.
Assess the effect of the introduction of a nonnative species of tree on the biodiversity of a forest.
Nonnative species can have negative effects on wildlife in many ways. It can change the food web in an ecosystem by replacing native food sources.
What is genetic diversity and give an example of its importance?
The range of different inherited traits within a species. Genetic diversity allows species to adapt to future environmental changes
Give two examples of density independent factors.
floods, fires
What happens when a population nears carrying capacity explain?
The population grows very slow as it starts to get closer to carrying capacity and it starts to slowly hurt the environment.
What happens when a population isn’t close to carrying capacity Explain?
The population has enough room to grow and reproduce while still being able to survive and not have to worry about the resources and how the environment will become damaged.
