Ecosystems and Population

Question 1

What is the biosphere?

Answer 1

This encompasses all living organisms and their environments found on Earth. Every living thing that exists is contained within the Biosphere. Also, anything that affects or has an effect on living things.

Question 2

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 2

A system formed by the interaction of living and nonliving organisms, aka biotic and abiotic factors. This means organisms and their environments, and how they interact with each other. There is no size limit for an ecosystem.

Question 3

What is a community?

Answer 3

This is a group of organisms of different species living in a shared location, interacting with each other and their environment.

Question 4

What kinds of interactions happen in a community?

Answer 4

Interactions within a community can consist of competition, predation, or symbiosis, such as mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Communities are not static and can change over time. They play a significant role in evolution, as communities are often responsible for the factors that create natural selection.

Question 5

What is a population?

Answer 5

A group of organisms of the same species living in a particular area at a specific time. These populations interbreed and share resources
as well as the same environmental constraints, such as climate, habitat, and interactions with other species.

Question 6

What is a species?

Answer 6

This is a group of organisms that can naturally reproduce and make fertile offspring. Reproductive isolation is the key characteristic of a species.

Question 7

What is a biome?

Answer 7

This is a large geographical area with one type of climate, with organisms adapted to the specific environmental conditions of that area. The tropical rainforest, the desert, the tundra, the temperate forest, and the grasslands are all examples of biomes.

Question 8

What does biotic mean?

Answer 8

This is any living thing.

Question 9

What does abiotic mean?

Answer 9

This refers to non-living things.

Question 10

What is biodiversity?

Answer 10

All the different varieties of life at all levels, from genes to ecosystems. It is the diversity we see in all biological life. It can refer to genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity.

Question 11

What is habitat?

Answer 11

This is the natural environment where one specific species lives and reproduces.

Question 12

What is range?

Answer 12

A geographical area where a particular species can be found. It includes areas where a group of organisms may migrate or hibernate. It’s the spatial distribution of a species within its habitat.

Question 13

What is population density?

Answer 13

The number of individuals per unit of area, typically expressed per square kilometre. It measures the number of organisms within a specific area or region. It can be used to measure how crowded or lacking an area is in organisms of a certain species.

Question 14

What is a niche?

Answer 14

This is the role an organism fills in an ecosystem, including the resources it uses, the interactions it has with other species, and the environmental conditions it requires. The organism within a niche will have specific adaptations to exploit it’s niche.

Question 15

What are limiting factors?

Answer 15

These are environmental conditions that restrain population growth, usually due to the lack of a necessary resource. This can be limited space, limited water, extremes in temperature, limited sunlight, or poor soil quality for abiotic factors. Biotic factors can include a lack of food, competition, predation, or disease.

Question 16

What is competition?

Answer 16

When two species that interact with each other both require the same amount of limited resources, it leads to a negative impact on both species’ fitness. This can be two organisms of the same species or different ones.

Question 17

What is climate?

Answer 17

The long-term typical weather conditions of a specific region, typically averaged over a period of 30 years. It encompasses the average temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and other atmospheric conditions of the area. It is distinct from weather because weather only describes short-term conditions.

Question 18

What is quadratic sampling?

Answer 18

A method used in ecology to estimate the size of a population, as well as its density and the distribution of organisms. This is done by placing a square or rectangular frame over an area and counting the number of individuals within it, then extrapolating those findings to a larger area.

Question 19

What is a chi-squared statistical analysis?

Answer 19

A tool used to determine if there is a difference between observed and expected values in a sample. It can be used to identify the distribution of species in a community.

Question 20

What is the theory of natural selection?

Answer 20

This is a theory that explains how populations adapt and evolve over time. It says that individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and produce offspring, which may carry their successful traits. These traits will be passed on and may lead to the gradual increase of beneficial traits within a population.

Question 21

What is variation?

Answer 21

Variation refers to differences in traits, like eye colour or height.

Question 22

What are inherited traits?

Answer 22

These are traits inherited from a parent. This can refer to variations that are passed down from parents to offspring.

Question 23

What is mutation in the gametes?

Answer 23

Mutations that occur in gametes through sexual reproduction. These mutations are passed down from parents to offspring. Because these mutations occur in the gametes, they are present in every cell of the body.

Question 24

What are somatic mutations?

Answer 24

Somatic mutations are those in non-reproductive cells. They can occur in any cell other than the gametes. They are not inherited and do not affect future generations. They can arise at any point in an individual’s life.

Question 25

What is overproduction?

Answer 25

When a species produces more offspring than the environment can sustain. This drives competition for resources and is a large factor in natural selection.

Question 26

What is survival of the fittest?

Answer 26

This is natural selection, where the organisms that are most fit for their environment are the ones who will be the most successful and will have the most offspring. These organisms may be able to pass down some of these traits to their offspring. Over time, the population will become more varied, and the more advantageous traits will become more common within the population.

Question 27

What are selective pressures?

Answer 27

These are any environmental factors that influence the survival and reproduction of organisms, often causing certain traits to be favoured over others. These pressures drive natural selection, as organisms with advantageous traits are more likely to reproduce and pass on these traits to future generations. Some examples of this can include food availability, predators, diseases, environmental conditions, and competition.

Question 28

How does competition affect natural selection?

Answer 28

Competition, especially for limited resources, is a selective pressure. Traits that give an advantage in competition will be selected. Competition can occur in the form of intraspecific or interspecific competition. Competition happens, and those with an advantage will become more common due to natural selection.

Question 29

What is gradual population change/descent with modification?

Answer 29

This is the idea that a species will change over time due to natural selection. There will be a slow, very gradual change where the most advantageous traits begin to become more common in each new generation of this species, leading to an overall shift in the population's characteristics. Descent with modification is when populations evolve over many generations, resulting in new species that are descended from a common ancestor but have accumulated unique modifications.

Question 30

What is speciation?

Answer 30

Speciation is when many new species evolve from a singular ancestral species. It involves the evolution of populations into separate, reproductively isolated groups, leading to the formation of new species. This process can be driven by various factors, including geographic isolation, genetic mutation, behavioural isolation, or any other outside factors. The key to speciation is reproductive isolation.

Question 31

What are acquired traits?

Answer 31

Characteristics or features that develop in an organism during its lifetime, such as learned behaviours, experiences, injuries, or any other abnormal behaviour. These traits are a result of learning and adaptation due to these individuals' experiences. These traits are not genetic and are not passed down to the organism’s offspring.

Question 32

What is the theory of use and disuse?

Answer 32

his is an INCORRECT theory proposed by Lamarck. It states that an organism’s traits can be modified in its lifetime as a response to its environment. Where the theory goes wrong is in Lamarck’s belief that these acquired traits could be passed down to offspring. It is not supported by any modern understanding of science and evolution.

Question 33

What is artificial selection?

Answer 33

This refers to selective breeding. Traits are selected by an unnatural force for a specific purpose. This can be seen in every fruit or vegetable at stores, and in any farm animal. It leads to evolution towards organisms with specifically desired traits.