Intro

Question 1

Environment?

Answer 1

Complex of physical, chemical and biotic factors that act on an organism/ecological community and ultimately decide its form and survival

Question 2

Environmental biology?

Answer 2

1. A scientific study of the origins, functions, relationships, interactions and natural history of living populations, communities, species, and ecosystems in relation to dynamic environmental processes

Question 3

Individual/organism

Answer 3

Any organism/living thing with its own characters in physiology, evolution and behavior in relation to environmental factors

Question 4

Population

Answer 4

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area and producing fertile offspring by interbreeding

Question 5

Community

Answer 5

A collection of populations of different species living in the same area and interacting with each other

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

An ecosystem is a collection of communities as well as abiotic factors with which they interact with

Question 7

Biosphere

Answer 7

Includes the entire portion of earth that is inhabited by life

Question 8

What are the organizational levels of the environment

Answer 8

Individual
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biosphere

Question 9

What are abiotic components

Answer 9

Non living components (physical and chemical factors)
Ex: water, air, light, temperature, nutrients, sunlight, soil

Question 10

Where are abiotic resources obtained from

Answer 10

Lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere

Question 11

What do abiotic components limit?

Answer 11

The geographic range (distribution) and abundance of species

Question 12

What are biotic components

Answer 12

Living components of the ecosystem which include plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and protists

Question 13

Define niche

Answer 13

Niche is the role a particular organism plays in an ecosystem. Or how an organism makes it’s living

Question 14

What are the factors involved in deciding a niche

Answer 14

1. How an organism gets its energy (what an organism eats) and how they pass that energy through the ecosystem
2. How an organism interacts with other organisms
3. Role in recycling nutrients
4. Tolerance to environmental conditions such as temperature and soil moisture

Question 15

Define habitat

Answer 15

The physical area a species lives naturally

Question 16

What are the environmental factors used to describe a habitat?

Answer 16

1. Average amount of sunlight received each day
2. Average Annual rainfall

Question 17

Whats the difference between habitat and ecosystem?

Answer 17

The habitat is the actual place of an ecosystem, whereas the ecosystem includes both biotic and abiotic components

Question 18

What are the 3 interactions between abiotic and biotic components of the environment?

Answer 18

Biotic- biotic interactions

Biotic-abiotic interactions

Abiotic-abiotic interactions

Question 19

Examples for biotic-biotic interactions

Answer 19

Competition
Feeding relationships
Symbiotic relationships between individuals and species

Question 20

Examples for biotic-biotic interactions

Answer 20

Water uptake of plants from soil

Question 21

Examples for abiotic-abiotic interactions

Answer 21

Chemical reactions occurring in soil

Question 22

Define trophic level

Answer 22

Arrangement of feeding levels of an ecosystem

Question 23

How are trophic levels represented?

Answer 23

Producers - 1st trophic level
Herbivores- 2nd trophic level
Primary carnivores - 3rd trophic level
Top carnivores - other levels

Question 24

Define food chain

Answer 24

A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass from one trophic level to another trophic level of an ecosystem, starting from primary producers

Question 25

Define primary producers

Answer 25

They are autotrophs and most often photosynthetic organisms such as plants, algae or cyanobacteria These organisms convert light energy to chemical energy (produce organic matter)

Question 26

Define primary production

Answer 26

The amount of organic matter produced by autotrophs in a given area during a given time period Unit: gm-²day-¹ or kgha-¹year-¹

Question 27

What are primary consumers

Answer 27

Organisms that eat primary producers (Usually herbivores, though they may be algae eaters or bacteria eaters)

Question 28

Define secondary consumers

Answer 28

Organisms that consume primary consumers (Generally carnivores)

Question 29

Define tertiary consumers

Answer 29

Organisms that consume secondary consumers (Carnivore-eating carnivores, such as eagles or big fish species)

Question 30

What's a food web?

Answer 30

An interconnected feeding relationship of an ecosystem

Question 31

What's a food web?

Answer 31

An interconnected feeding relationship of an ecosystem

Question 32

Describe energy loss along food chains

Answer 32

- energy flow is always unidirectional - in each trophic level about 90% of potential energy is lost as heat and respiration - organisms in each trophic level pass on about 10% of energy to the next trophic level - this limits no. of trophic level to 4 or 5 - short food chains are more ecologically efficient as more energy is available for top members - Because of this energy tapering, an energy pyramid called ecological pyramid is formed

Question 33

Define ecological pyramid

Answer 33

Geaphical representation of no. of organisms, biomass and productivity at each trophic level

Question 34

In a natural ecosystem do isolated food chains exist?

Answer 34

No

Question 35

Features of ecological pyramids

Answer 35

- tropical structure of an ecosystem is indicated by an ecological pyramid - also called Eltonian pyramids as they were found bt Charles Elton - highest trophic level is at top of food chain.

Question 36

What are the 3 ecological pyramid types?

Answer 36

Pyramid of energy Pyramid of biomass Pyramid of numbers

Question 37

What do energy pyramids describe?

Answer 37

they describe overall nature of ecosystem

Question 38

Why are energy pyramids always upright and vertical

Answer 38

As a considerable amount of energy is lost from one organism to another

Question 39

Define number pyramid

Answer 39

It depicts the relationship in terms of the no of producers, herbivores and carnivores at each trophic level

Question 40

What are the 2 types of number pyramids

Answer 40

- upright: on most cases - inverted: host — parasite — microorganisms in parasite

Question 41

Describe biomass pyramids

Answer 41

- fundamental ecological pyramid - as fresh weight of biomass contains a large amount of water, dry weight represents amount of energy available in form of organic matter in an organism

Question 42

2 types of biomass pyramids

Answer 42

Upright: gradual decrease of biomass in upper trophic levels Ex: forest ecosystems Inverted: some aquatic ecosystems w phytoplankton

Question 43

Define biome

Answer 43

A large geographical area which is classified based on predominant vegetation adapted to that particular environment

Question 44

What determines the biome in an area

Answer 44

Climate and geography of a region

Question 45

How do biomes vary from each other

Answer 45

differences in Climate Topography Soil conditions

Question 46

What are the major terrestrial biomes

Answer 46

Tropical forest Savanna Desert Chaparral Temperate grassland Temperate broadleaf forest Northern coniferous forest Tundra