Unit 5: Ecology And Evolution

Question 0

Community

Answer 0

A group of populations living and interacting with each other in an area

Question 1

Habitat

Answer 1

The environment in which species normally live, or the location of a living organism

Question 2

Population

Answer 2

A group of organisms of the same species who live in the same area at the same time

Question 3

Ecosystem

Answer 3

A community and it’s abiotic environment

Question 4

Ecology

Answer 4

The study of relationships between living organisms and between organisms and their environment

Question 5

Autotroph

Answer 5

An organism that synthesises it’s organic molecules from simple inorganic substances (plants)

Question 6

Heterotroph

Answer 6

An organism that obtains organic molecules from other organisms (owls)

Question 7

Consumer

Answer 7

An organism that ingests organic matter that is living or recently killed (wolves)

Question 8

Detrivore

Answer 8

An organism that ingests non-living organic matter (earthworms)

Question 9

Saprotroph

Answer 9

An organism that lives on or in non-living organic matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it and absorbing the products of digestion (fungi)

Question 10

Food chain

Answer 10

A sequence of organisms, each of which feeds on the previous one

Question 11

Food web

Answer 11

Diagram which displays the tropic relationships within ecological communities

Question 12

Tropic level

Answer 12

Categories of organisms (producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc.)

Question 13

10% rule of food chains

Answer 13

Only 10% of energy is passed on to the next tropic level in a food chain

Question 14

Pyramids of energy

Answer 14

A pyramid displaying the amount of energy that is converted to new biomass during a give time period by each tropic level in an ecological community

Question 15

Biomass

Answer 15

The total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area or volume

Question 16

Carbon cycle

Answer 16

The series of processes by which Carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment

Question 17

Greenhouse effect

Answer 17

Natural process in which gasses in the Earth’s atmosphere trap heat radiation from short and long wavelengths of light emitted from the Sun

Question 18

Anthropogenic factors of enhanced greenhouse effect

Answer 18

Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, over harvesting of trees, release of CFC’s into the atmosphere and urbanisation

Question 19

Precautionary principle

Answer 19

When an activity raises the threat of harm, preventative measure should be taken even if a cause-and-effect-relationship has not yet been established (when an activity appears harmful, the activity must be approached with caution, even if those harmful factors have not yet been proven)

Question 20

Global warming

Answer 20

Gradual increase in the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere - set to by caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect

Question 21

Natality

Answer 21

Birth rate (ratio of births to population)

Question 22

Immigration

Answer 22

The action of coming in to a population

Question 23

Emigration

Answer 23

The action of leaving a population

Question 24

Mortality

Answer 24

Death rate (ratio of deaths to population)

Question 25

Sigmoid population curve

Answer 25

Curve displaying the population change over a given time period

Question 26

Exponential growth phase (s-curve)

Answer 26

When the population has begun to grow, it rises quickly due to unlimited growth factors

Question 27

J-curve

Answer 27

Rapid increase in growth of population (population starts to grow in a steady rate, then explodes)

Question 28

Enhanced greenhouse effect

Answer 28

The increase in natural greenhouse effect as a result of human activities contributing to an increase in concentrations of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere

Question 29

Evolution

Answer 29

The cumulative change in the heritable characteristics of a population

Question 30

Evidence for evolution

Answer 30

Breeding of domesticated animals and crop plants (significant differences between characteristics of domesticated/wild organisms), fossil records (significant differences between extinct and living organisms), homologous structures (any characteristic of an organism that is derived from a common ancestor), geographical distributions of animals and plants

Question 31

Natural selection

Answer 31

Process whereby organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

Question 32

Variation

Answer 32

A change or slight difference in condition, favourable traits of variation can lead to natural selection

Question 33

Sexual reproduction

Answer 33

The production of new loving organisms by combining genetic information from two individuals of two types (sexes)

Question 34

Antibiotic resistance

Answer 34

Type of drug-resistant microorganism that is able to survive the exposure to antibiotics. This is due to a mutation that inhibits the effects of antibiotics, the favoured gene is then passed on to offspring causing a widespread resistance amongst pathogenic bacteria

Question 35

Binomial nomenclature

Answer 35

System of naming with using 2 terms, usually inclusive of Genus followed by the species. The terms must be italicised (or underlined) and only Genus is allowed to be capitalised

Question 36

Transitional phase (s-curve)

Answer 36

When limiting factors in the environment start to limit population growth, thus slowing down population increase

Question 37

Plateau phase (s-curve)

Answer 37

When the population hits it's carrying capacity - maximum number of organisms in a population that can be supported by the environment

Question 38

Speciation

Answer 38

Formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution

Question 39

Selection pressures that lead to natural selection

Answer 39

Competition for space, food, mates, increased predation, disease, parasitism

Question 40

Abiotic

Answer 40

Physical components of a community

Question 41

Biotic

Answer 41

Living components of a community

Question 42

Greenhouse gases

Answer 42

Methane, nitrous oxides, CFCs (chloro-fluro-carbons), carbon dioxides and water vapour

Question 43

Development of antibiotic resistant bacteria

Answer 43

Population with no resistance > resistant gene (by mutation) received from a different population > continuous use of antibiotic causes strong natural selection for resistance > discontinued use of antibiotic causes natural selection against resistance > population with slightly fewer resistance

Question 44

Species

Answer 44

A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring