Question | Answer |
The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment is called | ecology |
the combined portions of earth in which all living things exist is called the | biosphere |
all of the members of a particular species that live in one area are called a(an) | population |
which of the following descriptions about the organization of an ecosystem is correct? | species make up populations, which make up communities |
the simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in the biosphere is | a community |
which of the following is not a basic unit used by ecologists to study the living world? | classifying |
which ecological inquiry method is an ecologist using when he or she enters an area periodically to count the population number of an certain species? | observing |
a mathematical formula designed to predict population fluctuations in a community could be called a(an) | ecological model |
plants are | producers |
what is the original source of almost all the energy in most ecosystems? | sunlight |
an organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply from inorganic compounds is called a(an) | autotroph |
all the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem make up a food | web |
the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the | biomass |
what is an ecological model of the relationships that form a network of complex interactions among organisms in a community from producers to decomposers? | food web |
what animals eat both producers and consumers? | omnivores |
what is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web? | trophic |
a bird stalks, kills and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe the bird? | carnivore, consumer |
only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. of the remaining energy, some is used for the organism's life processes, and the rest is | eliminated as heat |
most energy available to a consumer trophic level is used by organisms for | respiration, movement, and reproduction |
which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem? | a biomass pyramid |
matter can recycle through the biosphere because | biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it |
the repeated movement of water between earth's surface and the atmosphere is called | the water cycle |
which of the following is not recycled in the biosphere? | energy |
carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following processes except...(photosynthesis,burning of fossil fuels, transpiration, decomposition of plants and animals) | transpiration |
how is carbon stored in the biosphere? | in the atmosphere as co2, underground as fossil fuels and calcium carbonate rock, in the oceans as dissolved co2 |
nitrogen fixation is carried out primarily by | bacteria |
which of the following has a direct role in the nitrogen cycle?(bacteria, decomposers, legumes,all of the above) | all of the above |
organisms need nutrients in order to | carry out essential life functions |
the movements of energy and nutrients through living systems are different because | energy flows in one direction and nutrients recycle |
biogeochemical cycling ensures that | nutrients will be be circulated throughout the biosphere |
the rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem is called | primary productivity |
which is most likely to be a limiting nutrient in a freshwater pond? | phosphorus |
if a nutrient is in such short supply in an ecosystem that it affects an animal's growth, the | substance is a limiting nutrient |
in the water cycle what process occurs between evaporation and precipitation | condensation |
plant eating animals such as cows are called | herbivores |
organisms that break down organic matter and return it to the environment are called | detritivores |
ground water, when taken up by the roots of plants, eventually reenters the atmosphere by the process of | transpiration |
the chemical substances that an organism requires to live are called | nutrients |
living organisms require nitrogen to make __________________, which are used to build proteins. | amino acids |
explain the ecological significance of interdependence | everything depends on each other to live |
why are decomposers the final consumers in every consumers in every food chain? | they provide the nutrients for the producers which then carries through the rest of the chain |
compare the movement of energy in the biosphere with the movement of matter through the biosphere. | the energy is only shared within the food that the matter consumers consume |