Question | Answer |
The study of the interactions of the plants and animals and their interrelationships with their physical environment. | Ecology. |
All members of a single species living in a specific area. | Population. |
A group of organisms that are capable of breeding among themselves and producing fertile offspring under natural conditions. | Species. |
All the plant and animal populations of a given area, living things only. | Community. |
Self-contained, interdependent system of living and nonliving things. | Ecosystem. |
A stable ecosystem must have a constant source and flow of __________ from one population to the next. | Energy. |
Original source of energy. | Sun. |
In a stable ecosystem, producers must be able to store energy as _______ ____________. | Organic compounds. |
In a stable ecosystem, there must be a continuous __________ of materials between the population and environment. | Cycle. |
The portion of the Earth in which all life exists. | Biosphere. |
Sequence of ecological organization. | 1. Species
2. Population
3. Community
4. Ecosystem
5. Biosphere |
Physical or non-living part of the environment. | Abiotic environment. |
Examples of abiotic factors. | Light intensity, temperature, amount of moisture, type of soil, oxygen, carbon dioxide. |
Abiotic factors serve as ________ ____________. | Limiting factors. |
Living parts of the environment. | Biotic environment. |
Interactions within an ecosystem that provide each organism with the nutrients it needs for life functions. | Nutritional relationships. |
Make their own food. | Autotrophs. |
Depend upon other organisms for food. | Hetertrophs. |
Heterotrophs that use dead organic matter as a source of food. | Saprophyte/Scavengers. |
Heterotrophs that eat plants. | Herbivores. |
Role of saprophytes. | Recycle nutrients back into the environment. |
Animals that eat other animals. | Carnivores. |
Attacks and eats other animals. | Predators. |
Eat both plants and animals. | Omnivores. |
One organism benefits and the other isn't affected. | Commensalism. |
Example of commensalism. | Barnacle and whale. |
Both organisms benefited. | Mutualism. |
Example of mutualism. | Lichen and bacteria. |
Organisms benefits at the expense of the host. | Parasitism. |
Example of parasitism. | Tapeworm. |
A series of organisms through which food and energy is passed in an ecosystem. | Food chain. |
Interconnected food chains in an ecosystem. | Food web. |
Organisms that eat other organisms. | Consumers. |
Organisms that feed directly upon plants. | Primary consumer. |
Animals that eat the primary consumer. | Secondary consumer. |
Animals that eat the secondary consumer. | Tertiary consumer. |
Feeds off dead organisms. | Decomposers. |
Examples of decomposes. | Bacteria and fungi. |
Shows the amount of energy at each feeding level. | Pyramid of energy. |
Who has the most energy? | Producers. |
Who has the least amount of energy? | Highest level consumer. |
Why do higher level consumers have less energy? | Energy gets lost as heat and unavailable chemical energy due to metabolism. |
Shows the relative mass of organisms at each feeding level. | Pyramid of biomass. |
Amount of organic matter. | Biomass. |
Has the most biomass. | Producer. |
Has the least biomass. | Highest level of consumers. |
The cycles of materials between living things and the physical environment. | Biogeochemical cycles. |
Examples of biogeochemical cycles. | Carbon hydrogen oxygen cycle, water cycle, nitrogen cycle. |
Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are recycled by the processes of ___________ and ______________. | Photosynthesis, respiration. |
Cycling of water occurs between the __________ of the Earth and the _____________. | Surface, atmosphere. |
Water that escapes into the air in the form of water vapor. | Evaporated water. |
Loss of water vapor from a plant through the stomates of the leaves. | Transpiration. |
Water returns to the surface through _____________ and __________. | Condensation, precipitation. |
Converts free nitrogen into nitrates, which enter the soil as soluble nutrients that can be absorbed as plant roots. | Nitrogen fixing bacteria. |
Convert nitrogenous wastes into ammonia. | Decomposers. |
Converts ammonia into nitrates. | Nitrifying bacteria. |
Breaks down nitrogen compounds into free nitrogen which returns back to the atmosphere. | Denitrifying bacteria. |
Process by which an existing community is gradually replaced by a new one. | Ecological succession. |
First plants to populate a specific location. | Pioneer organisms. |
Examples of pioneer organisms. | Lichens and moss. |
Typical sequence of plant population from early plant forms to a climax forest. | Plant succession. |
A mature stable community that is in its final stage of an ecological ecosystem. | Climax community. |
A shallow pond can turn into a woodland area. | Pond succession. |
Conflict between organisms trying to use resources of the environment. | Competition. |
Examples of resources competition can be over. | Living space, water, and oxygen. |
Particular way a species functions in an ecosystem. | Niche. |
Each species has __________ niche. | One. |
The measurement of the degree to which species vary in an ecosystem. | Biodiversity. |
More diversity= _____________ stability. | More. |