Chapter 2
How do decomposers contribute to the ecosystem?
They eat dead stuff and break it down into detritus for detritovores
What is a habitat?
A place where an organism lives & all its components
Why is biodiversity important?
What is a climax community?
When an ecosystem recovers enough to have a few species, but could risk collapse again
What happens if two species try to occupy the same niche at the same time?
Competition- either until death or surrender
What is a heterotroph?
An organism that gets its energy through eating something
* What is the difference between interspecific and intraspecific competition?
inter- different species
intra- same species
Multiple different species of warbler are able to live in the same tree at the same time. How is this possible?
They occupy different niches within the same tree
What is carrying capacity?
Maximum population size an environment can support
Bees are often seen on flowers, eating nectar, when the bee leaves and goes to a new flower for more food, it helps the flower pollinate. What type of relationship is this?
Mutualism
What does a trophic level represent?
Energy availability within a specific part of the food chain
* Give an example of a parasitism symbiotic relationship
any relation where one is harmed and one is helped
* Give an example of a keystone species, how are they important to their ecosystem?
TBD - Up to teacher
What does population density measure?
What matter cycle involves the fixation of the element into biologically usable forms?
Nitrogen
* A filed of grass has 10,000 calories, a grasshopper eats the grass, a bird eats the grasshopper, and a wolf eats the bird. How much energy is each organism getting?
GH-1,000
B-100
W-10
This biome is known for being extremely hot, and almost never receiving precipitation
Desert
What is ecological succession?
Gradual change in an ecosystem (usually growth) over time
* What are the 4 factors that influence population growth?
Birthrate, deathrate, immigration, emigration
Sea turtles lay tons of eggs at a time. When the eggs hatch very few survive and make it to the ocean. If they do survive they live very long lives. What survivorship curve does this represent?
Type III
How can an organism be classified as both a secondary and tertiary consumer?
it eats herbivores and carnivores
The lionfish, native to Indo-Pacific, has been introduced to the Caribbean sea. It has no natural predators, and is consuming a large amount of small reef fish. This situation illustrates?
Invasive species
In the African savanna, elephants play a critical role by knocking down trees to create space and habitats for many other animals. This makes elephants an example of?
Keystone species
Density-dependent factors infect what type of population more?
Increasing populations
What is the difference between primary and secondary succession
Primary has no soil and takes longer. Secondary has soil, a little fast but still takes lots of years