Population Ecology
A species of frog can only survive in cool wetlands with shallow freshwater ponds and dense vegetation. What ecological term describes the place where it lives?
What is a habitat?
Wolves help control deer populations in a forest. Wolves are examples of what ecological role in a food web?
What are top predators?
Bacteria and fungi break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. What are these organisms called?
What are decomposers?
Forests that can regrow naturally after harvesting are examples of what type of resource?
What is a renewable resource?
Why must many homes with solar panels remain connected to the electrical grid?
What is because solar energy is intermittent?
A hawk hunts rodents, competes with other hawks for territory, and serves as prey when young. What concept describes all of these roles and interactions together?
What is an ecological niche?
After an abandoned farm is left untouched, grasses grow first, followed by shrubs and eventually trees. What process is occurring?
What is secondary succession?
Which major biogeochemical cycle depends mostly on rock weathering and lacks a major atmospheric phase?
What is the phosphorus cycle?
Which Mexican federal agency is mainly responsible for enforcing environmental law and sanctioning violations?
What is PROFEPA?
Trees in cities help lower temperatures, provide habitat, and capture pollutants. These benefits are collectively known as what?
What are ecosystem services?
Penguins nesting together in large colonies along a coastline demonstrate what type of population distribution pattern?
What is a clumped (aggregated) distribution?
Clownfish receive protection from sea anemones, while the anemones receive nutrients from the clownfish. What interaction is this?
What is mutualism?
Only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. Most remaining energy leaves the ecosystem as what?
What is heat?
A fish population can naturally replace 800 tons per year, but humans harvest 2,000 tons annually. Which sustainability rule is being violated?
What is the Renewable Limit Rule?
Why are cities often warmer than surrounding rural areas?
What is the urban heat island effect?
Sea turtles lay hundreds of eggs, but only a few survive to adulthood. Which survival curve BEST matches this pattern?
What is a Type III survival curve?
Removing sharks from a marine ecosystem causes fish populations to increase, which then reduces algae-eating organisms and damages coral reefs. What phenomenon is this?
What is a trophic cascade?
One forest survives a drought with very little damage, while another forest is badly damaged but recovers quickly afterward. Which ecosystem property describes the second forest?
What is resilience?
A protected area allows conservation, scientific research, and sustainable human activities in designated zones. Which category BEST fits this description?
What is a Biosphere Reserve?
One environmental concern of geothermal plants is the possible release of which toxic gas?
What is hydrogen sulfide?
Tiny mites live on the feathers of birds and feed on them, harming the birds but usually not killing them. What interaction is this?
What is ectoparasitism?
Two bird species compete for the exact same nesting sites. Over time, one species disappears from the area. Which ecological principle BEST explains this?
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
A grassland captures 500,000 kcal of energy in producers. Assuming the 10% rule applies, how much energy is available to primary consumers?
What is 50,000 kcal?
Which article of the Mexican Constitution guarantees the right to a healthy environment?
What is Article 4?
What is the STRONGEST scientific advantage of nuclear energy compared with solar and wind?
What is that it produces low greenhouse gas emissions while providing stable continuous power?