Ecosystem Basics
A scientist studies all the fish, frogs, plants, and bacteria living in a pond. What ecological level is the scientist studying?
What is Community?
A meteorologist says your town will receive 3 inches of snow tomorrow. Is this describing weather or climate?
What is Weather?
You look across a landscape covered mostly by grasses with very few trees. What biome are you most likely looking at?
What is grassland?
You are traveling through Kansas and Nebraska and see huge open areas dominated by grasses. What biome would you expect to find?
What is temperate grassland/prairie?
Ten rabbits of the same species live in a meadow. What do we call this group?
What is population?
A farmer notices 32 cows living in the same pasture. What ecological term describes all 32 cows?
What is population?
Scientists calculate the average temperature and precipitation of a region over many years. What are they determining?
What is climate?
You find extremely cold temperatures, very little precipitation, and permanently frozen ground. What biome are you in?
What is tundra?
You are on an African grassland and see lions, elephants, giraffes, grasses, and scattered trees. What biome are you exploring?
What is savanna?
A coastal river meets the ocean, creating an area where fresh water and salt water mix. What is this area called?
What is estuary?
A classroom aquarium contains fish, plants, bacteria, water, gravel, and sunlight. What do we call all of these living and nonliving parts interacting together?
What is an ecosystem?
Two regions have similar temperatures, but one receives much more rainfall. Which climate factor is different between the two regions?
What is precipitation?
You find lots of shrubs, hot dry summers, and mild rainy winters. What biome is this?
A region has enough rainfall to support grasses but not enough to support a dense forest. Why might grasses be more successful than trees in this region?
What is climate? (especially the amount of precipitation, favors grasses over trees.)
A tropical rainforest and a tundra are compared. Which one would you expect to have greater biodiversity, and what evidence supports your answer?
What is tropical rainforest? (it has much greater species diversity.)
A drought causes a lake to lose most of its water. What type of factor has changed: biotic or abiotic?
What is abiotic?
Certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat and help keep Earth warm. What is this process called?
What is the greenhouse effect?
You are near the equator. The temperature is warm all year, rainfall is very high, and there are thousands of different species. What biome are you most likely in?
What is tropical rainforest?
Two regions have the same temperature. Region A receives 100 inches of rain each year, while Region B receives only 10 inches. Would you expect their biomes to be the same? Why or why not?
No. Different precipitation levels can lead to different vegetation and therefore different biomes.
A scientist is studying bacteria, plants, animals, temperature, water, and soil in a lake. What branch of science studies these interactions?
what is Ecology?
A scientist wants to understand why a plant population is shrinking. She discovers that a new insect species is eating the plants' leaves. What biotic factor could be responsible for the population change?
What is the insect population?
A scientist predicts that a region will become warmer and receive less rainfall over the next several decades. What could happen to the biome in that region?
The biome could change or shift because its plants and animals may no longer be suited to the new climate.
You are in a very cold region with long winters. You see many evergreen, cone-producing trees but not many different species. What biome best matches these clues?
What is boreal forest (taiga)?
Scientists discover a region with moderate temperatures and enough rainfall to support many trees. The trees lose their leaves during part of the year. What biome have they most likely discovered?
What is temperate forest? (decidious forest)
A construction project removes a large amount of vegetation from an ecosystem. Name one biotic factor and one abiotic factor that could be affected by this change.
Biotic: animals/plants. Abiotic: soil, temperature, water availability, sunlight, etc