Energy Flow
What is the term for organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis?
What are producers/autotrophs?
What type of symbiotic relationship benefits one organism and harms the other?
What is parasitism?
What is the maximum number of individuals an environment can support called?
What is carrying capacity?
What is the term for the destruction of forests, often for agriculture or urban development?
What is deforestation?
A farmer is struggling to control the population of a certain insect on his farm. After researching population control techniques, he discovers that a particular bird is a predator of this insect. The farmer purchases a number of these birds and releases them onto his farm. How might the farmer’s action most likely have a negative impact on the ecosystem?
A. The birds will increase biodiversity of native plant specifies
B. The birds will consume beneficial insects, as well as the pest species.
C. The birds will pollinate native species, increasing genetic variation.
D. The birds will mate with native birds and create a new species.
The birds will consume beneficial insects, as well as the pest species.
In a food chain, which trophic level receives the least amount of energy?
What are tertiary consumers?
What is the term for an organism that hunts and eats another organism?
What is a predator?
What is the type of population growth that occurs when resources are unlimited?
What is exponential growth?
What is the term for trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere, like a blanket?
Greenhouse Effect
Which statement is an example of how carbon moves through a food chain as part of the carbon cycle?
A. Producers release carbon dioxide, and consumers take it in.
B. Producers take in carbon dioxide, and consumers release it.
C. Producers take in carbon from the soil, and they release it when they decompose.
D. Producers release carbon into the soil, and consumers take it in from the soil.
B. Producers take in carbon dioxide, and consumers release it.
What is the term for organisms that break down dead material and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem?
What are decomposers?
What type of symbiotic relationship benefits both organisms?
What is mutualism?
What is the term for factors that limit population growth regardless of population size?
What are density-independent factors?
What is the term for the variety of life in an area, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity?
What is biodiversity?
What would be the most likely effect of a wildfire that burned a large area of a forest?
A. More sugars and starches would be available for animals in the area.
B. The availability of fossil fuels for use by industries in the area would be reduced.
C. Less carbon dioxide would be removed from the atmosphere in the area by plants.
D. An increase in animal respiration would increase the release of carbon dioxide in the area.
C. Less carbon dioxide would be removed from the atmosphere in the area by plants.
How much energy is typically passed from one trophic level to the next in a food chain?
What is 10%?
What is the term for an organism's role or job in its ecosystem?
What is a niche?
What is an example of a density-dependent limiting factor?
What are disease, competition, or predation?
What type of species has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem, such as the sea otter?
What is a keystone species?
The San Marcos salamander, Eurycea nana, is a light reddish-brown translucent salamander about 2–5 cm in length. E. nana is found only in Spring Lake and a portion of the San Marcos River. Which human activity would most likely decrease the ability of the salamanders to survive?
A. Increasing water consumption that decreases the flow of clean water from the springs that feed the river
B. Public transportation that reduces the number of automobiles that contribute to pollution runoff into the river
C. Tourism that helps fund the educational programs related to river ecosystem conservation
D. The addition of a new food source into the river that limits competition for resources
A. Increasing water consumption that decreases the flow of clean water from the springs that feed the river
IMAGE NEEDED... How would we label the Tarantula?
Secondary Consumer
What happens when two species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem?
What is competition?
This growth pattern, often represented by an "S-shaped" curve, occurs when a population's growth slows as it reaches carrying capacity due to limiting factors.
What is logistic growth?
What is the term for the build-up of harmful chemicals in living things over time?
What is bioaccumulation?
The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a large, flat fish that spends most of its time in deep water feeding mainly on jellyfish. Sunfish often have many species of copepods, small crustaceans, that bury their heads into the soft tissue of the sunfish. Sunfish will swim to the surface of the water and lie sideways, allowing seabirds to eat the copepods from their skin. Which list describes the types of relationships the sunfish has with other marine organisms?
A. Seabirds: mutualism / Jellyfish: predation / Copepods: parasitism
B. Seabirds: parasitism / Jellyfish: commensalism / Copepods: predation
C. Seabirds: predation / Jellyfish: mutualism / Copepods: commensalism
Seabirds: commensalism / Jellyfish: parasitism / Copepods: mutualism
A. Seabirds: mutualism / Jellyfish: predation / Copepods: parasitism