Grab Bag
What is the Cryosphere?
The part of the Hydrosphere that involves all ice.
Which organism in the chart would have the smallest population? (Imagine a pyramid)
Hawk
Snake
Frog
Grasshopper
Grass
Hawk
How are food webs different from food chains?
More complex, show multiple interactions.
A bird cleans the teeth of a crocodile. The bird eats the parasites from the teeth while cleaning them. What kind of relationship is this?
Mutualism
Why is it so difficult to determine how many species exist on Earth?
No single database, haven't explored everywhere, things go extinct everyday, etc.
Give an example of a feature in each of the Earth's spheres.
Answers will vary
What do you call the place where an organism lives?
Its habitat
Which of the following organisms is a producer?
Hawk
Cat
Mouse
Sunflower
Starling
Sunflower (producers are plants)
Describe 2 specific prey adaptations.
Answers will vary.
Ex. camouflage - disguising to hide from predators
warning calls - loud sound to warn others of a predator
speed - being fast
etc.
Rank endangered, threatened, and extinct from most numbers to least.
threatened, endangered, extinct
Where do autotrophs get their energy?
The sun, chemical compounds
Give an example of two abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
ex. rocks, water, clouds, etc.
Why are decomposers and scavengers found all throughout the food chain?
They feed on dead and decaying material from every level, they are constantly at work.
Koalas are found in areas that have eucalyptus trees to support their limited diet. Are they specialists or generalists?
Specialists. Koalas have a specialized diet of only eucalyptus, so they do not adapt easily to new environments.
What are the 2 types of limiting factors? Give an example of each.
Density-dependent: typically biotic, predation, disease, competition, etc. This kind is usually more intense as a population's density increases.
Density-independent: typically abiotic, floods, hurricanes, drought, etc. This kind doesn't depend on the species population
How much energy is transferred between trophic levels?
10%
What is the difference between an animal's fundamental niche and realized niche?
Fundamental - the role it would play in an environment with no competition
Realized - it's actual role in a real life scenario, taking into account competition and predation
An autotroph and an herbivore are shown in a food chain. Which organism would the arrow point to and what does it show?
The arrow would point to the herbivore, because the herbivore eats the autotroph, and the energy is transferred to the herbivore. The arrow represents the energy being transferred.
A Kudzu vine climbs up a tree. It steals nutrients from the tree and blocks the tree's sunlight. What type of relationship is this?
Parasitic
Name the 4 types of speciation and briefly describe each.
Geographical - populations are geographically separated so no longer interbreed (ex. kaibab squirrel)
Temporal - populations reproduce at different times of the year and so no longer interbreed (ex. cicadas, orchids)
Mechanical - populations have incompatible reproductive organs (ex. damselflies)
Behavioral - populations have different courtship rituals and so cannot interbreed (ex. fireflies)