Vocabulary
Define ecological succession.
Predictable changes in an ecosystem after a disturbance.
Pain reliever, fever reducer...
Willow Bark
Which ecosystem has the highest biodiversity?
Tropical Rainforests.
What 3 things do kelp forests provide for marine species that live there?
Areas for reproduction, shelter, and hunting grounds for food.
How many new species of organisms are found in the Rain Forest every year?
A species critical to the functioning of an ecosystem.
Keystone species.
The plant can be used as a medicine to treat some forms of cancer.
Madagascar Periwinkle.
List 3 keystone species.
Polar Bears, Sea Otters, Starfish, Sea Turtles, Prairie Dogs, (other answers may apply)
What was the Sea Otter's niche in the Kelp Forests?
To keep the Sea Urchin population in check as to make sure that all the kelp wasn't eaten.
What was so unique about Gastric Brooding Frogs and how they went about protecting/raising their young?
The female frogs swallowed the fertizilized eggs without digesting them. These frogs somehow turned off their stomach acids to allow this to happen, and when the eggs developed into froglets the mother would spit them out, and return to eating and digesting food normally.
Define niche
The role (job) an organism plays in an ecosystem.
Used to prevent heart failure.
Purple Foxglove.
The Kelp Forests of the Northwest Pacific Ocean are called?
Intermediate areas.
What are the three aspects of biodiversity?
Genetics, ecosystems, and species.
The simplest measure of biodiversity is the number of ___________ that live in a certain area.
species
Define biodiversity.
The variety of life in a specific area.
Studied for the development of medicines used to treat stomach ailments in humans?
Gastric Brooding Frog.
What organism is the most abundant on Earth?
Insects.
What are the three main ways that humans affect biodiversity?
Overexploitation, pollution, habitat destruction
The more species there are, the _____________ is the biodiversity of the area.
greater
When all the members of a species die and the species no longer exists.
Extinction.
What 2 organisms were studied/researched in the development of a super bandage?
Geckos and mussels.
Illegal hunting and killing of animals for one's benefit.
Poaching.
What do some organisms in the rainforest (Lesser Anteater) have specialized niches?
The rainforest has warm temperatures and abundant precipitation year round, so there food source (ants and termites) are always around, and there is rarely any competition for this source of food.
Diseases are more likely to spread in an ecosystem with high biodiversity than in an ecosystem with low biodiversity.
False