Ecological Terminology
What is the term for the study of interactions between organisms and their environment?
What is Ecology?
What is the name for a system consisting of living organisms and their physical environment interacting as a unit?
What is an ecosystem?
This term refers to the maximum number of individuals that an environment can support.
What is carrying capacity?
Which biome is characterized by low rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation?
What is a desert?
In a food chain, what organism is typically found at the first trophic level?
What are producers?
This term describes a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time.
What is a population?
In a food web, what is the term for organisms that break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil?
What are decomposers?
What type of growth is represented by a J-shaped curve when a population grows without limit?
What is exponential growth?
The tundra biome is typically found in what type of climate?
What is the polar?
What type of organisms are usually considered primary consumers in a food web?
What are herbivores?
A population of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring is known as a...?
What is a species?
Which process in an ecosystem involves the movement of energy through producers, consumers, and decomposers?
What is the food chain?
This term describes when organisms of different species use the same resources in an ecosystem, leading to competition.
What is interspecific competition?
Which biome is home to coniferous forests, long winters, and moderate rainfall?
What is the taiga (boreal forest)?
In a food chain, which type of organism is found at the top and typically has no natural predators?
What is an apex predator?
The term for all the organisms in all interacting populations within a given area is called...?
What is a community?
What type of relationship involves one organism benefiting while the other is harmed?
What is parasitism?
What term describes the changes in population size and composition over time in a particular area?
What is population ecology?
This biome is characterized by vast open spaces, moderate rainfall, and seasonal droughts, typically supporting grasses rather than trees.
What is the prairie grassland biome?
What term describes a series of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem?
What is a food web?
This term refers to the role or function an organism plays in its environment, including how it obtains food and interacts with other organisms.
What is a niche?
These two processes are essential for energy flow in ecosystems, with one converting solar energy into chemical energy and the other releasing energy from glucose to fuel cellular activities.
What are photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
Which of the following is considered a density-dependent factor that can influence population size: birth rate, competition for resources, natural disasters, or migration?
What is competition for resources?
Which biome has seasonal changes with warm summers and cold winters, and is found in regions like North America and Europe?
What is the temperate deciduous forest?
These organisms feed on secondary consumers and are typically carnivores or omnivores, playing a vital role in controlling populations at higher trophic levels.
What are tertiary consumers?