Intro to ecology
Differentiate between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem with examples.
Biotic- Living things (animals, plants, bacteria, fungi)
Abiotic - Non living things (rocks, sunlight, weather)
Give an example of a predator-prey relationship.
There are so many!
What is an energy pyramid?
Shows the amount of energy available at each trophic level. Also shows how much energy is needed to support an ecosystem.
What are the five elements cycled in biogeochemical cycles?
Carbon
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Oxygen
Hydrogen
Name one way carbon is released back into the atmosphere by humans.
Respiration or combustion
What is a climatograph?
What is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph?
Autotroph - Organism that makes its own food (producer)
Heterotroph - Organism that eats other organisms for energy (Consumer)
What happens to the energy not used?
Lost as heat
Where is phosphorus primarily stored in the environment?
In rocks
Explain groundwater and its importance in the water cycle.
Groundwater is water stored underground in aquifers; it is a crucial source of fresh water
What are ALL the characteristics that define a living organism?
Made of Cells
Reproduce
Contain DNA
Obtain and use energy
Grow/Develop
Respond to their environment
maintain homeostasis
Evolve/adapt
Classify the following relationship - Barn owl and Great horned owl hunting in the same field.
IntERspecific Competition
Describe how energy flows through a food web.
Energy flows from producers to consumers and then to decomposers
What is the role of decomposers in the carbon cycle?
Break down dead organisms returning carbon to the soil and atmosphere
What is sublimation in the water cycle?
The process by which water changes directly from a solid (ice or snow) to a gas (water vapor) without first melting into liquid water due to rapid extreme temperature changes
List the levels of ecological organization and provide examples for each
Organism - One deer
Population - All the deer in an area
Community - All the deer, grass, insects, trees
Ecosystem - the community and the rocks, water, sunlight, temperature, rain
Biome - Grassland
Biosphere - the portion of the earth with life
Describe the relationship between predator and prey. What happens as one population changes?
The relationships go together and they rely on each other. As one population goes up, the other goes down and vice versa.
Why does energy decrease at higher trophic levels?
Only 10% of the energy continues onto the next trophic level, so there is less available energy to support organisms at higher levels.
What is a key process in the phosphorus cycle that does not involve the atmosphere?
Weather of rocks releasing phosphorus into the soil and water
What is the significance of denitrification in the nitrogen cycle?
To turn nitrates back into Nitrogen gas to return it into the atmosphere to keep cycling.
Describe the major characteristics of tundra, taiga, and temperate deciduous forest
Tundra - Cold ALL year round, has a layer of permafrost, low biodiversity
Taiga - cold most of the year, coniferous trees, located in northern regions (boreal forest)
Deciduous forest - experiences all 4 seasons, trees lose leaves, home to woodland animals
What are the three types of symbiotic relationships? Give an example of each.
Parasitism - Lice feeding off blood from scalp
Commensalism - Remora fish attaching to sharks for transportation while sharks are unaffected
Mutualism - Bees pollenating flowers
What role do producers play in energy flow?
Convert solar energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis
Explain the impact of humans on the phosphorus and nitrogen cycles.
Fertilizers used in agricultural have these nutrients that runoff into bodies of water, causing algal blooms
What role do bacteria play in the nitrogen cycle?
Bacteria help in nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification, facilitating the transformation of nitrogen into different forms.