Basics of Ecology
What is Ecology?
The study of organisms and their relationships with the environment
Give an example of a biotic factor in an ecosystem?
plants, animals
What is an estuary?
Area where freshwater meets the ocean
What is evaporation?
process by which liquid water turns into gas
It is an important part of amino acids?
What is the smallest level of ecological organization?
Individual/ organism
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain shows a singular relationship while food web shows the complexity of a diet
What biome is a treeless biome with a layer of permafrost soil?
Tundra
What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
Primary starts from bare rock and secondary starts from a preexisting community
What is exponential growth?
Uncontrolled increase in population
What is the difference between a population and a community?
population is same species and same area. Community is multiple species and same area
What percent of energy is passed on in each level of the trophic system?
10%
What is an area of the ocean that sunlight penetrates?
Photic Zone
What does fragmentation (splitting of an ecosystem by roads) affect a population?
The loss of biodiversity
what is a limiting factor?
a factor that restricts the population size of an organism
organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support
What is the deepest area of a large lake called?
Profundal zone
What are the three types of biodiversity?
Species diversity, genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity
What is an example of a source of phosphorus in the phosphorus cycle?
rocks , fertilizer, sewage
What level of an ecological energy pyramid has the most available energy?
The lowest level
What two factors increase a populations size?
Immigration and birthrate
What is an intertidal zone?
narrow band where ocean meets land
Give an example of something that can decrease biodiversity
fragmentation, habitat loss etc.
advances in agriculture, industrial revolution, medicine etc