Vocabulary and Biomes
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a self-regulating system in which living things interact with each other and non-living things.
Describe one stage in the water cycle.
Answers may include: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, etc.
What is predation? Give an example
Predation is when one organism eats another.
The maximum population size an environment can sustainably support, given its available resources is called ___________.
Carrying capacity
The biodiversity reduced.
How is carbon returned from the ground into the atmosphere? Give one human cause and one natural cause.
Humans burn fossil fuels which releases carbon into the atmosphere. Forest fires and volcanoes also release carbon into the atmosphere.
A bird eats a worm and gains some energy. Later, a cat eats the bird. Does all of the energy from the worm transfer to the cat or is some of it lost?
Some of the energy is lost. This is because only about 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The rest is used up by the organism.
The number of individuals per unit area or volume.
What is a niche? Give an example of an organism and its niche.
A niche refers to all of the interactions of a species in its ecosystem. For example, a frog's niche includes its interactions with its habitat (pond), interactions with its prey (insects), and interactions with predators (snakes, birds).
What is the role of the nitrifying bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
The nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia into nitrites and nitrates.
Compare and contrast a food chain with a food web.
A food chain shows predation patterns along a single path. A food web shows predation patterns across multiple paths.
What are limiting factors? Give an example of an abiotic and a biotic limiting factor.
Limiting factors are things that restrict population growth. An abiotic limiting factor is the availability of water. A biotic limiting factor is the presence of predators.
What is a species? What is a community? Give an example of each.
A species is a group of similar organisms in an environment. A community is made up of populations of different species.
What will happen if the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to increase? How might this impact the water cycle?
This will cause global warming. The water cycle may be affected in various ways such as increased evaporation and precipitation depending on the region.
There is a rise in the population of rabbits. How might this affect the population of foxes in the area? Why?
The fox population will grow since they have access to more food.
Give an example of a density-dependent and a density-independent limiting factor.
A density-dependent limiting factor affects population growth differently depending on the size of the population (ex. food availability). A density-independent limiting factor affects population growth regardless of population size (ex. natural disaster).
Describe 3 biomes found in Canada.
Answers may include: tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, grassland, temperate coniferous forest
You realize that your garden soil is becoming low in nitrogen. Your friend recommends planting some legumes. Will this help? Why or why not?
Yes, this will help increase nitrogen content in the soil because legumes can host nitrogen fixing bacteria in their root nodules.
Describe two types of symbiosis interactions. Give an example for each.
Mutualism - both species benefit; Commensalism - one species benefits with a neutral effect on the other; Parasitism - One species benefits while causing harm to the other.
Why does population size tend to fluctuate around the carrying capacity?