Ecosystem Interactions
Any association (interaction) between two species
Symbiosis
What is biodiversity?
Variety of life
Any condition of an environment that limits the growth of a population.
Limiting Factor
Name an example of a parasitic relationship
Answers will vary
Relationship where one species benefits, one species is harmed
Parasitism
Provide an example of diversity of genes?
A decrease in the wolf population in a forest will most likely cause an INCREASE or DECREASE in the plant population?
Decrease (plants will be overgrazed by deer)
Name 1 thing that plants compete with each other for.
Light, space, water, nutrients.
Relationship where both species benefit
Mutualism
Name two reasons why biodiversity is important to human society.
medicine, food sources, oxygen, clean water, aesthetics, tourism, resources (wood)
Describe what the graph of a predator/prey relationship looks like. (Think of the hare and lynx graph).
Both populations go up and down in similar way. When number of hares go up, number of lynx goes up --> leads to population of hares to go down, which causes population of lynx to also go down.
What affects the carrying capacity of a species?
Food availability, water, space
Relationship where one species benefits, and the other species is not affected
Commensalism
True- false - An ecosystem is a community of interactions between animals and plants.
false, - An ecosystem is a community of interactions between animals and plants and how they interact with their physical environment.
Wolves are an important species in Yellowstone National Park. Changes to the wolf population will affect many different parts of the ecosystem. What term do we call the wolves?
Keystone Species
How can you tell on a graph when a population has reached its carrying capacity?
The population line starts to become stable, not increasing or decreasing (horizontal).
How are two species affected if they are competing with each other for the same resource?
Are species benefitting, getting harmed, or not affected?
Both species are harmed
Name and describe a threat to biodiversity. (possible extra points for naming/describing more)
climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, overexploitation
Trophic Cascade
What are density-dependent factors? Describe and provide 1 example.
Factors that depend on the population size. Examples: Competition, mates, predation, disease