Ecosystem Relationships
This term describes a relationship between two species where both benefit.
What is mutualism?
This factor determines the carrying capacity (how many things can survive) of an ecosystem.
What is the availability of resources like food, water, and shelter?
This term describes a species introduced to a new area that outcompetes native species for resources.
What is an invasive species?
How can climate change impact ecosystems and their inhabitants?
What is by altering temperature, precipitation patterns, and habitats, leading to shifts in species distributions and behaviors?
What effect would killing most of the grass have on the number of frogs in an ecosystem, based on their feeding relationships?
What is the number of frogs will decrease?
Name a factor that can disrupt an ecosystem's balance of predator and prey populations.
What is human activity (hunting, habitat destruction)?
Describe one way humans can impact population dynamics in ecosystems.
What is by hunting, introducing invasive species, or altering habitats?
Provide one example of an invasive species and describe its impact on its new environment.
What is zebra mussels, which disrupt freshwater ecosystems by filtering out plankton?
What is Purple Loosestrife, which takes over the resources needed for other plants to survive?
Explain how human activities like deforestation can affect biodiversity in an ecosystem.
What is by reducing habitat diversity, displacing species, and contributing to species extinction?
Which statement best describes invasive species?
What is invasive species are non-native and can cause economic or ecological damage?
These organisms represent a mutualistic relationship.
What are trees and ants, goby and shrimp, Honeyguide bird and Massai children, Whitebark Pine and Clark's Nutcracker?
Define the term "population density" as it relates to ecological studies.
What is the number of individuals of a species per unit area or volume of habitat?
How can humans help prevent the spread of invasive species?
What is by practicing proper waste disposal, cleaning boats before moving them between water bodies, and avoiding releasing pets into the wild?
What is habitat fragmentation, and how does it affect wildlife populations?
What is breaking large habitats into smaller, isolated pieces, limiting movement and gene flow among populations?
Before wolves were reintroduced into an ecosystem, what could cause a decrease in the number of rabbits?
What is both the number of mountain lions and the availability of plants?
How do invasive species typically affect native ecosystems?
What is causing harm by outcompeting native species or disrupting the ecosystem?
How do predator-prey relationships contribute to ecosystem stability?
What is by preventing any one species from becoming too dominant and causing imbalance?
What are some characteristics that make a species likely to become invasive?
What is rapid reproduction, lack of natural predators, and adaptability to new environments?
Describe one way pollution can harm aquatic ecosystems.
What is by introducing toxins, excess nutrients causing algal blooms, and reducing oxygen levels?
If the number of deer and rabbits eaten by mountain lions stays the same after wolves are introduced, what will happen to the plants?
What is the amount of plants will decrease, but some will remain?
Explain how a food web differs from a food chain in an ecosystem.
What is a food web shows multiple interconnected food chains, while a food chain is a single path of energy transfer?
Explain why fluctuations in prey populations can lead to changes in predator populations.
What is because changes in prey availability directly impact predator survival and reproduction rates? Less prey = less foodor predator = more die/can't thrive
Describe one method used to control or manage invasive species populations.
What is biological control (introducing natural predators), mechanical removal, or chemical treatment?
How do natural events like wildfires or volcanic eruptions influence ecosystem recovery and succession?
What is by clearing vegetation, creating new habitats, and allowing pioneer species to establish and begin succession?
How does the reintroduction of wolves into an ecosystem affect the population of deer and plants?
What is the presence of wolves leads to a decrease in the population of deer due to predation, which in turn allows the plant population to increase as they experience less grazing pressure from deer?