Ecology1
Define Ecology.
What is a biome? Give one example.
Give one example of a cell organelle and explain it's function.
Answers will vary.
Generally, what are the 4 factors affect population size?
-Birth Rate
-Death Rate
-Rate of Immigration (Entering)
-Rate of Emigration (Exiting)
Define Evolution.
-Modern organisms evolved over long periods of time through descent from common ancestors.
What are biotic and abiotic factors? List one example of each.
-Abiotic: Non-living components of the environment (rocks, water, weather, etc.)
-Biotic: Living components of the environment (animal, plants, etc.)
Explain the difference between an organism's habitat and niche.
Habitat - Where organism lives
Niche - Job/role it has in it's environment
-All living things are made up of cells
-Cells are the most basic unit of life
-All cells come from pre-existing cells
What are the three patterns in which organisms in a population can be distributed?
What is a vestigial structure?
-Structure inherited from an ancestor, but no longer has a function (due to selective environmental pressures)
Explain the difference between a food chain and food web.
Food Chain - Series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten. Linear, single chain.
Food Web - Network of feeding interactions, multiple food chains form a web
What is a trophic level? List four levels in correct order.
- Each step of the food chain/web (feeding relationships)
- Producer, Primary Consumer, Secondary Consumer, Tertiary Consumer
What are the two main steps of protein synthesis?
1. Transcription
2. Translation
Explain the difference between exponential and logistic growth.
Exponential: A population grows exponentially with unlimited resources, forms J-Shape, size of each generation of offspring will be larger than the generation before it
Logistic: a population grows exponentially followed by a period of slow growth and then leveling (no longer increasing), forms S-Shape
In class, we had the "Battle of the Beaks" activity, what connection did this have to natural selection?
Natural Selection: Process by which organism with variations most suited to their local environment survive and reproduce.
Bird beaks represented natural selection - beak best suited for specific food survived (and would reproduce)
List the hierarchy of life from "small to big" in correct order. (14)
1. Atom
2. Molecule
3. Macromolecule
4. Organelle
5. Cell
6. Tissue
7. Organ
8. Organ System
9. Organism
10. Population
11. Community
12. Ecosystem
13. Biome
14. Biosphere
What is a biogeochemical cycle? List the four different types.
-Movement of matter (elements) from one organism to another in closed loops (cycling)
-Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus
What are the four macromolecules of life? Give one example of each.
-Protein - meat (fish, etc.)
-Carbohydrates - grains, beans
-Lipid - butter, oil
-Nucleic Acid - DNA, RNA
What is carrying capacity?
-The maximum number of individuals of a particular species that a particular environment can support
Homologous: Structures that are shared by related species that have been inherited from a common ancestor (same structure, somewhat similar function - leg bones of dog compared to horse, etc.), claim had a shared common ancestor
Analogous: Different structures, but have similar function - claim organisms did not have a common ancestor, but lived in a similar environment
What is symbiosis? List and define the three types.
-Any relationship in which two species live closely together
-Mutualism: Both Benefit
-Parasitism: One benefits, other negatively affected
-Commensalism: One benefits, other not affected
Explain the difference between primary and secondary succession? What is a pioneer species? What purpose does it serve?
-Primary succession = Succession that occurs after a previous community is completely destroyed (volcanic eruption) leaving only bare rock
-Secondary succession = Succession that occurs after a previous community is not completely destroyed (forest fire), soil still present, recovers faster
-The first species to colonize barren areas
Example: After a volcanic eruption, primary succession occurs. Lichen is able to grow on rock and begin the process of converting the rock into soil.
What makes something "alive?"
Characteristics of living things:
1. Made up of cells
2. Reproduces
3. Contains Genetic Information (DNA)
4. Evolves
5. Responds to Stimuli
6. Obtain and use energy and materials (Metabolism)
7. Maintains Homeostasis
8. Grows and Develops
What are the two types of limiting factors that control the growth of a population? Give an example of each.
Density-Independent - not dependent on the density of the population, affects big or small, natural disasters: hurricanes, floods, wildfires
Density-Dependent - dependent on the density of the population, e.g. competition, predation, herbivory, parasitism, disease, stress from overcrowding
-Fossils
-Anatomy
-Embryological development
-DNA