Vocabulary Basics
This term means the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment.
What is ecology?
This best describes the maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support.
What is carrying capacity?
What is an organism called that makes its own food through photosynthesis?
What is an autotroph/producer?
Which type of symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected?
What is commensalism?
What is a keystone species?
What is a population?
This is the growth pattern where a population increases without limit.
What is exponential growth?
What is the main different between a food web and a food chain?
What is that a food chain shows one path of energy flow, and a food web shows many?
Which type of symbiotic relationship is it where both organisms benefit?
What is mutualism?
What do we call a species who was introduced to a new environment and causes harm on the environment.
What is an invasive species?
This term describes non-living parts of an ecosystem, like sunlight and water.
What are abiotic factors?
This is the growth pattern where a population increases without limit.
What is logistic growth?
Animals that only eat plants are called _________________.
What are herbivores?
Which type of symbiotic relationship is it where one organism benefits and the other is harmed?
What is parasitism?
What usually happens to the ecosystem if a keystone species is removed?
What is biodiversity (or the whole ecosystem) decreases/declines.
This term describes the level of ecological organization that includes all ecosystems on Earth.
What is the biosphere?
A hurricane wiping out a population is an example of type of limiting factor?
In a trophic pyramid, which level always has the most energy and biomass?
What is the producer level?
What is it called when two species fight for the same limited resource?
What is competition?
Give one way invasive species can negatively impact native species.
What is competition for resources, spreading disease, or destroying habitat?
Put these terms in order from smallest to largest: ecosystem, biome, individual, community, population.
What is: Individual -> Population -> Community -> Ecosystem -> Biome?
Disease spreading more quickly in a large, crowded population is an example of what type of limiting factor?
What is a density-dependent limiting factor?
What is the role of the apex predator in a food web?
What is controlling populations below it and maintaining balance in the ecosystem?
A hawk hunting a mouse is what type of interaction?
What is predation?
Explain why removing sea otters from a kelp forest ecosystem would hurt the whole ecosystem.
What is because sea otters eat sea urchins, and without them urchins would overeat the kelp, destroying the habitat?