Organization
What is the study of interactions among organisms and their environment?
Ecology
What is an autotroph?
An organism that produces it's own food such as a plant.
What are primary consumers?
Herbivores
What is parasitism?
A relationship between two species where one benefits and one is harmed.
How does energy transfer occur in a food web?
When a consumer eats a producer part of the energy is transferred.
What are the characteristics of a population?
One species, same place and time, fertile offspring, compete for resources
How do Heterotrophs obtain energy?
By eating autotrophs and/or other heterotrophs.
What is the difference between a secondary and a tertiary consumer?
Secondary consumers eat primary consumers but can also be omnivores. Tertiary consumers are larger carnivores.
What are the three symbiotic relationships?
Commensalism, mutualism, parasitism
What is biomass?
The amount of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a habitat.
List the levels of organization in ecology from smallest to largest?
organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere
Give an example of a producer and a primary consumer.
A type of plant and any herbivore
Name the different trophic levels.
producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer
Describe a mutualistic relationship? Give a specific example
Rhino and birds
Sharks and suckerfish
Why does energy decrease as it moves up the food chain?
90% is lost as heat or left behind
Explain the difference between a community and a population?
A population is one species a community is many species interacting.
How do decomposers affect the energy flow in a food web?
They break down any dead matter releasing nutrients back into the ecosystem facilitating the recycling of energy and matter.
How does an organism's niche differ from its habitat?
An organism's habitat is the physical place where it lives, while its niche encompasses its role and interactions within that habitat, including how it obtains resources and interacts with other organisms.
Give an example of a parasitic relationship and a commensalistic relationship.
Parasitic: Tapeworm -> human
Commensalistic: Orchid living on tree
What is biodiversity and how does is contribute to ecosystem resilience?
The variety of life on earth and a diverse ecosystem can better withstand and recover from disturbances.
What is added in when going from community to ecosystem?
Abiotic factors (nonliving environmental aspects)
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain has one path for energy a food web shows many options for energy to go.
Give an example of a species with a specific niche.
Ex: Buffalo eat grass and break up soil so nutrients can return to the plants.
Why are scavengers important for an ecosystem?
They fill the role of waste disposal by consuming dead animals and decaying matter.
What is the impact of removing a species from the food web?
The ecosystem is disrupted