What is homeostasis
A volcanic eruption covers a large area with ash, blocking sunlight and killing most plant life. Without this type of organism, the entire food web begins to collapse due to the loss of energy input at the base of the ecosystem.
What are the primary producers
In an urban area, limited green space and high birth rates have led to overcrowding, increased competition for resources, and elevated levels of pollution. Ecologists use this key term to describe how tigently packed individuals are in a given area
What is population density
This type of organism helps plants reproduce by spreading pollen
What is a pollinator
This term describes any non native species that spreads rapidly and harms native ecosystems
What is an invasive species
in a controlled experiment, two plant species are grown separately and together under identical light and soil conditions. When grown together, one species declines significantly. What ecological interaction best explains this outcome?
What is interspecific competition
In an grassland ecosystem, if 10,000 kilocalories of energy are available at the producer level, how much energy would be available to secondary consumers
What is 100 kilocalories
This type of population growth occurs when resources are limited, resulting in a J shaped curve.
What is exponential growth
The Amazon is known as the most biodiverse of this type of ecosystem on Earth
What is a rainforest
A prolonged drought causes the water levels in a river to decrease significantl, affecting aquatic life by reducing habitat levels. What is the term for this event
What is an abiotic factor
This process enables populations to exhibit changed in allele frequencies in response to environmental pressures, often increasing fitness over time
What is natural selection
All of earths energy comes from this source
The sun
A deer population grows rapidly in a forest until food becomes scarce and the growth rate levels off. What concept explains why the populations stops increasing
What is carrying capacity
The total variety of life on Earth, from genes to ecosystems
What is biodiversity
Invasive species outcompete native species for resources leading to a decline in native populations. What ecological concept explains the harmful effects of invasive species on local ecosystems.
What is competition
When a species alters its behavior in response to interspecific competition such as shifting its feeding time, its demonstrating this ecological concept
What is resource partitioning
The difference between gross primary productivity and the energy used by producers for respiration is called this
what is net primary productivity
In population dynamics factors like disease and competition that intensify as population size increases are called this.
What are density dependent factors
When sea otters are removed from a kelp forest, sea urchin populations no explode and overgraze the kelp, leading to the collapse of the entire habitat. What role does the sea otters play in the ecosystem
What is a keystone species
When a keystone species is removed, it can lead to this type of ecological chain reaction that disrupts multiple levels
What is a tropic cascade
Some desert plants open their stomata only at night to reduce water loss in response to heat and dryness. This type of adaptation is known as this
what is CAM photosynthesis
This type of diagram illustrates energy flow through trophic levels, showing the decrease available energy at each level.
What is an energy pyramid
Species with low reproductive rates, high parenteral investment and stable populations near carrying capacity are classified under this life history strategy.
What is K selected species
Theses are the 4 types of biodiversity
Genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity, and functional diversity
Climate change increases the frequency of these unpredictable events, such as wildfires and floods that can alter ecosystem structure, and function
What are ecological disturbances