Definitions
A set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other. They can breed with one another and their offspring can produce offspring.
Species
Members of a species that live in a specific area and share the same resources.
Population
Is a farm an ecosystem? Why or why not?
No. The plants and animals on the farm not dependent upon one another, just primarily dependent on the farmer.
Which area on the planet has the greatest number of species.
Tropical regions around the equator.
What is the correct way to write out the genus and species of an organism?
A community of living and non-living things that interact with one another and function as a unit. They are linked together by nutrient cycles and energy flows within that community.
Ecosystem
Populations of different species living in the same area.
Community
Name three types of ecosystems found in Alberta.
Canadian Shield, Boreal Forest, Parkland, Rocky Mountain, Foothills, Grassland
What is the most abundant group of organisms on the earth?
Insects, millipedes and centipedes
Which Kingdom is algae placed into?
Protista
Define biodiversity
Having a variety of ecosystems, a variety of different species in each ecosystem and genetic variability within each species, plus required energy flows and nutrient cycling.
A lack of ________________ within an individual species reduces the chance of the species surviving disease, climate change or habitat fragmentation.
genetic diversity, variation
Two organisms occupying the same niche at the same time would have to do this.
compete
Name 4 adaptations of prairie grasses.
Name the six Kingdoms in the classification system of organisms.
Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Eubacteria, Archaebacteria
A species that many other organisms depend upon for their survival.
Keystone species
When organisms divide up a resource without directly competing because their niches are slightly different.
Resource partitioning
Name two decomposers.
bacteria and fungus
Name 2 adaptations of the short-horned lizard.
Shoots blood from its eyes that has a chemical that irritates coyotes. Scales prevent ants from biting or stinging. Camouflage. Specialized teeth and stomach.
Who was the system for classifying biological diversity developed by?
Carolus Linnaeus
Occurs when the environment selects which individuals will survive long enough to reproduce.
natural selection
A network of interconnected food chains that shows how food energy moves through an ecosystem.
Food web
Name 3 types of symbiosis.
Commensalism, mutualism, parasitism
Other than having seeds that may hold off germinating, name an adaptation of the prairie coneflower.
Produces and secretes a chemical which prevents the growth of competing plants.
What system is used to classify flowering plants?
APG IV System