What is Ecology?
This is the study of interactions between organisms and their environments.
What is Ecology?
These organisms cannot produce their own food.
What are heterotrophs and/or consumers?
In a pyramid of energy, most energy is retained in this area.
What is the lowest level; the primary producers' tier?
The substances that an organism needs to survive.
What are nutrients?
These tall, common producers are utilized by humans for all kinds of production.
What are trees?
This one term encompasses all life and land on Earth.
What is the biosphere?
By nature, humans are a part of this class of consumers.
What are omnivores?
Each step on a food chain or web is called this.
What is a trophic level?
This is the continuous recycling of matter within a closed loop, such as an ecosystem.
What is a biogeochemical cycle?
The harnessing of solar energy for conversion into cellular energy is this common process.
What is photosynthesis?
The construction of a new parking garage is the creation of this type of factor.
What is an abiotic factor?
Chemosynthesis differs from photosynthesis because it uses this type of energy to fixate carbohydrates.
What is chemical, or element, energy? Also acceptable inorganic energy
A dead deer left on the side of the highway is likely to be consumed by this type of consumer.
What are scavengers?
Any factor whose supply restricts the productivity of organisms in the system.
What are limiting nutrients?
The production and usage of fertilizer greatly impacts this nutrient cycle.
What is the nitrogen cycle? Also acceptable phosphorus
An ecosystem as a whole is influenced by the constant changing of these two general factors.
What is a mix of biotic and abiotic factors?
These two types of consumers help break down freshly deceased organisms.
What are scavengers and decomposers?
What is the 10 Percent Rule?
The burning of fossil fuels affects this cycle.
What is the carbon cycle?
In agriculture, this is the act of growing different plants in different growing seasons to maintain the balance of nutrients in soil.
What is crop rotation?
In order to not disturb natural environments, and reduce the impact of experimentation on delicate phenomena, ecologists might do this.
What is ecological modeling?
Detritivores get their name from consuming these particles.
What are detritus particles? Also acceptable dead plants and animals
These microscopic organisms can form the basis of aquatic food chains.
What are phytoplankton?
The need for the nitrogen cycle is driven by this class of organic molecules.
What are nucleic acids? Also acceptable proteins
These two similarly-named studies deal with production and consumption—one focuses on humans, the other has a broader, natural scope.
What are environmental science and ecology? Also acceptable economics