Intro to Ecology
What do the terms "biotic" and "abiotic" mean?
Biotic: living
Abiotic: nonliving
A tick sucks the blood from a dog.
What type of relationship is this?
Parasitism
Which of the following has a bigger effect on dense populations: density-dependent or density-independent limiting factors?
Density-dependent limiting factors
If the polar ice caps melt, 3 things could happen to the polar bears. What are those 3 things?
1. Die
2. Adapt
3. Move
At what point of succession do you reach a climax community: beginning, middle, or end?
The end! - for both primary and secondary succession
What is a group of the same species known as?
Population
Egrets are birds that sit on top of rhinos and eat the bugs off of the rhinos' back.
What type of relationship is this?
Mutualism
If there is a limited amount of food and water in an area, would a population show exponential or logistic growth?
(Draw the graph of whichever answer you choose)
Logistic - should look like an S that levels out at the top
What is the difference between renewable vs non-renewable resources?
Renewable resources are replenished faster than we use them - water, wind, sunlight
Non-renewable resources are used faster than they can come back - fossil fuels, metal, plastic
Put the following items in order of how primary succession would work:
-Moss & Lichen
-Climax Community
-Grasses
-Small bushes & small animals
-Bare rockbed
-Trees & large animals
Bare rockbed -> Moss & Lichen -> Grasses -> Small bushes & small animals -> Trees & large animals -> Climax Community
What is transpiration? Name the biogeochemical cycle it is in & describe what happens.
It's a stage in the water cycle. The stomata of the plant opens up & releases water vapor back into the sky.
Give me an example of predation.
Tiger stalks and attacks wild boar.
Tiger - predator
Wild boar - prey
Predation, disease, competition - are these density-dependent or density-independent limiting factors?
Density-dependent - they will affect dense populations more than populations that are spread out
Name 3 things that humans do that harms the environment.
Driving cars, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, pollution, habitat fragmentation, etc.
What sort of places would you expect primary succession to take place?
Bare rockbed, lava that had hardened, a glacier melting, sandy desert area
What is the difference between a community and an ecosystem?
Both include all living organisms, but ecosystems also include all the nonliving things as well.
What will happen if there are 2 organisms in an area that share the same niche?
They will either fight one another to the death, or one of them will have to migrate to another area.
Organisms can share the same habitat but not the same niche!
Can the carrying capacity of a population change?
If so, what are 2 reasons that it might change?
Yes.
More food/water, habitat space - it would increase
More predators/competition, less food/water - it would decrease
With the Rule of 10 for trophic pyramids, what percentage of energy moves on to the next trophic level up?
Draw a trophic pyramid with 5 levels showing their energy percentages.
10% moves up, and 90% is lost as heat.
Quaternary Consumers - 0.01
Tertiary Consumers - 0.1
Secondary Consumers - 1
Primary Consumers - 10
Producers - 100
What are the 2 pioneer species for primary succession?
Lichens and mosses - because they can break down and decompose to become soil!
Name a biome and tell me 3 of its describing characteristics.
Desert: hot during day, cold at night, sandy, CAM plants
Rainforest: humid, rainy, broadleaf plants
Tundra, taiga, deciduous forest, aquatic, grassland
Female lions fight with other female lions in order to eat a gazelle.
What type of interaction is this?
Intraspecific competition - competition within the same species
Hurricanes, tornados, flash floods, forest fires - are these examples of density-dependent or density-independent limiting factors?
Density-independent limiting factors - does not matter the size/density of the population.
What is eutrophication?
This is when too many nutrients (usually nitrogen) leaches into stagnant water systems, and this increases the amount of algae in the water. This reduces the amount of oxygen available to fish in the water.
What is the main difference between primary and secondary succession?
Primary succession begins without dirt - there was no ecosystem living there to begin with. Because of this, it takes much longer.
Secondary succession does have soil because there was an ecosystem already there before some type of disturbance occured.