Ecosystems
What is Ecology?
It is the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment.
I make food for myself and other organisms. What am I?
A producer.
Closer to the equator.
Define unintended consequences.
Unintended consequences are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not foreseen or planned. These can be positive, negative, or neutral.
What is the difference between a food chain and a web?
A food web is multiple food chains, as organisms eat numerous things and interact with each other.
Define the word abiotic and give an example of an abiotic factor in an ecosystem.
The non-living components of an ecosystem.
Example: Sand, Air, Water, Rocks, ect.
What is the difference between an omnivore, carnivore, herbivore, and insectivore?
Omnivore: eats plants and other consumers.
Carnivore: only eats consumers
Herbivore: only eats plants
Insectivore: only eats insects.
List one example of a change that can occur in an ecosystem.
(Note: there are 4 we discussed in class)
Bioinvasion
Competition
Weather/Climate
Predation
What is biomagnification?
Biomagnification: is when a chemical increases in concentration as it moves up the food chain.
Would adding goldfish to a lake benefit or harm the environment, why?
Adding goldfish to a lake would harm the environment because they become an invasive species, disrupting the delicate balance of the native ecosystem.
What are the 5 basic needs of all living things?
Water; Food; Energy; Oxygen; Habitat (Living Conditions)
What two reactants do plants require to make food?
Water and Carbon Dioxide
Define primary succession.
Primary Succession: Occurs in an area where no life exists due to an absence of soil.
What is bioaccumulation?
Bioaccumulation: the process where a substance (chemical), builds up in a living organism faster than it can be eliminated.
What organism takes up carbon in the carbon cycle?
Plants
What is the difference between a community and a population?
Communities consist of several animal and plant populations that live together and interact with each other, while a population is several organisms of the same species.
What are the products of cellular respiration?
Energy, Carbon Dioxide, and Water.
Define secondary succession.
Secondary succession: Occurs when a community has been disturbed or destroyed by man or natural causes.
Define ecological footprint.
Ecological footprint: the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.
What is the difference between transpiration and evaporation?
Transpiration: water evaporates from the leaves of plants.
Evaporation: liquid water turns to water vapor (gas) from a water body.
How does variability in a species affect the survival of the species? Why?
Increases the survival rate since they are more resistant to environmental change.
How much energy does an organism pass on to the next? How much energy does the use?
10% and 90%
I am a species that helps break down the rocks and helps pave the way for new species to enter the ecosystem. What am I?
Pioneer Species
Lichen, Moss, or Grass are also acceptable.
What is a sanitary landfill? How do they differ from regular landfills?
The material is spread across the ground and then compacted by bulldozers about 0.5m thick. A layer of soil is spread over the waster to reduce odours and litter and keep animals away. Sanitary landfills are designed not to leak, so chemicals and other waste do not wash into the water system.
Ms. Mahon takes her kitchen scraps and puts them into a box in her backyard. Eventually, she spreads the decomposed scraps onto her garden. What would this process be called?
Composting