4.1 and 4.2

Question 1

ecology

Answer 1

study of relationships between living organisms and between organisms and their environments

Question 2

population

Answer 2

group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time

Question 3

ecosystem

Answer 3

community and its abiotic environment

Question 4

community

Answer 4

group of populations living and interacting with each other in an area

Question 5

habitat

Answer 5

environment in which a species normally lives

Question 6

species

Answer 6

group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Question 7

why can hybrids not reproduce?

Answer 7

species are unique because they have the same number of chromosomes, so offspring can be produced from interbreeding of two species, but it will result in an infertile offspring with a trisomy

Question 8

autotrophs

Answer 8

convert co2 into organic compounds

Question 9

what are mixotrophs

Answer 9

plants and algae that use a combination of different modes of nutrition

Question 10

consumer

Answer 10

heterotrophs that ingest other organisms to obtain organic molecules

Question 11

scavengers

Answer 11

specialized carnivores that feed mostly on dead or decaying matter

Question 12

detritivore

Answer 12

heterotroph that obtains nutrients by consuming non-living organic sources (e.g. detritus -dead, particulate organic matter - poop; and humus - decaying leaf litter mixed with soil)

Question 13

sapotrophs

Answer 13

secrete digestive enzymes on organic matter and absorb products of digestion (think fungi)!!!!! referred to as decomposers - they are NOT consumers - breakdown organic nutrients to gain energy and in the process release nutrients back into inorganic molecules ensuring availability of nutrients to autotrophs

Question 14

ecosystem

Answer 14

consists of both the community and the environment

Question 15

nutrients

Answer 15

elements required by an organism for growth and metabolism

Question 16

nutrient cycling

Answer 16

nutrient supply is limited and therefore ecosystems constantly recycle nutrients between organisms

Question 17

mesocosms

Answer 17

biological systems that contain the abiotic and biotic features of an ecosystem but are restricted in size and/or under controlled conditions

Question 18

photoautotrophs

Answer 18

rely on pigments such as chlorophyll totrap light energy which is converted into chemical energy in carbon compounds

Question 19

what is light energy transferred to

Answer 19

chemical energy

Question 20

what does a food chain show

Answer 20

how nutrients and energy are passed from producer to primary consumer then to secondary consumer (begins with plants and ends w animals) - flow of energy through trophic levels of a feeding relationship

Question 21

food web

Answer 21

shows interconnections that exist among food chains - each organism may have several sources/ be a source of nutrion for several organisms

Question 22

trophic level

Answer 22

position of an organism in a food chain

Question 23

which trophic level is the producer

Answer 23

1

Question 24

inefficiences of energy transfers

Answer 24

toxic waste organic molecules are excreted ; some organic molecules are not absorbed and egested (removal of undigested foods);some parts of an organism are uneaten; energy is lost as heat from respiration

Question 25

why is no energy transfer 100% efficient

Answer 25

thermal energy released from the organism is dissipiated into the ecosystem and lost; organisms cannot convert heat energy into a useful form for the organism

Question 26

transduction

Answer 26

conversion of one form of energy to another

Question 27

what are two tpyes of pyramids

Answer 27

pyramid of biomass - feeding relationship; pyramid of numbers - shows relationship between populations in a food chain

Question 28

pyramid of energy

Answer 28

shows the flow of energy between trophic levels (unit: energy per unit area per unit time)

Question 29

what percent of energy is lost between trophic levesl

Answer 29

90%

Question 30

why do pyramids of energy get smaller at higher trophic levesl

Answer 30

the loss of energy

Question 31

what limits the length of food chains

Answer 31

energy losses between trophic levels

Question 32

as trophic level increases ___

Answer 32

biomass and energy available decreases; it is less efficient as more energy is spent on foraging more mobile prey

Question 33

chemoautotrophs

Answer 33

syntehsize own organic molecules from co2 fixation