APES Quiz 2 (1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8)

Question 1

producer (autotroph)

Answer 1

An organism that uses energy from the sun to produce usable forms of energy. Producers include plants, algae, and some bacteria.

Question 2

consumer (heterotroph)

Answer 2

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms.

Question 3

food chain

Answer 3

The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers

Question 4

food web

Answer 4

A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels

Question 5

trophic levels

Answer 5

The successive levels of organisms consuming one another

Question 6

keystone species

Answer 6

A species that is not very abundant but has large effects on an ecological community

Question 7

10% rule

Answer 7

The 10% rule approximates that as energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy is passed on. The loss of energy that occurs when energy moves from lower to higher trophic levels is lost largely through metabolic processes as heat.

Question 8

native species

Answer 8

Native species live in their historical range, typically where they have lived naturally for thousand or millions of years. Native species are well-adapted to their environment and can thrive without much help.

Question 9

invasive species

Answer 9

Invasive species are species that can live, and sometimes thrive, outside of their normal habitat. They often spread rapidly across large areas. Invasive species can sometimes be beneficial, but they are considered invasive when they threaten native species.

Question 10

endangered species

Answer 10

A species that is in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Question 11

population size

Answer 11

The total number of individuals within a defined area at a given time

Question 12

population density

Answer 12

The number of individuals per unit area at a given time

Question 13

population distribution

Answer 13

A description of how individuals are distributed with respect to one another

Question 14

density-dependent factors

Answer 14

A factor that influences an individual’s probability of survival and reproduction in a manner that depends on the size of the population

Question 15

density-independent factors

Answer 15

A factor that has the same effect on an individual’s probability of survival and the amount of reproduction at any population size

Question 16

limiting resource

Answer 16

A resource that a population cannot live without and that occurs in quantities lower than the population would require to increase in size

Question 17

carrying capacity

Answer 17

The limit of how many individuals in a population the environment can sustain

Question 18

overshoot

Answer 18

When a population becomes larger than the environment’s carrying capacity

Question 19

die-off

Answer 19

A rapid decline in a population due to death

Question 20

survivorship curve

Answer 20

A graph that represents the distinct patterns of species survival as a function of age

Question 21

K-selected species

Answer 21

A species with a low intrinsic growth rate that causes the population to increase slowly until it reaches carrying capacity

Question 22

r-selected species

Answer 22

A species that had a high intrinsic growth rate, which often leads to population overshoots and die-offs

Question 23

J-shaped curve

Answer 23

representative of the exponential growth model

Question 24

S-shaped curve

Answer 24

representative of the logistic growth model

Question 25

survivorship curve type I

Answer 25

a pattern of survival over time in which there is high survival throughout most of the life span, but then individuals start to die in large numbers as they approach old age

Question 26

survivorship curve type II

Answer 26

a pattern of survival over time in which there is a relatively constant decline in survivorship throughout most of the life span

Question 27

survivorship curve type III

Answer 27

a pattern of survival over time in which there is low survivorship early in life with few individuals reaching adulthood

Question 28

ecological succession

Answer 28

The predictable replacement of one group of species by another group of species over time

Question 29

primary succession

Answer 29

Ecological succession occurring on surfaces that are initially devoid of soil

Question 30

secondary succession

Answer 30

The succession of plant life that occurs in area that have been disturbed but have not lost their soil

Question 31

pioneer species

Answer 31

A species that can colonize new area rapidly and grow well in full sunshine

Question 32

climax community

Answer 32

Historically described as the final stage of succession

Question 33

generalist species

Answer 33

can survive in a wide range of conditions and eat a variety of foods

Question 34

specialist species

Answer 34

have a limited diet and can only survive in a narrow range of environmental conditions

Question 35

prescribed burns

Answer 35

a method of strategically burning forests to promote new succession and renewal of the biodiversity. It also helps to prevent