Ch4,5,6. Ecology

Question 1

What is ecology?

Answer 1

Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment.

Question 2

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 2

An ecosystem is a group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit.

Question 3

What is the biosphere?

Answer 3

The biosphere is the part of the planet where living organisms can be found.

Question 4

What is a habitat?

Answer 4

A habitat is a place where an organism lives.

Question 5

What is a population?

Answer 5

A population is all the members of the same species living in a habitat.

Question 6

What is a community?

Answer 6

A community is all the different populations of species living in a habitat.

Question 7

What are edaphic factors.

Answer 7

Edaphic factors are the effects of soil. Soil pH, soil air and humus.

Question 8

What is a trophic level, a food chain, a food web?

Answer 8

A trophic level is the position of an organism in the food chain. A food chain is a sequence of organisms showing transfer of energy from one to the next. A food web is interconnected food chains.

Question 9

What is a niche?

Answer 9

A niche is the functional role of an organism in an ecosystem.

Question 10

What is nutrient recyling?

Answer 10

Nutrient recycling is the way in which elements (C,N) are exchanged between living and non-living components of an ecosystem.

Question 11

What is pollution?

Answer 11

Pollution is the damage done to the environment by the addition of harmful substances.

Question 12

What is conservation? Name a practice of conservation.

Answer 12

Conservation is the protection and wise management of the environment.
The use of bigger fish nets, allow small fish to escape so that fish can reproduce for a number of years before being caught.

Question 13

What is competition? Explain the difference between contest and scramble competition.

Answer 13

Competition is when 2 organisms struggle for the same limited resources. A contest is an active physical struggle between organisms where winner takes all. A scramble is when each organism tries to get as much of the resources as possible.

Question 14

What is adaptation?

Answer 14

Adaptation is when an organism is suited to live in its habitat.

Question 15

What is predation? What is predator and prey?

Answer 15

Predation occurs when an animal hunts and kills another animal for food. A predator is the animal that hunts and kills another animal for food. Prey is the animal killed by another animal for food.

Question 16

What is symbiosis?
What is mutualism and paratism?

Answer 16

Symbiosis is a close association between 2 species in which at least 1 benefits.
Mutualism is 2 species living in close association in the which both benefit.
Parasitism is 2 species living in closes association in which one benefits and the other is harmed.

Question 17

What is a parasite? Differentiate between an endoparasite and an ectoparasite.

Answer 17

A parasite is an organism living in or on another organism for food and causing it harm. An endoparasite lives inside its host’s body while an ectoparasite lives outside.

Question 18

What is a decomposer?

Answer 18

A decomposer is an organism that breaks down and digests dead organic matter(detritus).

Question 19

Draw the carbon cycle.

Question 20

Draw the nitrogen cycle.

Answer 20

Question 21

Determine the quantity of a named species in an ecosystem(frequency).

Answer 21

Mark the area for study. Select the plants you want to study. Throw a pen at random, to avoid bias. Place the quadrat over the pen. Tick the organism if present. Calculate and graph.

Question 22

What is a qualitative study?

Answer 22

A qualitative study establishes the presence or absence of organisms in an ecosystem.

Question 23

What is a pyramid of numbers? What are the disadvantages?

Answer 23

A pyramid of numbers represents the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain. They are interpreted without considering the organisms’ size. They’re inaccurate as some organisms exist in such large numbers, that it is impossible to represent them accurately (greenflies to an oak tree).

Question 24

What is eutrophication?

Answer 24

Eutrophication is the addition of nutrients to fresh water such that an algal bloom is produced.

Question 25

What is competition?

Answer 25

Competition is when organisms actively struggle for a resource that is in short supply.

Question 26

What is the difference between scramble and contest competition?

Answer 26

Contest competition is an active physical struggle between 2 individual organisms. Scramble competition occurs when all of the competing individuals get some resources.

Question 27

What factors control populations?

Answer 27

Symbiosis, competition, predation and parasitism.

Question 28

What technique do cabbage white butterflies use to avoid competition?

Answer 28

Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars feed on cabbage leaves while the butterfly drinks nectar from flowers. They avoid competition for food in this manner.

Question 29

What is adaptation? What are they types of adaptation?

Answer 29

An adaptation is any alteration that improves an organism’s chance of survival. Structural, competitive and behavioral adaptation.

Question 30

What are abiotic factors found in the grassland? How are they measured?

Answer 30

Air temperature, soil pH and wind speed.
Air temperatures are taken using a thermometer.
Soil pH is recorded using a pH meter.
Wind speed and direction is measured using an anemometer and wind gauge. The rate of rotation and market cup is measured.

Question 31

What are sources of error in an ecosystem study?

Answer 31

Human error in judgement of the percentage of plant covering a quadrat. Sample size maybe too small and a single habitat isn’t a fair representation of the entire ecosystem.

Question 32

Why is the study of an ecosystem important?

Answer 32

Monitors biodiversity.

Question 33

How do you identify an organism in the habitat?

Answer 33

Use the key.

Question 34

Give food chain of grassland organisms.

Answer 34

Grass-grasshopper-frog-hawk.

Question 35

Give the formula for the capture-recapture method.

Answer 35

Animals in habitat=
caught and marked on 1st visit x caught on 2nd visit / marked on 2nd visit.