Ch4 Introduction to ecology

Question 1

Ecology

Answer 1

study of the interaction between groups of organisms and their environment

Question 2

ecosystem

Answer 2

consists of organisms and their interactions with the environment

Question 3

biosphere

Answer 3

parts of the earth and its atmosphere in which life can exist

Question 4

producers

Answer 4

make their own food (the green plants)

Question 5

consumers

Answer 5

feed on the plants and animals

Question 6

decomposers

Answer 6

such as bacteria and fungi which feed on dead and decaying plants and animals

Question 7

competition

Answer 7

struggle between organisms for resources that are in short supply, such as food or light

Question 8

biotic

Answer 8

an organism’s influence on another organism

Question 9

abiotic

Answer 9

the influence of a non-living part of the environment on an organism

Question 10

climatic factors

Answer 10

weather conditions that affect organisms in an ecosystem

Question 11

aquatic factors

Answer 11

are thos that affect organisms that live in water

Question 12

edaphic factors

Answer 12

are soil factors that affect organisms

Question 13

food chain

Answer 13

is the feeding relationship between organisms in which energy is transferred

Question 14

food web

Answer 14

consists of two or more intersecting food chains

Question 15

trophic level

Answer 15

a feeding level ina food chain

Question 16

pyramid of numbers

Answer 16

is used to show the numbers of individuals at each trophic level of a food chain

Question 17

habitat

Answer 17

the place where an organism lives

Question 18

niche

Answer 18

the role of an organism in an ecosystem

Question 19

nutrient recycling

Answer 19

way nutrients are exchanged between the biotic and abiotic parts of the ecosystem

Question 20

symbiosis

Answer 20

relationship between two organisms of different species in which at least one of them benefits