Community Ecology

Question 1

All species within a given area are going to _ in many different ways

Answer 1

Interact

Question 2

Whenever the resources are scarce, you will see _ happen for those resources

Answer 2

Competition

Question 3

Intraspecific Competition

Answer 3

Competition within the same species

Question 4

Interspecific Competition

Answer 4

Competition between different species

Question 5

Competitive Exclusion

Answer 5

When one species out-competes another species for the same resources and eliminates the losing species

Question 6

Species Coexistence

Answer 6

Each species finds a mutual existence for their resources

Question 7

Fundamental Niche

Answer 7

The entire ecological capacity of an organism

Question 8

Realized Niche

Answer 8

What an organism actually fulfills due to competition

Question 9

Resource Partitioning

Answer 9

When two competing organisms adapt to share resources in different ways

Question 10

Character Displacement

Answer 10

When the competing species ultimately evolves to match their realized niche; can be led by resource partitioning

Question 11

Predation

Answer 11

When one species hunts, captures, and kills another species

Question 12

Some critters have adapted to evade predators:

Answer 12

Cryptic Coloration
Warning Coloration
Mimicry

Question 13

Parasitism

Answer 13

Where one organism will harm another organism without killing it

Question 14

Herbivory

Answer 14

Where an animal feeds on plants; probably the most common type of exploitation; most plants can withstand the eating, but some have adapted very unique ways of defending themselves

Question 15

Mutualism

Answer 15

Where two species will benefit from each others’ existence; some are borderline parasitism, but most often the association results in symbiosis, a peaceful existence

Question 16

Other Interactions

Answer 16

Amensalism: One organism is harmed and the other is unaffected
Commensalism: One organism is benefited and the other is unaffected

Question 17

Community

Answer 17

A group of different species all living in the same environment at the same time

Question 18

Energy is transferred through _, or a feeding hierarchy

Answer 18

Trophic Levels

Question 19

Producers

Answer 19

Self-feeding autotrophs; use photosynthesis to generate energy; get the most energy percentage from use; ex.: grass, phytoplankton, trees

Question 20

Consumers

Answer 20

All feeding organisms; primary consumers are grazing herbivores (and insects); secondary consumers feed primarily on primary consumers; tertiary consumers feed on them all

Question 21

Detrivores/Decomposers

Answer 21

Comsume nonliving matter; recycle nutrients for uptake for primary producers; ex.: fungus, earthworms, bacteria, crawfish, molds

Question 22

We call the movement or tracking of feeding relationships a _

Answer 22

Food Web

Question 23

Keystone Species

Answer 23

Some species have such an important role in the ecosystem that if they were removed, the ecosystem would fall apart

Question 24

A community that stay the same in response to a disturbance shows _

Answer 24

Resistance

Question 25

A community that changes during a disturbance but afterwards returns to its original state shows _

Answer 25

Resilience

Question 26

Primary Succession

Answer 26

A return to an ecosystem where everything was wiped out; the first organism to return and recolonize is called a pioneer species

Question 27

Secondary Succession

Answer 27

A return to an ecosystem where most everything was wiped out, but some organism survived; the previous species will act as building blocks for the new community

Question 28

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Answer 28

Characterized by broad-leafed deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the fall and remain dormant in the winter; occupy a mid-latitudinal range from Europe to China

Question 29

Temperate Grassland

Answer 29

Typically little rainfall with very little trees; also can be called a steppe or prairie, these grasslands, once widespread, now are mostly converted for agriculture; animals typical of grassland are bison, antelope, and quail

Question 30

Temperate Rainforest

Answer 30

Characterized by heavy rainfall, but with a more midline latitude; the pacific northwest is a great example of a temperate rainforest; tree species are abundant, and, therefore, so are logging industries

Question 31

Tropical Rainforest

Answer 31

Also characterized by heavy rainfall; will have year round warm weather as compared to a temperate rainforest; one of the most biologically diverse areas on the globe

Question 32

Tropical Dry Forest

Answer 32

Characterized by two distinct seasons: wet and not; stays warm year round, but will only have rain for half of the year; India and Africa are both good examples of tropical dry forests

Question 33

Savanna

Answer 33

Also warm year round and characterized by two distinct rainfall seasons; however, a savanna is a grassland without large trees

Question 34

Desert

Answer 34

Driest biome on earth; characterized by very little rainfall, (usually less than 9 inches per year); contrary to popular belief, deserts don’t have to be hot; deserts in high elevations tend to be quite cool

Question 35

Tundra

Answer 35

Not quite as dry as a desert, but still does not receive very much rainfall; characterized by short days and very cold temperatures; found in very high altitudes, close to the poles; parts of Alaska and Russia are tundra

Question 36

Boreal Forest/Taiga

Answer 36

Characterized by cool temperatures and moderate rainfall; has many evergreen tree species and unique animal communities; there is a strong seasonal variation in day length, driving animals to find the majority of their energy in just a few months

Question 37

Chaparral

Answer 37

Highly seasonal area; mostly characterized by small, shrubby plants, dry, hot day temperatures, and cool, moist nights; wine grapes are grown in the few chaparral areas across the globe

Question 38

Mountainous Regions

Answer 38

Self-explanatory

Question 39

Unvegetated Regions

Answer 39

Where nothing grows; most of Greenland

Question 40

Regardless of where they are in the world, most biomes fall along a _ and _ gradient

Answer 40

Latitude; altitude