DAT Ecology Cheat Sheet

Question 1

Members of same species living in the same area

Answer 1

population

Question 2

A group of populations living in the same area

Answer 2

community

Question 3

Area where organisms in a community interact
with their physical environment

Answer 3

ecosystem

Question 4

Consists of all regions of earth containing living things

Answer 4

biosphere

Question 5

Type of place where organism usually lives, including
other organisms as well as physical, chemical environment

Answer 5

habitat

Question 6

Most survive to middle age and die quicker after that… what survivorship curve

Answer 6

type i

Question 7

Length of survivorship is random… what survivorship curve

Answer 7

type 2

Question 8

Most die young, and few survive to reproductive age and beyond what curve

Answer 8

type iii

Question 9

When two species compete for the same resources (or occupy the same niche), one is
likely to be more successful and the other will be eliminated

Answer 9

competitive exclusion principle

Question 10

Organism that kills and eats another

Answer 10

predator

Question 11

Organism that spends most of its life living on host and consuming nutrients from it

Answer 11

parasite

Question 12

Organism that eats plants;

Answer 12

herbivores

Question 13

Set of conditions & resources an organism needs and interactions it has with other species

Answer 13

niche

Question 14

Niche that an organism occupies when there are no competing species present

Answer 14

fundamental niche

Question 15

Smaller subset of the niche that species occupy when competition is present

Answer 15

realized niche

Question 16

Interaction between organisms that occurs when resources are limited, and multiple organisms requiring
the same limited resources

Answer 16

competition

Question 17

describes energy proportion represented at one trophic level that is transferred to the next

Answer 17

Ecological/trophic efficiency

Question 18

On average, an efficiency of about… what is transferred to next

Answer 18

10%

Question 19

Energy, biomass, and quantity of organisms is highest at

Answer 19

the 1o producer level

Question 20

Autotrophs that convert sun energy into chemical energy

Answer 20

primary producer

Question 21

Herbivores that eat primary producers

Answer 21

primary consumer

Question 22

Primary carnivores that eat primary consumers

Answer 22

secondary consumer

Question 23

Secondary carnivores that eat secondary consumers

Answer 23

tertiary consumer

Question 24

Consumers that obtain energy by consuming detritus

Answer 24

Detritivores:

Question 25

(dead matter consisting of leaves, animal remains, and
waste products)

Answer 25

detritus

Question 26

Both organisms benefit

Answer 26

mutualism

Question 27

Interactions between two species

Answer 27

symbiosis

Question 28

One benefits, other is unaffected

Answer 28

Commensalism

Question 29

Benefits at the expense of the host

Answer 29

parasitism

Question 30

Most extreme
temperature
fluctuations biome

Answer 30

desert

Question 31

Tropical grasslands
with scattered trees

Answer 31

savannah

Question 32

Long cold winters
* Low precip in form of heavy ❄
* Largest terrestrial biome

Answer 32

taiga

Question 33

Cold forests

Answer 33

temerpate coniferous

Question 34

Warm summers, cold
winters, moderate rain

Answer 34

temperate deciduous

Question 35

nitrogen cycle Describes how nitrogen moves from the…

Answer 35

environment to
living organisms and from living organisms back into the
environment

Question 36

Nitrogen must go through WHAT to be converted
from its environmental form to a form usable by
organisms:

Answer 36

fixation

Question 37

Nitrogen must go through WHAT to be
converted from the form used by organisms to the form
that exists in the environment

Answer 37

denitrification

Question 38

Change in composition of ecological community over time

Answer 38

succession

Question 39

occurs on substrates that never previously supported living things

Answer 39

primary succession

Question 40

occurs where communities were entirely/partially destroyed by damaging event

Answer 40

secondary succession

Question 41

first to colonize a newly exposed habitat; they are usually opportunistic

Answer 41

pioneer species

Question 42

As one organism eats another, toxins become more concentrated at
higher trophic levels

Answer 42

biological magnificaiton

Question 43

Process where water becomes enriched with excess nutrients and biomass
increases

Answer 43

Eutrophication: