ecology

Question 1

primary succession

Answer 1

no soil, no ecosystem [rock > lichens > small plants > grass > shrubs > trees]

Question 2

secondary succession

Answer 2

has soil, is faster, starts with a disaster such as fire [plants > grass > shrubs > trees]

Question 3

climax community

Answer 3

a stable group of plants & animals; end of succession

Question 4

aquatic succession

Answer 4

begins with a body of water such as a pond, then sediments & decaying organisms build-up & create soil, which fills up the bottom of the pond, then eventually, the lake fills completely with soil & a new land ecosystem develops

Question 5

detritivore

Answer 5

eats dead matter (vulture)

Question 6

10% rule

Answer 6

only 10% of the energy that an organism has gets passed on to the next level

Question 7

mutualism

Answer 7

both benefit

Question 8

commensalism

Answer 8

one benefit, one is unaffected

Question 9

parasitism

Answer 9

one benefits, one is hurt

Question 10

predation

Answer 10

one benefits, one dies

Question 11

competition

Answer 11

compete for the same resources

Question 12

carbon sink

Answer 12

stored carbon

Question 13

two carbon sinks

Answer 13

fossils, fossil fuels

Question 14

____ is the burning of fossil fuels to power factories, power plants, cars, and trucks

Answer 14

combustion

Question 15

3 disruptions to the carbon cycle

Answer 15

deforestation, burning fossil fuels, additional humans and animals

Question 16

consequences of extra carbon

Answer 16

greenhouse effect; warming of the earth’s surface & atmosphere; most common greenhouse gases are methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide

Question 17

nitrogen cycle

Answer 17

The nitrogen cycle converts nitrogen gas to organic substances and back to nitrogen gas. Bacteria and lightning change nitrogen in the air into a usable form. Then plants uptake the nitrogen from the soil; plants are then eaten by animals. When animals die and get decomposed, returning the nitrogen back into the soil. Then some bacteria can change nitrogen in the soil into nitrogen gas to be released back into the air.

Question 18

ammonification

Answer 18

nitrogen-fixing bacteria are free-living in the soil & convert nitrogen to ammonium

Question 19

nitrification

Answer 19

a two-step process is done by nitrifying bacteria.
One type of bacteria first converts ammonium to nitrites. The second type of bacteria converts nitrites to nitrates. Nitrates can then be absorbed/used by plants

Question 20

assimilation

Answer 20

The incorporation of nitrogen into DNA and proteins

Question 21

denitrifying bacteria

Answer 21

remove fixed nitrogen from the ecosystems and return nitrogen to the atmosphere as N2 to continue the cycle