Ecology

Question 1

Biotic

Answer 1

relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.

Question 2

Abiotic

Answer 2

physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.

Question 3

Population

Answer 3

all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.

Question 4

Community

Answer 4

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

Question 5

Ecosystem

Answer 5

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 6

Biosphere

Answer 6

the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.

Question 7

Herbivore

Answer 7

an animal that feeds on plants.

Question 8

Carnivore

Answer 8

an animal that feeds on flesh.

Question 9

Omnivore

Answer 9

an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.

Question 10

Food chain

Answer 10

a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.

Question 11

Food web

Answer 11

a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

Question 12

Energy pyramid

Answer 12

An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bioproductivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.

Question 13

Carrying capacity

Answer 13

the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.

Question 14

Prey

Answer 14

an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

Question 15

Predator

Answer 15

an animal that naturally preys on others.

Question 16

Mutualism

Answer 16

the doctrine that mutual dependence is necessary to social well-being.

Question 17

Commensalism

Answer 17

an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Question 18

Parasitism

Answer 18

the practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism.

Question 19

Producers

Answer 19

an organism that produces organic compounds from simple substances such as water and carbon dioxide; an autotroph.

Question 20

Decomposers

Answer 20

an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material.

Question 21

Desert

Answer 21

a dry, barren area of land, especially one covered with sand, that is characteristically desolate, waterless, and without vegetation.

Question 22

Tundra

Answer 22

a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen.

Question 23

Temperate deciduous forest

Answer 23

Temperate deciduous or temperate broad-leaf forests are a variety of temperate forest ‘dominated’ by trees that lose their leaves each year. They are found in areas with warm moist summers and cool winters.

Question 24

Tropical rainforest

Answer 24

Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest.

Question 25

Coniferous forest

Answer 25

Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life.

Question 26

Savanna

Answer 26

a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees.

Question 27

Temperate grassland

Answer 27

areas of open grassy plains that are sparsely populated by trees.