ECOLOGY

Question 1

Saprotrophs

Answer 1

Saprotrophs are organisms which cannot make their own food instead they obtain the nutrition from the dead and decaying organisms.

Saprotrophs release digestive juice on the dead plants and animals (environment) and convert them into nutrients and are taken as food.

-Many decomposers are saprotroph.

they include protists and fungi.

Question 2

Detritivores

Answer 2

Are organisms that break down dead organic matter, recycle energy and nutrients throughout the ecosystem.

ex. fungi and bacteria, which are decomposers

Question 3

Biomass

Answer 3

The amount of organic material in a given area.

it can be either living or dead ; the only requirement is that it contains usable energy.

Energy and Biomass ar greatest at the primary producer level and lowest at the APEX predator level.

Question 4

Primary producers

Answer 4

At the base of every food chain are the autotrophs as primary producers.

They are responsible for primary production, the creation of organic compounds using energy from the sun or inorganic compounds.

the autotrophic and chemosynthetic.

Question 5

Food chain

Answer 5

Organism that consume the primary primary consumers are secondry consumers.

We also have a tertiary consumer.

Apex predators- Organisms which have no natural predators.

A food chain is a single chain showing the transfer of energy. The level of food chain are called the trophic levels.describe how organism feeds.

Question 6

Ecological efficiency

Answer 6

• describes the proportion of energy at each trophic level that is transferred to the next.
• On average, about 90% of an organism’s energy is used for metabolism and 10% is passed to the next trophic level.
• SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS STATES THAT ENERGY IS LOST AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL.

ex. if the primary producers is 1000 kg → 100 kg primary consumers→ 10kg of secondary consumers → 1 kg of tertiary consumers → 0.1 APEX PREDATOR.

Question 7

Gross primary productivity

&

Net primary productivity

Answer 7

Gross primary productivity is the total amount of energy they generate via photosynthesis.

The Net primary productivity passed to heterotroph is the unused energy.

Question 8

The carbon Cycle

Answer 8

• Involves the exchange of carbon between organisms and their environmnet.
• CO₂ is one of three primary greenhouse gases that absorb reflected infrared radiation and causes the atmosphere temperature to increase.
• Aquatic organisms inhale and exhale CO₂ and bicarbonate.

Question 9

The water Cycle

Answer 9

The movement of water throughout Earth’s crust, atmosphere, water bodies, and living organism.

Freshwater makes up 3% of the world’s supply of water.

Question 10

The Nitrogen Cycle

Answer 10

The cycle of nitrogen throughout its various forms.

Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up 78% of the atmosphere and is vital for plant and animal growth.

Question 11

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 11

Nitrogen Fixation: plant use bacteria to converts nitrogen into forms that the plant can process like ammonium ( NH₄⁺) or nitrate (NO₃^-1).

Question 12

Nitrification

Answer 12

Nitrification: Bacteria can convert ammonium into nitrate (NO3-1).

Question 13

Denitrification

Answer 13

Denitrification refers to the conversion of nitrate back to unusable nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrogen gas, thus completing the nitrogen cycle.

Question 14

Eutrophication

Answer 14

Eutrophication, or hypertrophication, is when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients( excess nitrogen) which induce excessive growth of algae.

This process may result in oxygen depletion of the water body and killed off other organisms.

Question 15

The Hadley cells

Answer 15

The Hadley cells forms as warm, moist air rise at the equator and flows northward, high above Earth’s surface. This causes hot, humid conditions in the tropics.

Question 16

Tropics

Answer 16

The tropics are the hottest region on Earth because the sun’s rays strike the equator directly.

Question 17

Tundra

Answer 17

The tundra is near the north and south poles, wherever there is no exposure to rock or it is ice- covered .

ex. Greenland, antartica coast, Arctic

Tundra is characterized by a cold, dry climate and low biodiversity.

Except for alphine tundra Tundra has a perpetually frozen layer of soil called permafrost.

Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes.

There are are spruce, fir, and pine trees.

Question 18

Coniferous Forest

Answer 18

Coniferous Forest have a milder climate than the tundra, as well as higher annual precipitation. They are primarily made of conifers, spruce, fir, hemlock, and pine trees.

These evergreens.

Question 19

Taiga

Answer 19

The coniferous forest biome just below the tundra is a taiga or boreal forest.

The taiga or boreal forest is the world’s largest land biome.

The thinness of the soil is due largely to the cold, do not contain permafrost, but it is thin and nutrient poor.

ex. subartic

Question 20

Temperate Coniferous forests

Answer 20

It is below the taiga. Temperate coniferous forests are cold, dry and inhabited by trees that don’t loose their leaves.

ex. fir, pine, spruce

Northern part of US, Canada

Question 21

Temperate Deciduous Forest.

Answer 21

Found in lower latitudes lower than the coniferous forest. They have moderate rainfall with mild winters.

Deciduous trees have broad leaves allow shading which support a variety of of life.

they are characterized by their leaves, which they shed in the fall and regrow in the spring.

ex. maple, oak

Question 22

Tropical and temperate

Rainforest

Answer 22

Tropical are at or near the equator.

(central africa, america and amazon).

Temperate rainforest (North and South America, Australia)

heavy rainfall.

tropical rainforest have high temperatures,

heavy vegetation that do not shed its leaves.

Epiphytes(plants that grow on other plants.

tropical sustaines the highest diversity of any land biomes.

The forest soil is rich but sustains few plants due to the heavy shade( tall canopy of evergreens and dense understory)

Question 23

Shrubland

Answer 23

is dominated by short, woody shrubs with thick evergreens leaves. They are highly resistant to forest fires and drought since shrubland is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild winters.

Chaparral have extensive root systems and large leaves that retain water.

Question 24

Grassland

Answer 24

low rainfall. They are too wet for desert and too dry for forest and have rich soil which is ideal for agriculture.

No shelter for herbivores mammals(antelops, bison)

ex.steppes (Ukraine), pampas (argentina),prairies(rockies)

2 types of grassland.

Temperate and tropical grassland

Question 25

Temperate Grasslands

Answer 25

are characterized by a mild climate and relatively low and predictable diversity. They are considered to be praires (North America), pampas (South America) , steppes ( Eurasia) and veldts( South Africa) .

Many temperate grassland animals are large grazing mammals like bison and antelope.

There are two types of Temperate Grassland

-Tall-grass and -Short-grass

Question 26

Tropical Grassland

Answer 26

The Tropical Grasslands are savannas, which contain some trees but are mostly open. They have a relatively cool dry season followed by a hot, rainy one. Savannas support higher biodiversity than temperate grassland

Question 27

Wetland

Answer 27

They are roughly either freshwater or saltwater.

They contain marshes, swamps, and bogs are all Hydrophytes - plants which live in water .

Question 28

Estuaries

Answer 28

Where a freshwater river merges with the ocean

ex. bay, lagoon, an inlet

They are brackish.( a mixed of fresh water and marine)

Question 29

current

Answer 29

Ocean currents move in the counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the southern Hemisphere.

Question 30

upwelling

Answer 30

the circulation of cold nutrient-rich waters to the surface

it fuels diversities and plankton.

Question 31

phytoplankton

Answer 31

is microscopic photosynthetic algae,

Zooplankton is animals that feed on other plankton.

plankton is the basis of aquatic food chains because they are a food source for many other organism.

Question 32

Littoral Zone

Answer 32

Littoral Zone includes the shallow areas closest to shore, where the water is warmest and completely penetrated by light.

Question 33

Limnetic Zone

Answer 33

Limnetic Zone is the sunlit area in the open waters of the lake and is home to many plankton and fish. Most photosynthesis occurs here.

Question 34

Profundal Zone

Answer 34

is below the limnetic zone in deeper waters, home to larger fish, turtles, and snakes. There is little photosynthesis because sunlight cannot sufficiently penetrate the deeper waters.

Question 35

The Benthic Zone

Answer 35

is at the bottom of . a pond or lake and is made of soft sediment that recieves little if any, sunlight. It is inhabited by organism taht can tolerate low oxygen levels, including worms, mullusks and crustaceans.

The filter feeders thrive on the debris which falls from the higher zones.

Question 36

oliogotrophic ( nutrient poor)

Answer 36

oliogotrophic ( nutrient poor) lakes are not able to sustain much plant life and have low levels of primary productivity; dominated by fishes.

Question 37

Eutrophic

Answer 37

nutrient rich lakes

Question 38

Intertidal Zone

Answer 38

This is the area of the littoral zone in relation to the ocean. The intertidal zone is the area of the marine shoreline that is exposed to low tide, and covered with seawater when the tide is high.

ec.algae, crabs,snails

Question 39

Neritic Zone

Answer 39

It is the coastal zone because it marks the boundary between the shore and open ocean

Question 40

oceanic zone

Answer 40

the largest sea animals, such as whales, sharks, giant fishes.

Question 41

pelagic zone

photic zone

Benith Zone

Answer 41

pelagic zone: open sea. divided into the photic and aphotic

photic zone is where photosynthesis occur due to phytoplankton in the open sea.

Benith Zone : is the seabed, some part are exposed to sunlight and others are not.

Question 42

Aphotic Zone

Answer 42

Aphotic Zone is below the photic zone, where no photosynthesis takes place because it is mostly, if not entirely dark.

Question 43

keystone predator

Answer 43

are essential species which regulate competition by controlling the population of species that would otherwise overrun a community

Question 44

Biosphere

Answer 44

atmosphere

the lithosphere( rock and soil surface)

Hydrosphere( the oceans)

Question 45

poikilothemic

Answer 45

The vast majority of animals and plants are cold blooded or poikilothemic

An animal whose body temperature is very close to that of their surrounding because most their heat escape to the environment.

Question 46

Endotherms

Answer 46

Animals such as birds, mammals, some fish, and even certain insects use metabolic energy to maintain a constant body temperature.

Question 47

An ectotherms

Answer 47

An ectoderm warms its body mainly by heat absorption from the surroundings. Most vertebrates, amphibians and reptiles.

Question 48

Homeothermic

Answer 48

these are warm blooded animals( mammals and birds)

they maintain constant body temperature that are higher than their enivronment.

Question 49

Salt water

Answer 49

saltwater fish live in hyperosmotic environment, which causes them to lose water and take in salt.

Freshwater fish live in a hypoosmotic environment, which causes intake of excess water and excessive salt loss.

In protozoa , contractile vacuoles regularly remove excess water to maintainwater balance

Plant cells have rigid cell walls and thus build up cell pressure( cel turgor) as water flows in. The pressure stops influx of water and establishes water balance.

Question 50

Autotrophs

Answer 50

Autotrophs are organism that manufacture their own food.

Phototrophs such as green plants, utilize the energy of the sun tomanufacture food.

Chemotrophs, like chemosynthetic bacteria, obtain energy from the oxidation of inorganic sulfur, iron, and nitrogen compound.

Question 51

Heterotrophs

Answer 51

cannot synthesize their own food and must depend upon autotrophs or other heterotrophs in the ecosystem to obtain food and energy.

Question 52

Herbivores

Answer 52

These are animals who consume only plants or plant food.

Their digestive tract provide a greater surface area. the symbiotic bacteria in their gut breakdown the cellulose in plants

Question 53

Carnivores

Omnivores

Answer 53

Carnivores are animals that eat only other animals.

Omnivores, such as humans, are animals that eat both plants and animals

Question 54

Interspecific Interactions

Intraspecific Interactions.

Answer 54

The two are influenced by both competition (disruptive) and cohesive force .

The major types of interspecific interactions are symbiosis, predation,saprophytism, and scavenging.

Question 55

Obligatory Symbionts

Answer 55

Obligatory symbiot is that one or both organisms cannot survive w/o the other

Question 56

Scavengers

Answer 56

Scavengers are animals that consume dead animals.

ex. vulture,hyena, snapping turtle(scavenger and predator), bacteria

Question 57

Primary consumers

Answer 57

primary consumers are animals that consume green plants (herbivores)

Question 58

Secondary consumers

Answer 58

are animals that consume the primary consumers(carnivores).

ex. frogs, tiger

Question 59

Tertiary consumers

Answer 59

these are animals that feed on secondary consumers( carnivores)

Question 60

Food web

Answer 60

is an intricate collection of interconnected food chains.