Ecology

Question 1

Define abiotic

Answer 1

not living

Question 2

Define biotic

Answer 2

living

Question 3

Define biosphere

Answer 3

worldwide sum of all the ecosystems

Question 4

Define ecosystem

Answer 4

a biological community of interacting organisms and their environment

Question 5

Define population

Answer 5

number of an organism in that ecosystem

Question 6

Define community

Answer 6

an interacting group of various species in a common location

Question 7

Define habitat

Answer 7

natural home or environment of an organism

Question 8

Define niche

Answer 8

an organism that fits into an ecological community or ecosystem

Question 9

Define predator

Answer 9

an animal that naturally preys on others

Question 10

Define prey

Answer 10

an animal that is naturally hunted by others for food

Question 11

Define selection pressure

Answer 11

factors that affect the chance of survival for different phenotypes

Question 12

What do predator/prey relationships create

Answer 12

a cycle in changing population sizes

Question 13

What is predation a type of

Answer 13

interspecific competition

Question 14

What is intraspecific competition

Answer 14

competition within a species that determines population size

Question 15

What is interspecific competition

Answer 15

competition between different species for the same resources

Question 16

Define conservation

Answer 16

protecting and restoring the earths biodiversity

Question 17

Define climax community

Answer 17

the final stage of succession where this community stays fairly unchanged until it is either destroyed or disrupted

Question 18

Define biodiversity

Answer 18

the variety of plant and animal life in a particular habitat

Question 19

Define succession

Answer 19

the process in which the structure of a biological community evolves over time

Question 20

What are the four main reasons for conservation

Answer 20

personal - to maintain the planet and therefore out life support
ethical - respect for all living things
economic - the bigger the gene pool the more chance of finding valuable discoveries
cultural and aesthetic - variety of habitats enrich our lives and can provide inspiration

Question 21

Why is a climax community prevented from being reached in terms of conservation

Answer 21

to protect the species that come in the habitats before it

Question 22

Why do scientists use statistical tests

Answer 22

to allow them to decide if their data shows that their hypothesis is correct or not

Question 23

What is a null hypothesis

Answer 23

a statement of no difference

Question 24

What factors should be considered when looking at data

Answer 24

is the sample representative
is the data accurate
is the data precise
is the investigation repeatable

Question 25

What 4 tests do we need to know about

Answer 25

standard deviation
chi squared
spearmans rank
students t test