Ecology: Interrelationships

Question 1

autotroph (producer)

Answer 1

organisms that produce their own food from inorganic substances - plants

Question 2

heterotroph (consumer)

Answer 2

organism that obtain their food by consuming plants or other animals

Question 3

primary consumer

Answer 3

herbivores (plant eaters) and omnivores (plant and meat eaters)

Question 4

herbivore

Answer 4

plant eaters

Question 5

omnivore

Answer 5

plant and meat eaters

Question 6

secondary consumer

Answer 6

carnivores (meat eaters) or omnivores that eat other herbivores

Question 7

carnivore

Answer 7

meat eaters

Question 8

tertiary consumer

Answer 8

carnivores that eat other carnivores or omnivores

Question 9

trophic level

Answer 9

divisions made on the basis of how organisms meet nutritional needs

Question 10

food chain

Answer 10

the path along which food is transferred from level to level

Question 11

food web

Answer 11

the interrelationship of many food chains

Question 12

decomposer

Answer 12

bacteria, fungi - consume nonliving organic material and release inorganic material

Question 13

biotic

Answer 13

living parts of the ecosystem

Question 14

abiotic

Answer 14

nonliving parts of the ecosystem (temperature, humidity, soil composition, etc.)

Question 15

predator

Answer 15

the hunter

Question 16

prey

Answer 16

the hunted

Question 17

symbiosis

Answer 17

separate species living together

Question 18

parasitism

Answer 18

one species benefits and one species is harmed - tapeworm in human

Question 19

commensalism

Answer 19

one species benefits and the other is unaffected - remora and shark

Question 20

mutualism

Answer 20

both species benefit from each other

Question 21

biosphere

Answer 21

the entire portion of our planet that is inhabited by living things in a varieties of ecosystems and communities

Question 22

biome

Answer 22

geographical areas within biosphere

Question 23

deserts

Answer 23

little precipitation and more arid than all other biomes

Question 24

tropical rain forest

Answer 24

• relatively constant temperature (68-90)
• constant daylight length throughout year
• high humidity and abundant rain
• known for biodiversity
• trees grow very tall
• little light reaches floor

Question 25

deciduous forest

Answer 25

• found in temperate midlatitude regions of the world
• air contains enough moisture to support growth of large trees
• trees such as oaks and maples shed their leaved during dry months
• temperature can range widely from season to season

Question 26

coniferous forest

Answer 26

• found at high and cool elevations
• seasons consist of short summers and long, chilly winters
• pines and fir trees that do not shed their

Question 27

tundra

Answer 27

• very cold temperatures
• high altitude
• bushes and shrubs can grow, no trees