Ecology Review Flashcards
Put in the following order of who eats who: primary consumers, tertiary consumers, producer, secondary consumer.
Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers who eat primary consumers who eat producers.
Put the following in order of the largest to fewest in number in an ecosystem: primary consumers, tertiary consumer, producer, secondary consumer.
Producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer.
What breaks down dead organisms?
Decomposers
What do organisms compete for?
Resources
What is released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels?
Carbon Dioxide
What is competitive exclusion?
Only one organism wins.
What is a trophic level?
The energy level of an organism in the food chain.
What is commensalism?
One benefits, the other unaffected.
What is mutualism?
Both benefit from each other (+ +)
What is predation?
Preying of one species on another (+ -)
What is parasitism?
One benefits, the other is harmed (+ -)
What’s an example of commensalism?
Bird living in a tree
What’s an example of mutualism?
Bees pollinating flowers
What’s an example of predation?
Lion eating a deer
What’s an example of parasitism?
Dogs and ticks/lice
What is mimicry?
Close resemblance of an animal/plant to another.
What’s an example of mimicry?
Bugs that look like leaves
What is an abiotic factor?
Non-living physical factors of the environment.
What’s an example of an abiotic factor?
Weather, water, rocks, soil
What is a biotic factor?
A living component within an environment
What are examples of biotic factors?
Predators and their prey
What is biological magnification?
The increase of poisonous substances through a food chain.
What organism is most affected by biological magnification?
The “top” organism.
What is the definition of ecology?
The study of organisms and their environment.
What is eutrophication?
A lot of nutrients in a body of water which makes a lot algae and other aquatic plants grow, minimizing oxygen.
What is biological control?
The control of pests by introduction - the use of natural enemies, predators, and parasites.
What is carrying capacity?
The number of animals a region can support
What type of chemical is produced in ocean floor vents?
H2S - Hydrogen sulfate gas
What is a more common name for a prokaryote?
Bacteria
What is acid rain?
Pollution in rain that causes environmental harm.
What type of organisms are nitrogen fixers?
Prokaryotes/Bacteria
What do nitrogen fixers do?
Get nitrogen from the environment for use by plants and organisms
What is loam?
Soil containing clay, sand, and silt
What major nutrient do plants need to grow?
sunlight
Which group (consumer, producer) has the most total energy and why?
Producers because they’re at the bottom
What is a producer?
something that makes its own food - autotroph
What is succession?
Change in the land over time
What is a non-native or introduced species?
Something that doesn’t necessarily belong to an environment
Why are non-native species a problem?
They don’t have a natural predator and exponentially take over
How do legumes fit into the nitrogen cycle?
Bacteria lives in legumes and grab nitrogen to fertilize the plants
What is the biosphere?
Planet earth and its life
