Ecology - Unit 1 (Introduction to Ecosystems)

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

• community of organisms
• their physical environment such as the soil, water, and air.

Question 2

Biotic factors

Answer 2

Biotic factors are LIVING components that inhabit an
ecosystem.

Ex: animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria

Question 3

Abiotic factors

Answer 3

Abiotic factors are nonliving components of an
ecosystem.

Ex: Soil nutrients, Light availability, and Dissolved oxygen

Question 4

Individual

Answer 4

An organism that can breed within the same species

Question 5

Population

Answer 5

A group of individuals that belong to the same species

ex: THREE moose

Question 6

Community

Answer 6

Different populations that live together in a defined geographical area

ex: moose, gopher, owl, bobcat, bunny

Question 7

Ecosystem

Answer 7

• community of organisms
• lives together in a defined geographical area with their nonliving environment

ex: animals, coniferous (evergreen) trees, water, air

Question 8

Biome

Answer 8

an area classified according to the species that live in that location

ex: desert, forest, wetland

Question 9

Biosphere

Answer 9

The part of the planet in which life exists, its where all living things reside

ex: soil, water, air

Question 10

Ecological Niche

Answer 10

how an organism survives
● It is determined by:
● its resources necessary for life
(e.g. water, nutrients, light)
● the conditions it needs to survive and reproduce
(e.g. space, temperature)
● interactions with biotic factors
(e.g. predation)

Question 11

Competition

Answer 11

• when two species attempt to use the same ecological resources at the same place at the same time

Question 12

Producers

Answer 12

• usually plants or an autotrophic organism
• makes their own food
• autotrophs

ex: grass, trees, and shrubs

Question 13

Consumers

Answer 13

• organisms that must eat other organisms for chemical energy
• aka heterotrophs

Question 14

Primary Consumers

Answer 14

Herbivores (only eat plants)

ex: bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, nematodes, mites, snails, slugs

Question 15

Secondary Consumers

Answer 15

Omnivores or carnivores (eat plants & animals)

ex: Spiders, snakes, and seals

Question 16

Tertiary Consumers

Answer 16

Carnivores that eats the secondary consumers (primarily animals)

ex: sharks, sea lions, eagles, hawks, lions, tigers, crocodiles, pythons

Question 17

Food Chains

Answer 17

A food chain depicts the flow of ONE PATH of
energy in an ecosystem
○ A food chain always starts with a producer
○ In a food chain, the arrows always point
towards the consumer

Question 18

Food Webs

Answer 18

a collection of food chains
interconnected in the same ecosystem
○ A food web may contain multiple
producers and consumers that are part
of one or more food chains

Question 19

Predator

Answer 19

The hunter. Predators are carnivores.

Question 20

Prey

Answer 20

The hunted. Many prey species are also herbivores.

Question 21

Solar energy

Answer 21

• Energy from the sun
• the original source of energy that supports the entire ecosystem

Question 22

Photosynthesis

Answer 22

The process by which autotrophs/producers make their own food using abiotic/inorganic compounds from the environment.

Question 23

Competitive Exclusion Principle

Answer 23

two species can’t exist at the same time or in the same place if they occupy exactly the same niche

Question 24

Quaternary Consumers

Answer 24

the top predators in their environments, and they prey on tertiary consumers, which they consume

ex: lions, wolves, polar bears, humans, and hawks

Question 25

The arrowhead depicts the flow of ____ and ____ from ____ to ____.

Answer 25

The arrowhead depicts the flow of energy and biomass from one organism to another.

Question 26

Autotroph

Answer 26

• Producers
• able to make their own food from raw materials and energy

ex: plants, algae, plankton and bacteria

Question 27

Heterotroph

Answer 27

• Consumers
• organisms that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients

ex: dogs, birds, fish, and humans

Question 28

Carnivores

Answer 28

organism that mostly eats meat, or the flesh of animals

ex: wolves and mountain lions

Question 29

Omnivores

Answer 29

an organism that eats plants and animals

ex: bears, birds, dogs, raccoons, foxes, certain insects, and humans

Question 30

Host

Answer 30

a living organism that acts as a shelter for invading pathogenic organisms

Question 31

Parasite

Answer 31

An organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host

Question 32

Ecological Succession

Answer 32

the process by which the mix of species and habitat in an area changes over time

Question 33

Adaptation

Answer 33

the adjustment of organisms to their environment in order to improve their chances at survival in that environment

ex: succulents adapts by storing water in their thick stems

Question 34

Biodiversity

Answer 34

all the different kinds of life you’ll find in one area

ex: a forest w/ many trees, many bird species, big and small mammals