Ecosystems

Question 1

Ecosystems

Answer 1

A community of organisms (biotic) and atmosphere, soil and water (abiotic)

Question 2

Producers

Answer 2

Photosynthetic plants, some bacteria and single cell eukaryotes

Question 3

Consumers

Answer 3

Get energy by eating other organisms, can be 1 degree, 2 degree, and 3 degree etc

Question 4

Decomposers

Answer 4

Obtain energy from dead organisms

Question 5

Food chain

Answer 5

Sequence describing who eats whom, each level is a trophic level

Question 6

Biomass

Answer 6

Mass of all organisms in each trophic level

Question 7

Pyramid of Biomass/Numbers

Answer 7

Can be inverted if producers are eaten as fast as they reproduce, are always upright if energy flow is tracked, only 5-20% of energy in a lower trophic level can be converted into biomass by next higher level

Question 8

Population Biology

Answer 8

Study of changes in population size and composition and underlying causes

Question 9

Succession

Answer 9

Ecosystems tend to become more complex over time because existing species alter habitat and resources, making them favorable for new species

Question 10

3 Processes that drive succession

Answer 10

Tolerance, Facilitation and Inhibition

Question 11

Tolerance

Answer 11

Early successional species (pioneers) are tolerant of harsh, abiotic conditions

Question 12

Facilitation

Answer 12

Early species change habitat, making it favorable for other species

Question 13

Inhibition

Answer 13

Sometime changes occur that inhibit original pioneers

Question 14

Demography

Answer 14

Study of characteristics of a population

Question 15

Cohort

Answer 15

Relative number of individuals in each age range