Environmental Studies

Question 1

Organism

Answer 1

Individual form of life composed of a single cell or complex of cells that are capable of growing and reproducing

Question 2

Individual

Answer 2

A single organism capable of independent existence

Question 3

Species

Answer 3

A group of closely related organisms that are very similar to each other and are usually capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring

Question 4

Population

Answer 4

A group of organisms of the same species that occupy the same area and can breed freely with each other

Question 5

Community

Answer 5

A group of different species that inhibit and interact in a particular area

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

Groups of different species of organisms that interact with each other and with the environment

Question 7

Biosphere

Answer 7

The part of the earth where living organisms are found

Question 8

Mortality

Answer 8

Number of deaths in a population per 1000 people in a year

Question 9

Natality

Answer 9

Number of births in a population per 1000 people in a year

Question 10

Ecology

Answer 10

The study of the interactions of organisms with their physical and biological environments and how these determine the distribution and make up a populations with in an ecosystem

Question 11

Population ecology

Answer 11

The fluctuations in the size of a population and the factors, both physical and social that regulates these fluctuations

Question 12

Population size

Answer 12

The total number of individuals in a population

Question 13

Immigration

Answer 13

Individuals move into a population stay

Question 14

Emigration

Answer 14

Individuals leave a population and do not return

Question 15

Closed population

Answer 15

No immigration immigration occurs - only affected by birth and death rates

Question 16

Environmental resistance

Answer 16

The total number of factors that stop a population from reproducing to its maximum rate

Question 17

Carrying capacity

Answer 17

The population density that the environment can support

Question 18

Limiting factors

Answer 18

Factors that help to regulate the growth of a population

Question 19

Stable population

Answer 19

Numbers decrease when its size exceeds the carrying capacity but increase again when numbers fall below the carrying capacity

Question 20

Unstable population

Answer 20

Develops if the population far exceeds the carrying capacity

Question 21

Density independent factors

Answer 21

Limit the growth of a population as a result of natural factors and not because of the density or number of organisms

Question 22

Density dependent factors

Answer 22

Have a greater effect when the population density is high

Question 23

Predation

Answer 23

A biological interaction where one species, the predator, kills and eats another species, the prey

Question 24

Parthenogenesis

Answer 24

Cloning reproduction (no gametes involved)

Question 25

Co-evolution

Answer 25

One organism changes because of the other in a given environment

Question 26

Food web

Answer 26

Interconnected set of all the food chains in an ecosystem

Question 27

Competition

Answer 27

When two or more individuals compete for the same resources that are in short supply

Question 28

Intraspecific competition

Answer 28

Occurs between individuals of the same species

Question 29

Inter specific competition

Answer 29

Occurs between individuals of different species where the inches in a habitat are very similar

Question 30

Ecological niche

Answer 30

All the conditions necessary for an organism to survive and reproduce

Question 31

Specialization

Answer 31

The structural a behavioral adaptations that enable individuals of different species to co-exist

Question 32

Competitive co-existence

Answer 32

Arises when two competing species co-exist in the same habitat

Question 33

Competitive exclusion

Answer 33

Occurs when one of the two competing species is more successful than the other

Question 34

Resource partitioning

Answer 34

The evolutionary process wherebye species with similar requirements, living in the same habitat, evolve specialized traits that enable them to utilize the resources differently, creating separate niches to reduce interspecific competition and make co-existence possible

Question 35

Stratification

Answer 35

Varying size and species which creates a vertical structure that divides the vegetation into layers

Question 36

Ecological succession

Answer 36

Predictable pattern of gradual change over time in the types of species in a community following a disturbance

Question 37

Annuals

Answer 37

Herbs and weeds

Question 38

Climax community

Answer 38

The last semi-stable stage or the endpoint of succession

Question 39

Social organization

Answer 39

Structure of relationships within a group

Question 40

Mob

Answer 40

To surround and overpower

Question 41

Dilution effect

Answer 41

The greater the number of individuals in a group, the greater the survival chances are of the individual

Question 42

Confusion and distraction effect

Answer 42

As predator tried to single out its prey, the herd scatters in all directions, confusing the predator

Question 43

Eusocial

Answer 43

Species that exhibit the highest level of social organization

Question 44

Termetaria

Answer 44

Farces and saliva of termites used to cement termite mounds

Question 45

Population pyramid

Answer 45

A bar graph that shows the composition, by age and sex, of a nation’s population at the time of a census

Question 46

Structure

Answer 46

The relative number of individuals of each age in a population

Question 47

Biocapacity

Answer 47

The amount of productive land and water available to produce the resources we use and to absorb the waste we produced

Question 48

Ecological debtor country

Answer 48

A country with an ecological deficit

Question 49

Ecological creditor country

Answer 49

A country which does not have an ecological deficit

Question 50

Conservation

Answer 50

Protecting something and keeping it in a healthy state

Question 51

Sustainable development

Answer 51

The development that meets the needs of the present while not compromising the needs a future generations