environments

Question 1

define the term “environment”

Answer 1

an environment refers to the biotic and abiotic factors of an area

Question 2

define the term “habitat”

Answer 2

a habitat is an area of environment where an individual of a species lives

Question 3

what are examples of physical abiotic factors?

Answer 3

physical factors include temperature, humidity, wind speed and probability of rain

Question 4

what are examples of chemical abiotic factors?

Answer 4

chemical factors include pH of the soil, salinity, concentration of gas and concentration of nutrients

Question 5

define the term “ecosystem”

Answer 5

an ecosystem takes into account and describes the interactions between the biotic and abiotic factors of a particular place

Question 6

what are biotic environmental factors?

Answer 6

biotic factors include interactions with organisms of the same species as well as organisms of others

Question 7

define intraspecific and list some of its factors

Answer 7

intraspecific refers to interactions within the same species. factors include competition for resources, cooperation, and availability of mates

Question 8

define interspecific and list some of its factors

Answer 8

interspecific refers to interactions amongst different species. factors include predation, competition, parasitism, disease causing organisms, mutualism and collaboration, and commensalism

Question 9

what are limiting factors?

Answer 9

limiting factors are abiotic and biotic factors that dictate the survival of a species

Question 10

what is an optimum range?

Answer 10

the optimum range is where organisms can live comfortably

Question 11

what is the zone of physiological stress?

Answer 11

the zone of physiological stress is where organisms can survive but the conditions are not ideal

Question 12

what is the zone of intolerance?

Answer 12

the zone of intolerance is where no organisms can survive

Question 13

how are environments named?

Answer 13

the environment will be named after some type of plant, usually the dominant species in an ecosystem

Question 14

how do populations distribute themselves?

Answer 14

we generally refer to population distribution as being either clumped, random or uniform

Question 15

what are the different ways we can measure abundance?

Answer 15

there are a number of different methods we can use to determine size and distribution of the population in an area including direct observation, quadrats, line transects and capture-recapture

Question 16

what is quadrat sampling and what are some advantages/disadvantages?

Answer 16

quadrat sampling is a variation of direct observation in which only small areas are looked at
advantages include: fast, cheap, not very intrusive
disadvantages include: not good for moving populations, susceptible to bias, can miss rare species

Question 17

what is direct observation and what are some advantages/disadvantages?

Answer 17

direct observation includes physically counting every single individual in a population.
advantages include: very accurate
disadvantages include: very time consuming, intrusive

Question 18

what is line transects and what are some advantages/disadvantages?

Answer 18

line transects involve drawing a line across an area and recording everything the line touches including abiotic factors.
advantages include: fast, cheap, shows how changes in the environment can affect populations, not very intrusive
disadvantages include: not good for moving populations, doesnt always reflect the entire area

Question 19

what is capture-recapture sampling and what are some advantages/disadvantages?

Answer 19

capture-recapture includes collecting a number of individuals from a population and marking them, then releasing them back into the environment. later more individuals are captured and the number of marked ones are counted to give an indication of the total population
advantages include: good for moving populations
disadvantages include: can be intrusive, timing can be difficult

Question 20

what is symbiosis?

Answer 20

symbiosis is the relationship between individuals of different species where at least one of the individuals benefit. this includes mutualism, parasitism and commensalism

Question 21

what is the competitive exclusion principle?

Answer 21

the competitive exclusion principle states that two similar species that occupy the same ecological niche cannot co-exist