Midterm 1

Question 1

biome

Answer 1

Biomes are regions of the world with similar climate (weather, temperature) animals and plants. There are terrestrial biomes (land) and aquatic biomes, both freshwater and marine.

Question 2

bioregion

Answer 2

A bioregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone, but larger than an ecoregion or an ecosystem.

Question 3

dead zone

Answer 3

a place or period in which nothing happens or in which no life exists.

Question 4

disturbance

Answer 4

In biology, a disturbance is a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic elements.

Question 5

ecocentric

Answer 5

a point of view that recognizes the ecosphere, rather than the biosphere, as central in importance, and attempts to redress the imbalance created by anthropocentrism.

Question 6

ecosystem

Answer 6

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 7

ecotone

Answer 7

a region of transition between two biological communities.

Question 8

endemic species

Answer 8

plants and animals that exist only in one geographic region

Question 9

evolution

Answer 9

the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

Question 10

genome

Answer 10

all genetic information in an organism

Question 11

habitat fragmentation

Answer 11

the process by which habitat loss results in the division of large, continuous habitats into smaller, more isolated remnants.

Question 12

holocene

Answer 12

The Holocene is the geological epoch that began after the Pleistocene

Question 13

indicator species

Answer 13

An indicator species is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition.

Question 14

keystone species

Answer 14

a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

Question 15

landscape resilience

Answer 15

In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Question 16

metaphor

Answer 16

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Question 17

mutualism

Answer 17

the doctrine that mutual dependence is necessary to social well-being.
BIOLOGY
symbiosis that is beneficial to both organisms involved.

Question 18

myth

Answer 18

a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

Question 19

natural selection

Answer 19

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

Question 20

pathetic fallacy

Answer 20

the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature

Question 21

selective pressure

Answer 21

Selective pressure is any phenomena which alters the behavior and fitness of living organisms within a given environment. It is the driving force of evolution and natural selection, and it can be divided into two types of pressure: biotic or abiotic.

Question 22

Species

Answer 22

The species is the fundamental category of taxonomic classification

Question 23

succession

Answer 23

Ecological succession, the process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time.

Question 24

symbiosis

Answer 24

is a close and often long-term interaction between two different biological species.

Question 25

symbol

Answer 25

a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Question 26

trophic cascade

Answer 26

Trophic cascades occur when predators in a food web suppress the abundance or alter the behavior of their prey, thereby releasing the next lower trophic level from predation

Question 27

watershed

Answer 27

an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.