Quiz: Ecology Flashcards

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1
Q

Define population

A

A group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.

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2
Q

Give an example of a population

A

Lions living in the South Sahara Desert and in parts of southern and eastern Africa.

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3
Q

Define community

A

An interacting group of various species in a common location.

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4
Q

Give an example of a community

A

A forest of trees and undergrowth plants, inhabited by animals and rooted in soil containing bacteria and fungi.

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5
Q

Define ecosystem

A

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

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6
Q

Give an example of an ecosystem

A

Coral reefs

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7
Q

List the levels of ecology in order of increasing complexity

A

Population

Community

Ecosystem

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8
Q

Define abiotic factors

A

Non-living patterns: climate, soil, chemical composition, weather, etc.

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9
Q

Define biotic factors

A

Living components: organisms, prey/predators, symbiotic/parasitic relationships.

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10
Q

Natural selection adapts organisms to the abiotic and biotic factors of their environment. If an organism cannot adapt it will go extinct. Imagine a real forest ecosystem abundant with plants and animals. List several abiotic factors that might be important in this type of ecosystem.

A

Water, weather, climate, soil

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11
Q

Natural selection adapts organisms to the abiotic and biotic factors of their environment. If an organism cannot adapt it will go extinct. Imagine a real forest ecosystem abundant with plants and animals. List several biotic factors that might be important in this type of ecosystem.

A

Relationships between prey and predators

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12
Q

What process creates new genes?

A

Mutations

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13
Q

What process recombines genes into new combinations?

A

Sexual reproduction

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14
Q

How did the predator-prey simulation demonstrate coevolution?

A

It showed how certain species are able to survive through each generation while other species become extinct.

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15
Q

Which prey color became more common over time?

A

The black prey

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16
Q

Beyond survival, what does evolutionary “fitness” mean?

A

The ability of an offspring to survive and reproduce

17
Q

What is an owl pellet?

A

A mixture of the food that an owl has consumed and regurgitated (due to its inability to digest fur, bones, teeth, feathers, and insect shells from the food).

18
Q

Why must owls create pellets?

A

Because owls cannot digest its contents (fur, bones, teeth, feathers, etc.)

19
Q

What does an owl pellet tell us?

A

It tells us the types of animals owls eat (such as mice) and tells us what types of animals live in the owls’ environments.

20
Q

What are trophic levels?

A

The feeding levels in an ecological community

21
Q

What is a food web?

A

A diagram of the distribution of energy in an ecosystem

22
Q

Define ecology.

A

The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.