unit 1

Question 1

types of interactions

Answer 1

• competition
• predation
• mutualism
• commensalism

Question 2

biome

Answer 2

plants and animals that are found in a particular region of the world

Question 3

habitat

Answer 3

area where a particular species lives in nature

Question 4

tundra

Answer 4

cold and treeless biome with low growing vegetation

Question 5

permafrost

Answer 5

impermeable, permanently frozen layer of soil

Question 6

taiga (boreal forest)

Answer 6

a forest biome made up primarily of coniferous trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons

Question 7

temperate rainforest

Answer 7

coastal biome typified by moderate temp and high precipitation

Question 8

temperate seasonal forest

Answer 8

warm summers and cold winters

Question 9

shrub (wood) land

Answer 9

hot dry summers and mild rainy winters

Question 10

temperate grassland (cold dessert)

Answer 10

cold, harsh winters and hot dry summers

Question 11

tropical rainforest

Answer 11

warm wet biome 20 N and 20 S of equator with little seasonal temp variation and high precipitation

Question 12

savanna

Answer 12

warm temp and distinct wet and dry seasons

Question 13

littoral zone

Answer 13

shallow zone of sail and water in lakes and ponds near the shore where most algae and emergent plants such as cattails grow

Question 14

limnetic zone

Answer 14

zone in open water in lakes and ponds as deep as sunlight can penetrate

Question 15

phytoplankton

Answer 15

floating algae

Question 16

profundal zone

Answer 16

region of water where sunlight does not reach, below limnetic zone in very deep lakes

Question 17

benthis zone

Answer 17

muddy bottom of lake pond or ocean

Question 18

oligotrophic

Answer 18

a lake with low level of phytoplankton due to low nutrient levels in water

Question 19

mesotrophic

Answer 19

a lake with moderate level of fertility

Question 20

eutrophic

Answer 20

a lake with high fertility levels

Question 21

freshwater wetland

Answer 21

submerged or saturated with water for at least part of year, but shallow enough to support emergent vegetation
(FRQ - often ask for solutions to water issues, restoring wetlands is a good solution because they reduce flooding by providing a place for water infiltration)

Question 22

intertidal zone

Answer 22

narrow band of coastline that exists between high tide and low tide

Question 23

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 23

movement of matter within and between ecosystems involving cycles of biological, geological, and chemical processes

Question 24

7 processes of carbon cycle

Answer 24

1. photosynthesis
2. respiration
3. exchange
4. sedimentation
5. burial
6. extraction
7. combustion

Question 25

aerobic respiration

Answer 25

process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, CO2, and water

Question 26

steady state

Answer 26

when a system’s inputs = outputs

Question 27

biotic processes

Answer 27

respiration and decomposition

Question 28

abiotic process

Answer 28

combustion

Question 29

nitrogen cycle 5 transformations

Answer 29

1. nitrogen fixation
2. nitrification
3. assimilation
4. mineralization
5. denitrication

Question 30

nitrogen fixation

Answer 30

converts nitrogen gas in atmosphere into forms of nitrogen plants and algae can use (ammonium)

Question 31

nitrification

Answer 31

conversion of ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate

Question 32

assimilation

Answer 32

process by which plants and algae incorporate nitrogen into their tissues

Question 33

mineralization

Answer 33

fungal and bacterial decomposers break down organic matter found in dead bodies and waste products and convert these organic compounds back into inorganic compounds (ammonification)

Question 34

denitrification

Answer 34

conversion of nitrate in a series of steps into the gases nitrous oxide and eventually nitrogen gas

Question 35

leaching

Answer 35

dissolved molecules are transported through soil via groundwater

Question 36

cellular respiration

Answer 36

glucose + oxygen => carbon dioxide + water

Question 37

photosynthesis

Answer 37

carbon dioxide + water => glucose + oxygen

Question 38

processes that drive phosphorus cycle

Answer 38

1. assimilation
2. mineralization
3. sedimentation
4. geologic uplift
5. weathering

Question 39

dead zone

Answer 39

oxygen concentrations become so low that it kills fish and other aquatic animals

Question 40

primary productivity

Answer 40

the rate of converting solar energy into organic compounds over a period of time

Question 41

gross primary productivity (GPP)

Answer 41

total amount of solar energy producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a period of time

Question 42

net primary productivity (NPP)

Answer 42

the energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire (NPP = GPP - R)

Question 43

trophic levels

Answer 43

the successive levels of organisms consuming one another

Question 44

scavenger

Answer 44

an organism that consumes dead animals

Question 45

detritivore

Answer 45

an organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Question 46

ecological efficiency

Answer 46

proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic levels to another

Question 47

1st law of thermodynamics

Answer 47

energy is never created nor destroyed

Question 48

2nd law of thermodynamics

Answer 48

each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat (applied to food webs)

Question 49

10% rule

Answer 49

in trophic pyramids, only about 10% of energy makes it to the next level, 90% used by organism + lost by heat