Unit 2 Ecology EJR

Question 1

Abiotic Factors

Answer 1

a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment

Question 2

Autotrophs

Answer 2

an organism that serves as a primary producer in a food chain.

Question 3

Biotic Factors

Answer 3

living things within an ecosystem

Question 4

Bioaccumulation

Answer 4

an increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the chemical’s concentration in the environment

Question 5

Carbon Sink

Answer 5

anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases

Question 6

Carnivore

Answer 6

meat eater

Question 7

Commensalism

Answer 7

an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Question 8

Competition

Answer 8

an interaction between organisms or species in which both require a resource that is in limited supply

Question 9

Consumer

Answer 9

an organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals

Question 10

Decomposer

Answer 10

An organism, often a bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, making organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.

Question 11

Ecosystem

Answer 11

a geographic area where plants, animals and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape

Question 12

Energy Pyramid

Answer 12

a model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic, or feeding, level to the next in an ecosystem

Question 13

Food Chain

Answer 13

a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Question 14

Food Web

Answer 14

all of the food chains in an ecosystem

Question 15

Habitat

Answer 15

the natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism

Question 16

Herbivore

Answer 16

an organism that mostly feeds on plants

Question 17

Heterotrophs

Answer 17

an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients

Question 18

Leaching

Answer 18

a process in which water-soluble substances are washed out from the soil

Question 19

Limiting Factor

Answer 19

anything that constrains a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing

Question 20

Niche

Answer 20

the role an organism plays in a community

Question 21

Mutualism

Answer 21

a type of relationship between the host and a symbiont, where both organisms benefit and no one is harmed

Question 22

Ocean Acidification

Answer 22

describes the lowering of seawater pH and carbonate saturation that result from increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Question 23

Omnivore

Answer 23

an organism that regularly consumes a variety of material, including plants, animals, algae, and fungi

Question 24

Parasitism

Answer 24

a relationship between the two living species in which one organism is benefitted at the expense of the other

Question 25

Phytoplankton

Answer 25

microscopic marine algae

Question 26

Pioneer Species

Answer 26

lichens, mosses, fungi, and microorganisms such as bacteria

Question 27

Population

Answer 27

all the organisms of the same group or species that live in a specific area and are capable of breeding among themselves

Question 28

Predation

Answer 28

one organism kills and consumes another.

Question 29

Predator

Answer 29

organisms that hunt and kill other organisms for food

Question 30

Prey

Answer 30

any animal that serves as a food source for another animal

Question 31

Primary Succession

Answer 31

happens when a new patch of land is created or exposed for the first time

Question 32

Producer

Answer 32

organisms that make their own food

Question 33

Secondary Succession

Answer 33

happens when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance

Question 34

Species Overshoot

Answer 34

If a species overshoots its carrying capacity, then dieback will occur and the population will reduce