Unit 4 Biodiversity

Question 1

Plant scientist

Answer 1

Botanist

Question 2

Scientist who studies pre-human life

Answer 2

paleontologist

Question 3

Scientist who specializes in taxonomy (otherwise known as taxonomist)

Answer 3

systematist

Question 4

The branch of science concerned with naming, classifying, and describing the relationships between all living things on Earth

Answer 4

taxonomy

Question 5

An ancestor that two or more descendants hold in common

Answer 5

common ancestor

Question 6

A tool that allows its user to classify unknown
items. When using a dichotomous key, the user observes her item, then describes its characteristics using a series of choices with two possible answers. Each choice leads the user to another step in the key, until her item is identified.

Answer 6

dichotomous key

Question 7

A cell that has a defined cellular nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane. It can be found in both single- and multi-celled organisms.

Answer 7

eukaryotic

Question 8

A diagram that shows the evolutionary
relationships between different species that share a common ancestor

Answer 8

phylogenic tree

Question 9

A cell which does not contain a defined nucleus. They are single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, who do not possess a nucleus

Answer 9

prokaryotic

Question 10

The branch of science concerned with naming,
classifying, and describing the relationships between all living things on earth

Answer 10

taxonomy

Question 11

What are the levels of classification from the most general to the most specific. (use your mnemonic!)

Answer 11

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 12

elements in an ecosystem that have never been alive

Answer 12

abiotic

Question 13

the collection of different kinds of organisms living in a given area at a given time

Answer 13

biodiversity

Question 14

any living or once-living things in an ecosystem

Answer 14

biotic

Question 15

the maximum number of individuals of a
particular species that an ecosystem can support at a given time

Answer 15

carrying capacity

Question 16

living things maintain a stable internal state even when their environment changes

Answer 16

homeostasis

Question 17

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

Answer 17

keystone species

Question 18

all members of a particular species in a given area at a given time

Answer 18

population

Question 19

all members of all species in a given area

Answer 19

community

Question 20

two or more species that require the same
resources and need to compete for them

Answer 20

direct competition

Question 21

all the organisms in a given area along with the nonliving things with which they interact

Answer 21

ecosystem

Question 22

a group of potentially interbreeding individuals

Answer 22

species

Question 23

the movement of individuals into an area

Answer 23

immigration

Question 24

the movement of individuals out of an area

Answer 24

emigration

Question 25

distinct terrestrial region characterized by its climate and soil conditions and the species of organisms living there

Answer 25

biome

Question 26

cold, treeless biome in the Arctic, with frozen soil (permafrost) covered by lichens and mosses

Answer 26

tundra biome

Question 27

an introduced species that now shows an ability to outcompete native species in an ecosystem

Answer 27

invasive species

Question 28

a species not native to an ecosystem, but rather accidentally (or intentionally) transported to the ecosystem by human activity or other means

Answer 28

introduced species

Question 29

The number of species in a community

Answer 29

species richness

Question 30

the process of an organism maintaining stable internal conditions despite changes to the ecosystem

Answer 30

homeostasis

Question 31

the hypothesis that moderate levels of disturbance will promote a larger diversity of species over a low or high level of disturbance

Answer 31

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Question 32

organisms that are first to arrive in an ecosystem that has been disrupted

Answer 32

pioneer species