Unit A - Ecology

Question 1

Stewardship

Answer 1

A way of acting that involves taking personal responsibility for the management and care of something

Question 2

Environment

Answer 2

All the living and non-living things that exist on Earth as well as their interactions with each other.

Question 3

Sustainability

Answer 3

In the environment this means that populations of plants, animals, and other living organisms can continue to interact and to reproduce infinitely.

Question 4

Biodiversity

Answer 4

The number of different types of organisms in the area. The more types of organisms there are in an area.
The more types of organisms there are in an area, the more biodiversity the area has. High levels of biodiversity are associated with a healthy, sustainable environment.

Question 5

System and components

Answer 5

A group of individual parts that interact as a whole to accomplish a task

Question 6

Holistic approach

Answer 6

Studying the environment as a whole where the entire system is emphasized.

Question 7

Ecology

Answer 7

The study of how organisms interact with each other as well as with their environment.

Question 8

Ecosystem

Answer 8

A complex self-regulating system in which living things interact with each other and with non -living things.

Question 9

Biotic Factors

Answer 9

Living organisms such as animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and algae.

Question 10

Abiotic Factors

Answer 10

Non-living things. They can be physical things, such as rocks, air and water. They can also be things that are measured such as temperature, hours of daylight, and salt concentration in seawater.

Question 11

Species

Answer 11

A group of similar organisms in an ecosystem.

Question 12

Population

Answer 12

A group of members of the same species hat live in the same area.

Question 13

Habitat

Answer 13

The physical environment of an organism

Question 14

Community

Answer 14

Different populations of different species that live and interact in an area.

Question 15

Niche

Answer 15

All the interactions of a given species with its ecosystem.

Question 16

Biome

Answer 16

A large geographical region that contains similar ecosystems. Separated into terrestrial and marine biomes.

Question 17

Canada’s Main Terrestrial Biomes

Answer 17

• Deciduous Forests
  Have trees that lose leaves in autumn, Southern Ontario
• Boreal Forests
  Tress w/ cones and needles, spruce and fur, most of Northern Ontario.
• Tundra
  No trees, small shrubs, grasses and lichens, Ontario’s northern coastline: Hudson Bay to the west of James Bay
• Grasslands
  Few trees but various kinds of grasses and shrubs, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and small part of Alberta
• Temperate Coniferous Forests
  Different types of needle and cone trees, most of western British Columbia

Question 18

Aquatic Biomes

Answer 18

• Marine Biomes
  High salt content
• Freshwater Biomes
  Low salt content

Question 19

Biosphere

Answer 19

The part of the planet including water, land, and air, where life exists.
Atmosphere, Lithosphere and Hydrosphere.

Question 20

Nutrients

Answer 20

Nutrients are substances that an organism uses to build and repair the cells of its body. Nutrients include carbohydrates, fats and oils, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Question 21

Nutrient Cycle

Answer 21

The process of moving a nutrient back and forth between biotic and abiotic parts of ecosystems.

Question 22

Reservoir

Answer 22

Any place where matter accumulates.

Question 23

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 23

Converting nitrogen gas into ammonia.

Question 24

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Answer 24

Bacteria that convert nitrogen gas into ammonia. A critical part in the nitrogen cycle. Only natural nitrogen-fixing process apart from lightning.

Question 25

Nitrifying bacteria

Answer 25

Bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates which plants absorb through their roots.

Question 26

Denitrifying bacteria

Answer 26

Bacteria in the soil that convert nitrates back into nitrogen gas, which returns to the atmosphere.

Question 27

Carbon

Answer 27

An element present in all living things. Only 0.04% of the atmosphere. Reservoirs of carbon: forests, coal, the oceans .

Question 28

Chlorophyll

Answer 28

The substance that causes plants to be green and used in photosynthesis.

Question 29

Photosynthesis

Answer 29

Carbon dioxide gas + water + sunlight = glucose + oxygen gas

Question 30

Photosynthesis

Answer 30

CO2 + water + sunlight

= glucose + O

Question 31

Cellular Reaporation

Answer 31

Glucose + O = CO2 + water + energy

Question 32

3 types of biotic interaction

Answer 32

• Competition
• Predation
• Symbiosis

Question 33

3 types of symbiosis

Answer 33

• mutualism
• commensalism
• parasitism

Question 34

Examples of limiting factors

Answer 34

Abiotic limiting factors 
- amount of sunlight
- water
- soil
- air
- natural disturbances 
Biotic limiting factors
- competition for resources 
- presence of predators
- reliance on other organisms for survival
- the presence of disease-causing organisms

Question 35

5 major causes of decrease of biodiversity

Answer 35

• Habitat change
• Overexploitation
• Pollution
• Invasive Species
• Climate change

Question 36

Urban sprawl

Answer 36

Unplanned, disorganized growth of urban and suburban development.

Question 37

Acid rain

Answer 37

The acid formed in the air by emissions falling.

Question 38

Soil parts

Answer 38

• Topsoil
• Subsoil
• Bedrock

Question 39

Soil types

Answer 39

• Loam soil
• Clay soil
• Sandy soil

Question 40

Acidity

Answer 40

The abiotic factor that is connected to the chemical environment of soil. Measured at the pH scale.

Question 41

Water quality assessment

Answer 41

• Aquatic Organisms
• Oxygen
• Acidity
• Phosphorus and Nitrogen
• Heavy Metals
• Pesticides

Question 42

Levels of Risk

Answer 42

Extinct
Extirpated
Threatened
Special Concern

Question 43

Ecological footprint

Answer 43

The estimate of how much land and water is needed to support your lifestyle.

Question 44

Environmental steward

Answer 44

Taking care of our natural resources to ensure they’re being used sustainably.