Download chap 55 SG - Milan Area Schools

Chap 55 Study Guide
1. The total amount of energy assimilated by photosynthesis is called _______.
2. The amount of energy assimilated by photosynthesis after the energy used by plants for
maintenance and biosynthesis is subtracted is called _______.
3. All organisms that get their energy from a common source (e.g., all herbivores)
constitute a _______.
4. The organisms that live together in a particular area constitute an _______.
5. A set of linkages through which a plant is eaten by an herbivore, which in turn is eaten
by a carnivore, and so on, is called a _______.
6. Organisms that reduce the remains of other organisms to mineral nutrients that can be
taken up by plants are called _______.
7. A network of linkages connecting a set of plants with a set of herbivores and
carnivores is called a(n) _______.
8. Two species of Paramecium are placed together in a test tube and one species drives
the other to extinction. This phenomenon is an example of _______.
9. Growth on an area that at first supported no organisms but ends up supporting a mature
forest is called _______.
10. When the dead body of a freshly killed mouse decomposes, the change in the
community of decomposers in the body is called _______.
11. Animals such as cows, which eat only plant tissues, are called _______.
12. When a species has a larger influence on the community than its abundance would
lead one to predict, it is called a _______ species.
13. Animals that eat other animals are called _______.
14. Explain why decomposers are so important in an ecosystem and what would
happen if they were absent.
15. Some would argue that we are a keystone species for the ecosystems we live in.
Would you agree and why or why not.
16. Explain and give an example of a food web. Explain why a food web is a better
example of what is going on in an ecological community than a food chain.
17. Only about 10% of the energy that is present at one trophic level reaches the next
trophic level. Why is this and where does most of it go.
18. Describe and give examples of primary and secondary succession.
19. Temperature and precipitation levels drive the amount of primary production
found in an area. Explain why this is the case and describe where most of the
primary production occurs.
20. Describe Energy and Biomass pyramids. What does each show. Are their
similarities? Differences?