Download Ecology study guide - H - Madison County Schools

Ecology study guide – Pre-AP Biology KEY
1. List the 8 biomes starting at the equator and traveling toward the poles. Provide a
brief description of ecosystem of that area.
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Tropical Forest (rain forest and dry)
Temperature: warm to high
Rainfall: varied – heavy
Plants: thorny shrubs, deciduous trees, & succulents. (very diverse)
Sunlight: little reaches the forest floor.
Habitats: floor –> canopy.
o Poor soil, due to high temp & heavy rains (leaching).
Animals: monkeys, birds, snakes, bats, frogs – tree dwelling.
The Rain Forest contains about 45% of all animal species
o HIGH TEMP & HIGH WATER = LOTS OF PLANTS
(PRODUCERS) SO LOTS OF ENERGY AVAILABEL FOR
ANIMALS (PYRMAMID OF ENERGY, PYRAMID OF NUMBERS)
2. Savanna
 Temperature: warm year round
o Rainfall: moderate rainfall (with long periods of drought) BIOME
DEFINED MAINLY BY THIS
 Plants: grasses & scattered trees.
o growing point below ground & resistance to periods of drought.
 Habitats: migratory
 Poor soil, lack of moisture, grazing animals, & fires inhibit most trees.
o Biome is dependent upon fires to keep nutrient rich enough to support
life
 Animals: large grazing mammals, insects, burrowing animals, predators
(lions & cheetahs).
3. Deserts
• Temperature: very hot,
and cold (Antarctica)
• Rainfall: dry
• Plants: none, deep rooted shrubs, succulents.
– waxy coating to prevent water loss
– many seeds that remain dormant until it rains
• Sunlight: extreme
• Habitats: burrows, active at night
• Animals: ants, birds, rodents, lizards, snakes, & hawks.
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Chaparral
Temperature: mild winter, hot summer
Rainfall: rain in winter, dry in summer
Plants: dense shrubs with tough evergreen leaves. Seasonal plants.
– Food reserves in roots allow for rapid growth after frequent fires.
– Seeds only germinate after hot fire.
Animals: deer, birds, rodents, lizards & snakes
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Temperate grasslands (Prairies)
Temperature: relatively cold
Rainfall: rain, but periodic severe droughts
Plants: grass, mostly treeless
o fire & grazing prevents tree growth
Habitats: bird nests on ground, burrows.
Animals: large grazing mammals (bison, wild horses).
Soil supports diverse microorganisms & small animals.
One of the most productive agricultural regions in the world
Temperate (deciduous) Forest
Temperature: cold winter, hot summer
Rainfall: high precipitation
Plants: deciduous trees (oak, hickory, maple)
Habitats: rich soil, leaf litter, burrow
Animals: invertebrates, mice, shrew, squirrels, birds, bobcats, foxes, bears, &
mountain lions.
Most destroyed by loggers & urban development.
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Taiga (Coniferous) ForestTemperature: long cold winters, short wet summers
Rainfall: considerable precipitation (snow)
Plants: cone bearing evergreens
– (spruce, pine, fur)
Habitats: soil thin & acidic
Animals: moose, elk, bears, wolves, hares, migratory birds.
Heavily logged.
Largest terrestrial biome
Tundra
Temperature: extremely cold
Rainfall: little
Plants: no trees, shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens.
– Permafrost prevents deep root penetration
Sunlight: little light for much of the winter, constant daylight in summer
Habitats: migratory (summer is a breeding ground), high altitude,
permafrost, soil continually saturated due to poor drainage and slow
evaporation.
Animals: well insulated (oxen & caribou), lemmings, fox, snowy owl.
During the summer, clouds of mosquitoes fill the air due to the marshy
ground.
2. Identify the following as biotic or abiotic factors affecting an ecosystem.
a. Rain - Abiotic
b. Wind - Abiotic
c. Predation - Biotic
d. soil nutrients - Abiotic
e. temperature - Abiotic
f. amount of sunlight - Abiotic
g. competition - Biotic
h. water availability - Abiotic
i. living organisms – Biotic
3. What is the difference between primary succession and secondary succession?
Both involved the progression of an ever-changing community (Plants
gradually get bigger so gradually can support more animal life). The primary
difference is that primary succession begins from bare rock (no life before)
and secondary succession begins after a disaster that kills an already present
community (fire, flood, etc.). Secondary occurs faster because there is
already nutrient-rich soil to support bigger life.
4. What are the characteristics of a pioneer species?
Autotrophic
Smaller
Able to survive very harsh conditions (there has been no other life there
before so no support whatsoever).
5. What type of interaction occurs between two different species that occupy the
same niche?
6. Complete the following table showing the positive and negative effects of
interspecific interactions. Also provide and example of each.
Interspecific
Effect on species 1
Effect on species 2
Example
interaction
Competition
Scorpion vs. Spider
Mutualism
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Endosymbiosis
Predation
+
Snake / Mouse
Herbivory
+
Cow / Grass
parasitism
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Tick / Human
7. Termites have a protozoan that lives in their intestines and helps breaks down the
cellulose that they consume. What type of interaction is this? Mutualism (just
because it lives inside of it doesn’t make it a parasite. They both benefit. Just
like the beneficial bacteria that life in/on you).
8. What is a keystone species?
Species who has a very important niche in an ecosystem that impacts most
others in the community.
9. What is the difference in a population and a community?
Population = ONE species in one area
Community = ALL the species in one area
10. What is the difference in a biome and an ecosystem?
Biome is bigger. It is a large geographical area that has the same typical
ecosystem (same sunlight, same precipitation, same plants, same animals)
11. Using the following diagram, list ALL of the following terms to each species.
Some terms will be used more than once and some species will have more than 1
description.
Primary Consumer, Secondary Consumer, Tertiary Consumer, Producer,
Herbivore, Omnivore, Carnivore, Decomposer
A: Producer (it makes its own food/doesn’t eat anything else)
B: Primary Consumer, Herbivore (A primary consumer will always be an
herbivore because they are the first consumer [so they are eating the
producer])
C: Primary Consumer in middle chain, Herbivore in middle chain,
Secondary Consumer in bottom chain, Carnivore in bottom chain (because it
is eating the primary consumer), Omnivore because eats plant and animal
D: Secondary Consumer in middle chain, Carnivore in bottom and middle
chain, Tertiary consumer in bottom chain (NOT AN
OMNIVORE/HERBIVORE BECAUSE DOESN’T EAT A)
E: Decomposer (everything, even the top of the food chain, is eventually
broken down by this)
12. Answer the following questions concerning the WATER CYCLE.
a. Why do we need water?
Homeostasis, hydrolysis, etc.
b. What is transpiration?
Plant losing water through stomata
c. What type of bond is broken when water experiences evaporation or
transpiration? Hydrogen bond between separate water molecules
13. Answer the following questions concerning the CARBON CYCLE.
a. Why do we need carbon?
Hydrocarbons (carbons with hydrogen bound to it) are the
BACKBONE of ALL organic molecules (lipids, proteins, nucleic
acids, and carbhohydrates).
b. What two processes cycle carbon from an inorganic (CO2) form to organic
(C6H12O6)? Photosynthesis converts CO2 to Glucose and Cellular
Respiration converts Glucose to CO2
c. How does burning fossil fuels lead to the Greenhouse Effect?
It ADDS more CO2 to the total amount in the cycle (because we are
burning very dense material [coal, oil, etc] that is full of carbon that
would’ve not otherwise been converted to CO2). There is so much
CO2 that plants can’t pull it all from the air so it forms a “blanket”
around the Earth. This blanket traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere,
increasing the annual AVERAGE temperature (in general,
temperature is increasing. There are outliers like this year where it is
on average colder).
14. Answer the following questions concerning the NITROGEN CYCLE.
a. Why do we need nitrogen?
DNA and proteins
b. When atmospheric nitrogen (N2) is converted to Ammonium (NH4), this
process is called what? Nitrogen Fixation (beneficial bacteria are
“fixing” nitrogen to a form that plants can use it [assimilation])
c. When ammonium (NH4) is converted to nitrite (NO2), and the nitrite
(NO2) is then again converted into nitrate (NO3), this process is called
what? Nitrification (the process of creating nitrates)
d. What form does nitrogen need to be in for assimilation to occur?
(Ammonion Ion [NH4+] or nitrates (NO3-)
e. When there is an excess of nitrate, or a shortage of oxygen, nitrate (NO3)
can be broken down to release the nitrogen back into the atmosphere in the
form of a gas (N2). What is this process called? Denitrification (the
process of getting rid of nitrates)
f. How do animals get their nitrogen?
Eating plants to get their AMINO ACIDS. (WE GET ALL OF OUR
ORGANIC MATERIAL[CARBON, PHOSPHOROUS, NITROGEN,
ETC.] FROM EATING PLANTS
g. What is eutrophication?
We OVERFERTALIZE plants which causes an excess of NITROGEN
AND PHOSPHOROUS in the soil. These elements get caught in
GROUND WATER where they are carried to LAKES AND PONDS.
This basically means that we are FERTILIZING THE WATER which
allows ALGEA (A PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROTIST) to rapidly grow.
This creates an ALGAE BLANKET on the water that prevents any
sunlight from getting in. This causes the DEATH OF THE PLANTS
AND EVENTUALLY THE DEATH OF ALL ANIMALS in the body
of water.
15. Answer the following questions concerning the PHOSPHOROUS CYCLE.
a. Why do we need phosphorous?
ATP, Phospholipids, DNA/RNA
b. What process removes phosphorous from rocks? Weathering
16. Answer the following questions about the PYRAMID OF ENERGY.
a. How much energy is passed on to each trophic level? 10% passed on
(90% used up/lost)
b. What happens to all of the energy that is not passed on?
Each trophic level USES the energy to make ATP to maintain
homeostasis, move, grow, etc. As ATP is used, energy is LOST AS
HEAT.
17. Answer the following questions concerning the PYRAMID OF NUMBERS and
the PYRAMID OF BIOMASS.
a. What does each of these demonstrate (you need a separate answer for each
pyramid)?
Pyramid of Numbers = the population of a community decreases by
90% each trophic level because the energy decreases by 90% (so there
isn’t enough energy to support as many organisms)
Pyramid of Biomass = the amount of biomass (dry organic weight –
mostly proteins) decreases by 90% each trophic level for the same
reason
b. Why do both of these mirror (look like) the Pyramid of Energy?
Reason explained above
18. Answer the following questions concerning the TYPES OF DISPERSION.
a. List and describe the 3 types of dispersion.
Clumped = organisms stay in packs, herds, schools, etc.
Uniform = organisms stay equal distances from each other (everyone
has their own space)
Random = some organisms are close and some are far (there is no
pattern to the location)
b. What are the benefits of each of the 3 types of dispersion?
Clumped = organisms help each other to stay alive if they’re prey,
help each other to hunt if they’re predators, and for social
companionship
Uniform = territorial organisms that fight to preserve their own
space, food, water, etc.
Random = there is no real benefit to this dispersion. It is plants that
are wind/water/animal distributed so they can’t choose where they go.
they have to be able to survive close to others or far away.
c. Which is the most/least common?
Clumped = most common because they help each other
19. Answer the following questions concerning the POPULATION GROWTH.
a. How are exponential and logistic growth different?
Exponential = UNREGULATED growth. Population density does not
affect it. It is IDEALIZED growth where the population DOUBLES
every generation.
Logistic = Growth that is affected by population density. The
population reaches a CARRYING CAPACITY where there are
LIMITING FACTORS (SPACE, FOOD, WATER, ETC.) that slow
the population growth rate to 0 (equal birth and deaths)
b. Draw a graph showing each of the population growth methods listed in
part a. against time.
On Next Page
LOGISTIC GROWTH
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
c. What happens to the growth rate once it reaches the carrying capacity?
Equals 0 (equal birth and death)
d. What are limiting factors?
Factors that LIMIT the population size (Size, Space, Food,
Competition, Disease, Etc.)
20. List and explain the three types of survivorship curves.
Type 1
 Survive to old age.
 Humans, large mammals
 Produce few offspring & provides good care.
Type 2
 Likelihood of death constant throughout life.
 Lizards, rodents, birds.
 A straight line on a graph = constant rate
 Any prey
Type 3
 Low survival rate for the very young.
 Oysters, invertebrates, seed plants
 Produce large numbers of offspring & little care.