Download Ecology Study Guide

Ecology Study Guide


What is the difference between weather and
climate?
Weather is the day to day condition of the
atmosphere while climate is the overall year to
year conditions of temperature and
precipitation.






What factors cause climate?
The trapping of heat by the atmosphere.
The latitude.
The transport of heat by winds and ocean
currents.
The amount of precipitation.
The shape and elevation of landmasses




What is the natural insulating blanket for the
Earth?
The atmosphere
How does the greenhouse effect maintain the
biosphere’s temperature range?
Atmospheric gases trap heat to maintain a
range. Recall the kinetic molecular theory.






What are Earth’s three main climate zones?
Polar, temperate, tropical
In what form does the Earth receive solar
energy?
As heat and light….electromagnetic radiation
How is heat transferred once in the
atmosphere?
By conduction and convection




Why does solar radiation strike the Earth at
different latitudes?
The Earth is tilted on its axis at an angle of
23.5 degrees.
What place on Earth is the sun directly
overhead at noon each day?
The equator




Air near the equator ______ while air near the
poles _____.
Rises, sinks
What are biotic factors?
The ecological community….the living things
with which a species reacts.




What are abiotic factors?
The nonliving factors that shape the
ecosystem.
What are some examples of abiotic factors?
Water, minerals, the atmosphere, temperature,
humidity, soil type and precipitation






A ________ is where an organism lives.
Habitat
A niche is sometimes compared to an
organisms __________.
Occupation
What is it called when organisms attempt to
use a resource at the same time?
competition




Water, nutrients, light, food, or space are all
examples of types of _________.
resources
Direct competition in nature often results in a
________ and a _______.
winner, loser




What principle states that no two species can
occupy the same niche in the same habitat at
the same time?
the competitive exclusion principle
An interaction in which one organism captures
and feeds on another is called _________.
predation




The organism that does the killing is called the
________.
predator
The organism that gets killed is called the
______.
prey






Symbiosis is a relationship in which two
species ________________.
live closely together
What are the three main classes of symbiosis?
mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism
In mutualism, ______ ________ benefit from
the relationship.
both species.




In this type of symbiotic relationship one
member of the association benefits while the
other is neither helped nor harmed.
commensalism
In _________, one organism lives inside of
another organism or on it and harms it.
parasitism




A series of predictable changes that occurs in
a community over time.
ecological succession.
Succession that occurs on surfaces where no
soil exists is called __________________.
primary succession




What is an example of a primary succession?
volcanic eruptions where lava covers the land
and doesn’t permit plants to grow.
The first species to populate an area are called
______________.
pioneer species.




What are three examples of a pioneer species?
lichen, moss, algae
Describe secondary succession and explain
what makes it different from primary
succession.
When farmland is abandoned or when fires
destroy or change part of an area. There is no
soil in primary succession for plant growth or
regrowth.




What two main factors determine a regions
climate?
temperature and precipitation
The climate within a small area that differs
significantly from the surrounding area is called
a
microclimate




Aquatic ecosystems are determined primarily
by the ______, ______, ____________, and
__________ of the overlying water.
depth, flow, temperature, and chemistry
The depth of water determines the amount of
______ that organisms receive.
light




What two types of ecosystems are freshwater
divided?
flowing and standing
A general term for the tiny, free floating
organisms that live in both freshwater and
saltwater environments.
plankton






What biome is the coldest on average?
tundra
What biome gets the least amount of rain?
tundra
What biome has the highest average
temperature and most precipitation?
tropical rain forest