Download Ecology Review Set

Ecology Review
1. Define the following terms: ecology, consumer, herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, detrivore, keystone
species, community, ecosystem, fossil fuels
2. Explain the carbon cycle and how pollution relates to it.
3. What processes are involved in the hydrologic (water) cycle?
4. How does the carbon cycle relate to the oxygen cycle?
5. How is carbon released in to the atmosphere?
6. How is carbon released into the soil?
7. Define the terms biotic and abiotic factors and give examples of each.
8. What is an autotroph? What process does an autotroph go through to produce oxygen and food?
9. Why is an autotroph important to the environment?
10. Why are decomposers important to the environment? Give an example of a decomposer.
11. What does a food web show, and how is it different from a food chain?
12. Sketch a picture of an energy pyramid with 5 trophic levels.
a. What type of organism is found at the 1st trophic level?
b. If the 1st trophic level contained 10,000 J of energy, how much energy would be passed to the 2nd
trophic level? The 3rd trophic level?
13. What happens to the total amount of energy as you move up each trophic level? Why does this occur?
14. How is the diagram in #12 different than a biomass pyramid? a numbers pyramid?
15. Which is better for the stability of an ecosystem: high biodiversity or low biodiversity? Explain your
answer.
16. Sketch a carrying capacity graph. Describe what this graph means.
17. Define the following terms: competition, parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, predation,
immigration, emigration
18. What pattern of growth will a population with limited resources display?
19. What is the Greenhouse Effect?
20. How does the Greenhouse Effect relate to global warming?
21. What is an Introduced Species?
22. What impact could an Introduced Species have on an ecosystem? Example: A mouse predator is
introduced to an ecosystem. How would this help a mouse problem? What problems might it cause?