Download Ecology Exam Review

ATA: April 15th Test: April 17th
Ecology ATA Review
KEY
1. What is Ecology? Scientific study of all the interrelationships between organisms and their
environment.
2. What is the Biosphere? The relatively thin layer of Earth and its atmosphere that support life.
3. What is a biome? Large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of
communities.
4. What is a biological community? All the interacting populations in the same geographic area at the
same time.
5. What is a population made up of? A group of species
6. What is a species? Organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
7. What is an ecosystem? Biological community and all the non-living factors that affect it.
8. Compare abiotic and biotic factors. Abiotic factors are any non-living factors and biotic factors are
any living factors in an organism’s environment.
9. Are green plants autotrophs or heterotrophs? Autotrophs
10. Where does almost all the energy in an ecosystem come from? The Sun
11. How much energy is gained trophic level to trophic level in a food chain/food web? How much is lost?
10% is gained and 90% is lost
12. What is another term used for autotroph? Producer
13. What is a heterotroph? Organism that can’t make its own food and gets its nutrients and energy
form feeding on other organisms.
14. If an organism can’t make its own food how do we classify it? Heterotroph
15. What is an organism that feeds only on plants called? Herbivore
16. What is a food web? A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
17. What is biomass? The total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.
18. What group of animals can eat both producers and consumers? Omnivores
19. What is a trophic level? The position it occupies in a food chain.
20. What is a Carnivore? Herbivore? Omnivore? Detritivore? A Carnivore is a heterotroph that preys on
other organisms, a herbivore is a heterotroph that consumes both plants and animals, a detritivore
is a heterotroph that decomposes and consumes that organic material and returns the nutrients to
the soil.
21. What is a decomposer? A heterotroph that decomposes and absorbs the organic material.
22. What is the repeated movement of water through the environment called? The water cycle
23. List three steps in the carbon cycle. Cellular respiration, Combustion, and Photosynthesis
24. List three ways carbon is stored in the biosphere. Living organisms, the atmosphere, and water
25. Most of the carbon in the carbon cycle is in the form of what? Carbon dioxide
26. List the steps of the water cycle. Evaporation, Condensation, and precipitation
27. What are abiotic factors in an ecosystem? All the non-living factors (Soil, water, temperature)
28. How do predators affect the size of a population? If there are more predators in a community, then
the prey population will decrease. If the predator numbers decrease, then the prey numbers will
increase.
29. What is an organism’s niche? The organism’s roles or what they do in their habitat.
30. Two organisms that share the same niche probably exhibit which relationship? Competition
31. What is a symbiotic relationship? When two species live closely together.
32. What is Mutualism? Commensalism? Parasitism? Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship in which
both organisms benefit, Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits
and the other organism is unaffected, Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism
benefits and the other is harmed.
33. What is primary succession? The establishment of a community in an area of exposed rock that does
not have any topsoil. It usually occurs very slowly at first.
ATA: April 15th
Test: April 17th
34. How does primary succession differ from secondary succession? Secondary succession starts with soil
and maybe some other living organisms, where as primary succession starts with bare rocks.
35. What is an endangered species? A species that is almost extinct.
Use the food web diagram to answer the following questions:
36. What would most likely happen to the food web if the insect-eating bird disappeared? There would be
an overpopulation of grasshoppers, which would kill a lot of the grass.
37. What would happen if many of the producers of the food web disappeared? It would probably result
in the total collapse of the food web.