Ecology Unit

1^st 9wks STUDY GUIDE

KEY CONCEPTS:

Science & Inquiry
Ecosystems & Biomes

1. The process of learning more about the natural world is ____.

2. Experiments and investigations must be ____.

3. A prediction about a problem that can be tested is a(n) ____.

4. Why is it valid to test a hypothesis?

5. The factor being measured in an experiment is the ____.

6. A variable in an experiment that stays the same is a(n) ____.

7. Haley’s science class is studying about how bacteria and fungi break down decaying matter. While transporting these microbial organisms in a test tube, she accidentally drops and breaks the test tube on the floor. Haley should…

8. A scientist who studies the interactions of plants and animals is called a/an ---

9. An owl cannot entirely digest the animals it preys upon. Therefore, each day it expels from its mouth a pellet composed of fur, bones, and sometimes cartilage. By examining owl pellets, ecologists would be able to determine…

10. Which term describes the interactions between the organisms of this community and the physical factors of their environment?

11. What title would be most appropriate for a textbook on general ecology?

12. What is an abiotic factor?

13. What is a biotic factor?

14. A ‘habitat’ is:

15. The two major factors that determine a biome are:

16. Which set of words correctly complete the diagram?

17. A whale is feeding on plankton. In which aquatic biome are they?

18. A pine tree is a coniferous tree. This means it can _____.

19. In this area, an ____ salt water and fresh water mix, and many marine organisms travel to reproduce because of the calm waters & rich source of nutrients.

20. The land biome with the greatest biodiversity is the ____ .

21. Although woody shrubs grow in this biome, trees can’t because the ground is frozen all year long, this condition is called ______.

22. Describe & compare the plants of the following biomes: desert, taiga, temperate rain forest, & temperate deciduous forest.

23. The major difference between a taiga and a tundra is ______.

24. One similarity between deserts and grasslands is ______. 25. What adaptation of desert plants would be an advantage in an extremely dry climate? 26. The lower end of a river that feeds into the ocean is called a(n) _________________. 27. Describe the major characteristics of a grassland biome. 28. Describe a herbivore. 29. Describe & compare the major characteristics of desert, temperate rain forest, & temperate deciduous forest biomes. 30. Describe in detail primary succession (when & how does it occur? Draw a picture.) 31. Describe in detail secondary succession (when & how does it occur? Draw a picture.) 32. What is a pioneer species? Are they the same in primary & secondary succession? 33. In this food chain, the spiders are —34. What would happen to the sparrow population if the spiders all died? 35.The arrows in a food chain show ____ . 36. According to the feeding relationship, how does sunlight energy enter into the ecosystem?37. In this ocean food web, which animal does not eat krill?38. In this ocean food web, which animal do whales eat?39. In this ocean food web, which animal eats the greatest variety of sea animals?40. Which population would be most affected if the squid was removed from the food web?41. At what trophic level will the fish be found?42. Which organism is a tertiary (3^rd level) consumer? 41. A young science student, who studied this ocean food many, many more, was able to conclude that “all matter on Earth is ______ through food chains”.

200 kcal

2,000 kcal

20,000 kcal

200,000 kcal

42. A _____ is represented by the diagram. 43. Which trophic level contains the greatest amount of energy?44. About 10% of the available energy is lost as the organisms at each trophic level is eaten by those at the next higher level. What happens to that energy?True or False: Level D contains the greatest number of heterotrophs in the pyramid. 45. Some crows, vultures, and other birds which feed off dead animals are classified as ---- 46. Tapeworms and dogs share a ______-______ relationship? 47. Decomposer recycle energy by _____. 48. Define the following terms: organism, species, population, community, niche, biosphere 49. In a forest ecosystem, a moss-covered log is overturned by a hungry bear looking for insects to eat. The bear disturbs an ant colony, and some chipmunks leave the hollow log to search for another home in the forest. The bear’s role may be described as ____. 50. In this same forest ecosystem, which factor promotes competition between organisms? 51. In science, many words have a Greek origin---for example, the word symbiosis. As a young scientist, how would you MOST LIKELY translate this word? 52. Barnacles often attach themselves to whales and receive free transportation to parts of the ocean. The whales are not affected by this activity. This is an example of--- 53. The symbiotic relationship between a human and the fungus that causes athlete's foot is an example of _____.

DO NOT DRAW THE PICTURE! 54. A limiting factor is any environmental factor that causes a population to decrease. Which abiotic factor acts as a limiting factor for the autotrophs in the ecosystem shown to the right?

MAKE A ROUGH SKETCHOF THE FOLLOWING GRAPHS.

55. The graph shows the population relationship between a protist predator and its prey. If this relationship continues, the prey population will probably be eliminated by the ____th hour.

56. The shark and the remora fish share a special relationship. The remora fish clean bacteria off of the shark. The fish gets food and the shark is cleaned of many parasites. What is this relationship called when both benefit?

57. The graph shows the results of experiments with two species of duckweed, L. polyrrhiza and L. gibba. What is a good explanation for “why growth is LESS when the two species are grown together”?