Ecology Review Guide

ECOLOGY REVIEW GUIDE

*Be sure to also study all notes, activities, workbooks, worksheets, etc.

1. What is ecology?

2. Define the following words and give examples of each:

-herbivore:

-omnivore:

-carnivore:

-detritivore:

-decomposer:

3. What is a trophic level?

4. Draw an energy pyramid. Label each level. With an arrow, indicate the direction of energy flow.

5. How much energy in one trophic level will be passed on to the higher level? Why doesn’t all the energy transfer?

6. Draw an energy pyramid and place the organisms listed on the correct level: Sparrowhawk (large bird), caterpillar, Oak tree, Bluetit (small bird).

7. Use the pyramid above to answer the questions below:

a) If the Oak tree has 25,000 kcals of energy, how many kcals will the sparrow hawk receive from consuming the bluetit?

b) What is the trophic level of the caterpillar?

c) Who has the most biomass?

d) Who has the least biomass?

e) Is it more energy efficient to eat a producer or consumer? Explain.

8. What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

9. Explain what can happen to a food web if one organism dies out.

10. a) What is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph?

b) Give a synonym for the words heterotroph and autotroph.

11. How is an abiotic factor different than a biotic factor? Give examples of each.

12. Explain why photosynthesis plays such an important role in the study of ecology.

13. What 3 factors can influence population growth?

14. What is the difference between exponential growth and logistic growth? Draw the graphs for each.

15. What is a limiting factor? Give examples.

16. What is a population?

17. What is the difference between immigration and emigration?

18. Explain carrying capacity.

19. What 4 factors control population growth?

20. What is symbiosis?

21. Define the 3 types of symbiotic relationships and provide an example of each:

a) Mutualism:

b) Commensalism:

c) Parasitism:

22. Examine the food web below and answer the questions about it.

a) What organism is the base of this entire food web?

b) What trophic levels is the owl found on?

c) If the spider goes extinct, what organisms will be affected?

And how? Be specific.

d) Add fungi (decomposers) to the food web. Be sure to draw

arrows connecting it to everything it will consume.

e) What would the world be like if there were no

decomposers?

23. Estimate the world’s current human population.

24. Describe the growth rate of the human species in detail. Be specific with timing.