Reading Guide: Domain IV – Ecology
1. Define ecology.
2. Define biosphere.
3. Give examples of biotic and abiotic environmental factors.
4. Define organism.
5. Define populations.
6. Define communities
7. Define Ecosystem.
8. Define biomes.
9. What 3 things that organisms within a population competes for?
10. Define population density
11. Define growth rate.
12. Define exponential growth.
13. Exponential growth pattern on a graph is also known as what?
14. The pattern of logistic growth is also known as what?
15. Define carrying capacity.
16. List density dependent limiting factors.
17. List density independent limiting factors.
18. Each species in a community has a specific role to play called what?
19. Define habitat.
20. Define ecosystem.
21. Differentiate terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
22. List and give characteristics of the 6 different types of terrestrial biomes.
23. List and give characteristics of the 4 different types of aquatic ecosystems.
24. What is the primary source of all energy on earth?
25. What process is used to make carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen?
26. What molecule is the energy source of all organisms?
27. Producers are also called what?
28. Organism that cannot harness the sun’s energy consume other organisms are called ______or ______.
29. What type of organisms feed on dead bodies of animals and plants or their waste products?
30. Organisms are grouped into what if they have the same energy source.
31. Define food chain.
32. Give an example of a food chain that contains a producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, and tertiary consumer.
33. In the food chain below, which population will most likely decrease if snakes are removed from the food chain?
Grass à grasshopper à frog à snake à hawk
- Grass
- Grasshopper
- Frog
- Hawk
34. A complex interconnected system of food chains is called a food ______.
35. Ecologists use energy pyramids to show what?
36. Unlike energy, which flows in ______through an ecosystem, matter is ______.
37. Give 2 examples of how matter is recycled in the ecosystem.
38. Which element’s cycle depends on certain kinds of bacteria to keep the element available to other organisms?
- Carbon
- Hydrogen
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
39. List and give characteristics of the two types of succession.
40. What are renewable resource and list examples of them?
41. What are nonrenewable resources and list examples of them?
42. What is pollution?
43. What is considered to be the primary source of air pollution?
44. Combination of smoke, gases, and fog is called?
45. The theory of global warming suggests that a trend toward warmer temperatures on Earth will cause glaciers to lose mass. Which result is a major consequence of glacial melting?
- Flooding coastal regions
- Destruction of fossil records
- Increased saltiness of the oceans
- An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide
46. The response mechanism of plants is known as ______.
47. List and define each type of plant tropisms.
48. Define behavior.
49. List and give example of four different types of behaviors.
50. Compare and contrast between mechanical and chemical defense.
51. What is camouflage?
52. A group of organisms of a certain species that is in one area at a given time is known as
- An ecosystem
- A community
- A population
- A trophic level
53. As energy flows through an ecosystem, at each trophic level it
- Increases
- Decreases
- Fluctuates
- Remains the same
54. Predators often feed on weak or sick animals in an ecosystem. The role of the predator is described as its
- Community
- Habitat
- Niche
- Population
55. Lightning causes a fire that destroys all the plants in a forest community. Which of the following will MOST likely be the first to occupy the burned area?
- Oak seedlings
- Pine trees
- Grasses and annual plants
- Woody shrubs
56. The state of California has several large cities and very productive croplands that divert and use large amounts of water from rivers. What is one damaging effect of the use of the rivers’ water?
- Increased amounts of solid waste pollution in oceans
- Decreased amounts of fresh water in marshes and estuaries
- Changes in local rainfall amounts
- Changes in upstream water tables
57. Plants that live in the rain forest have many adaptations to their environment. Some plants, such as vines, have adaptations that allow them to attach themselves to the trunks of trees. These adaptations allow vines to successfully compete for which of the following limited resources in the rain forest?
- Sunlight
- Water
- Carbon dioxide
- Oxygen
58. Birds have been observed puffing up their feathers under certain conditions. By trapping air between feathers, this behavior helps the bird
- Hide from enemies
- Expend less energy during flight
- Shelter offspring
- Trap body heat