Ecology Questions and Answers 100% Pass

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Ecology Questions and Answers 100% Pass ecology Science dealing with the relation of living things to their environment and to each other biotic All the living organisms that inhabit an environme... nt. abiotic Any nonliving component of an environment organism individual living thing species A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring. community different populations living in the same place at the same time ecosystem A community and its abiotic environment biosphere All the parts of the planet that are inhabited by living things; sum of all Earth's ecosystems poulation a group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time habitat An environment that provides the things a specific organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce. niche An organism's niche is how it makes a living (gets energy). The niche is the job of the organism. symbiosis A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species. A relationship between two species in which both species benefit. commensalism A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected parasitism A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed predation An interaction in which one organism kills another for food. competition Interaction among organisms that vie for the same resource in an ecosystem producer An organism that makes its own food autotroph Any organism able to make its own food (aka Producer) consumer An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms. heterotroph An organism that cannot make its own food, and thus must ingest other organisms. herbivore An animal that feeds on plants. carnivore An animal that eats other animals omnivore An organism that eats both plants and animals decomposer An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms. detrivore An organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter. scavenger A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms. food chain definition A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten food web example food chain example food web definition several food chains connected together first consumer The first consumer shown in a food chain, it will be a type of herbivore second consumer the second organism in a food chain and eats the organism that eats the producers. third consumer A consumer that eats second consumers precipitation Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface evaporation The change of a liquid to a gas transpiration Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant biogeochemical cycles Process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another nutrients Compounds in food that the body requires for proper growth, maintenance, and functioning respiration Inhalation and exhalation of air. Releases CO2 into atmosphere photosynthesis A process plants use to turn sunlight into food, removes CO2 from atmosphere decomposition (biology) decaying caused by bacterial or fungal action, releases CO2 into air burning fossil fuels/fires releases CO2 into air nitrogen fixation Process by which certain bacteria convert nitrogen gas to ammonia, which can be used by plants denitrification Bacteria convert ammonia back into N gas primary succession Succession that occurs in an area in which no trace of a previous community is present. secondary succession Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil. primary succession EX secondary succession EX limiting factor An environmental factor that causes a population to stop growing or decrease in size. level of tolerance when environment changes beyond, the organism can not survive carrying capacity Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support slow-life reproduction pattern Organisms that live in more stable environments usually reproduce slowly. rapid-life reproduction pattern A fast and short life, these are common among organisms in unpredictable environments. biodiversity The diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat (or in the world as a whole) habitat loss The destruction of habitats that usually results from human activities habitat fragmentation Breakup of a habitat into smaller pieces, usually as a result of human activities. Habitat degradation damage to a habitat by air, water, and land pollution. deforestation Destruction of forests extinction A term that typically describes a species that no longer has any known living individuals. threatened species likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future endangered species A species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction native species Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem non-native species new species that have not been there before, is introduced into an ecosystem invasive species A species that comes in and takes over, and destroys the ecosystem immigration Entering an environment. emigration Leaving a population. birth rate 1. The number of live birth death rate The number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time. population growth rate The birth rate of a population minus the death rate population density Number of individuals per unit area. population dispersion General pattern in which the members of a population are arranged throughout its habitat. [Show More]

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