Study Guide
1: What makes the Zebra Mussel an invasive species?
They grow very quickly. they dont have any competition
2: Define the following species interactions:
* Competition: Both species get harmed
* Predation, Parasitism, and Herbivory.
* Mutualism: Both species benefit from eachother
3: What are some of the resources that species compete for in competition?
Food, water, shelter and sunlight.
4: Define Competitive Exclusion:
One species fights another for the resources
5: What must happen for species to co-exist?
They are both equal and they share recources
6: What is the difference between fundamental and realized niche? Explain why a species wouldn’t fulfill its fundamental niche?
Fundamental niche is an organism fulfills its role by using all the resources. A realized niche is the portion of fundamental niche that is filled. A specie might not fulfill its fundamental needs to co competition
7: Give an example of resource partitioning:
One specie hunts in the morning while a nocturnal specie hunts at night.
8: How does character displacement help with competition?
They adapt to physical traits
9: Explain how predator and prey populations depend on each other:
10: How does Natural Selection strengthen population “fitness”?
Predators will adapt better hunting traits prolonging their lifespans. Prey adapt form elaborate defenses
11: Define the following:
* Cryptic Coloration: Coloring that disguises an animal's shape or color
*Warning Coloration: Coloration that serves as a warning to predators, such as the skunk
* Mimicry: An animal mimicking another
12: Define Parasitism:
Parasitism is when one organism depends on another organism (the host) for nourishment or other benefits
13: What is the idea of “coevolution”?
Host and parasite organisms become intertwined in continuous adaptations. Each gains a new adaptation in response to a new adaption of the other.
14: What are some plant adaptations that help to protect plants against herbivory?
Chemicals and physical adaption both help the plant defend against herbivores
15: Explain how pollination is a form of mutualism:
Pollination is a form of Mutualism because the flowers get pollinated and the animals doing the pollination get fertilization for their eggs
16: Define the following:
* Allelopathy: Certain plants harmful chemicals
* Commensalism: A relationship where one organism benefits while the other is not affected
* Facilitation: Plants create shade and litter leaves allowing seedlings to grow
17: What is a community of organisms?
A community of organisms is when all of the members interact with one another. Those interactions determine the composition and structure of the community
8: Draw a trophic level pyramid with the following terms/definitions (examples) below:
Autotrophs
Primary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Tertiary Consumers
Omnivores
Detritivores
Decomposers
They grow very quickly. they dont have any competition
2: Define the following species interactions:
* Competition: Both species get harmed
* Predation, Parasitism, and Herbivory.
* Mutualism: Both species benefit from eachother
3: What are some of the resources that species compete for in competition?
Food, water, shelter and sunlight.
4: Define Competitive Exclusion:
One species fights another for the resources
5: What must happen for species to co-exist?
They are both equal and they share recources
6: What is the difference between fundamental and realized niche? Explain why a species wouldn’t fulfill its fundamental niche?
Fundamental niche is an organism fulfills its role by using all the resources. A realized niche is the portion of fundamental niche that is filled. A specie might not fulfill its fundamental needs to co competition
7: Give an example of resource partitioning:
One specie hunts in the morning while a nocturnal specie hunts at night.
8: How does character displacement help with competition?
They adapt to physical traits
9: Explain how predator and prey populations depend on each other:
- Predator population increases as prey population increases.
- Increased predator population decreases prey population
- Decreased prey population increases the starvation of the predator
- Decreased predator population increases prey population
10: How does Natural Selection strengthen population “fitness”?
Predators will adapt better hunting traits prolonging their lifespans. Prey adapt form elaborate defenses
11: Define the following:
* Cryptic Coloration: Coloring that disguises an animal's shape or color
*Warning Coloration: Coloration that serves as a warning to predators, such as the skunk
* Mimicry: An animal mimicking another
12: Define Parasitism:
Parasitism is when one organism depends on another organism (the host) for nourishment or other benefits
13: What is the idea of “coevolution”?
Host and parasite organisms become intertwined in continuous adaptations. Each gains a new adaptation in response to a new adaption of the other.
14: What are some plant adaptations that help to protect plants against herbivory?
Chemicals and physical adaption both help the plant defend against herbivores
15: Explain how pollination is a form of mutualism:
Pollination is a form of Mutualism because the flowers get pollinated and the animals doing the pollination get fertilization for their eggs
16: Define the following:
* Allelopathy: Certain plants harmful chemicals
* Commensalism: A relationship where one organism benefits while the other is not affected
* Facilitation: Plants create shade and litter leaves allowing seedlings to grow
17: What is a community of organisms?
A community of organisms is when all of the members interact with one another. Those interactions determine the composition and structure of the community
8: Draw a trophic level pyramid with the following terms/definitions (examples) below:
Autotrophs
Primary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Tertiary Consumers
Omnivores
Detritivores
Decomposers
19: How is most energy lost in an ecosystem?
Most energy is lost through as waste heat through respiration
20: Explain why this statement is true: “ A human vegetarian’s ecological footprint is smaller than a meat-eater’s footprint.”
A meat-eater's ecological footprint is smaller than that of a meat-eater's because meat-eaters get less energy due to 10% law. The law states that a Trophic level only has 10% of the energy below it.
21: What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain is the relationship of how energy is transferred up the Trophic levels. A food web shows the feeding relationship and energy flow
22: What is a keystone species and what happens to an ecosystem when it gets removed?
A keystone specie is one that has a wide-reaching impact on its ecosystem far past its abundance. The food chain can get altered as a result of the absence of a keystone specie.
23: What is a trophic cascade? Why is it important?
A trophic cascade is when predators at high trophic levels can alter the population of low trophic species by keeping in check the species in the intermediate trophic level
24: Communities of organisms respond to disturbances differently. Explain resistance and resilience.
Resistance is when a community of organisms resist change and remains stable during the disturbance. Resilience is when a community reacts to the disturbances by change, but that community later returns to its original state.
25: What is an invasive species? How do we control a species that has become invasive? (Name several ways)
An invasive species is a non-native organism that spreads widely and becomes the dominant specie in the area. We can control an invasive specie by: removing them manually, toxic chemicals, drying them out, taking their oxygen, and stressing them out with "heat, sound, electricity, carbon dioxide, and UV lights"
26: What is happening with ecological restoration in the Florida Everglades?
Depletion is being caused by flood control practices, and irrigation. The population of the wading bird, dropped 90-95%. This restoration project will take 30 years, and billions of dollars
27: Biomes: Name the type of SOILS in the following:
*Temperate deciduous forests: Fertile soil
*Temperate rainforests: Susceptible to erosion and landslides
*Tropical rainforests: poor acidic soil
*Tropical dry forest: erosion prone soil
* Desert: Saline soil
*Tundra: Permafrost
*Boreal forest (Taiga): Poor and acidic soil
28: How do biomes change with altitude? Explain.
The higher up the biome, the lower the temperature. This means that based on the altitude of the biome, the animals and plant that leaves at each are different
Most energy is lost through as waste heat through respiration
20: Explain why this statement is true: “ A human vegetarian’s ecological footprint is smaller than a meat-eater’s footprint.”
A meat-eater's ecological footprint is smaller than that of a meat-eater's because meat-eaters get less energy due to 10% law. The law states that a Trophic level only has 10% of the energy below it.
21: What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain is the relationship of how energy is transferred up the Trophic levels. A food web shows the feeding relationship and energy flow
22: What is a keystone species and what happens to an ecosystem when it gets removed?
A keystone specie is one that has a wide-reaching impact on its ecosystem far past its abundance. The food chain can get altered as a result of the absence of a keystone specie.
23: What is a trophic cascade? Why is it important?
A trophic cascade is when predators at high trophic levels can alter the population of low trophic species by keeping in check the species in the intermediate trophic level
24: Communities of organisms respond to disturbances differently. Explain resistance and resilience.
Resistance is when a community of organisms resist change and remains stable during the disturbance. Resilience is when a community reacts to the disturbances by change, but that community later returns to its original state.
25: What is an invasive species? How do we control a species that has become invasive? (Name several ways)
An invasive species is a non-native organism that spreads widely and becomes the dominant specie in the area. We can control an invasive specie by: removing them manually, toxic chemicals, drying them out, taking their oxygen, and stressing them out with "heat, sound, electricity, carbon dioxide, and UV lights"
26: What is happening with ecological restoration in the Florida Everglades?
Depletion is being caused by flood control practices, and irrigation. The population of the wading bird, dropped 90-95%. This restoration project will take 30 years, and billions of dollars
27: Biomes: Name the type of SOILS in the following:
*Temperate deciduous forests: Fertile soil
*Temperate rainforests: Susceptible to erosion and landslides
*Tropical rainforests: poor acidic soil
*Tropical dry forest: erosion prone soil
* Desert: Saline soil
*Tundra: Permafrost
*Boreal forest (Taiga): Poor and acidic soil
28: How do biomes change with altitude? Explain.
The higher up the biome, the lower the temperature. This means that based on the altitude of the biome, the animals and plant that leaves at each are different