NAME__________________________Per.____Date:__
ECOLOGY READING GUIDE Ch. 3&4
Please complete individually while reading the Ecology Chapters:
1. How far does the biosphere extend above and below the earth?
(pg.63).
2. Diagram the levels of organization that ecologists study: (pg.64)
3. What are the 3 basic approaches to studying ecology? (pg.65)
4. What is the main energy source for life on earth? (pg. 67)
5. Some types of organisms rely on the energy stored in what? (pg. 67)
Give an example:
6. Autotrophs use energy to what? (pg.67)
7. Draw the diagram of photosynthesis and then the diagram of
chemosynthesis (pg.68):
8. Where are photosynthetic bacteria found that are important in food
webs? (pg. 68)
9. Where do chemosynthetic bacteria live?(pg. 68)
10. Describe some of the different types of consumers or heterotrophs
in food webs (pg.69):
11. Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction from what to
what? (pg. 69)
12. Compare a prairie food chain with a marine food chain: (pg. 69)
13. Compare a food chain with a food web: (pg. 70)
14. What type of organisms makes up the first trophic level, the 2nd, 3rd
or higher trophic levels? (pg. 70)
15. Each consumer depends on what? (pg.70)
16. Look at the food web on pg. 71. What organisms are the producers?
Herbivores?
First-level carnivores?
Top-level carnivores?
Decomposers?
17. What does the marsh hawk feed on in the web on pg. 71?
18. Describe and compare the 3 different types of ecological pyramids
(pg. 72):
19. How much energy is transferred from 1 trophic level to the next?
(pg. 72)
20. Unlike the 1-way flow of energy, matter is what? (pg. 74)
21. Matter can cycle through the biosphere because biological systems
do not use up matter- they do what? (pg. 74)
22. Describe in a paragraph the water cycle. Make sure you show how
evaporation and transpiration are related. (pg.75):
23. Every living thing needs nutrients to grow, etc. Like water, nutrients
are what? (pg.76)
24.What are the 4 different processes involved in the carbon cycle? (pg.
76)
25. Look at the diagram on pg. 77. What are the main sources of carbon
dioxide in the ocean?
What takes carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere?
26. Look at the diagram on pg. 78. Describe the main activities that happen
in the nitrogen cycle. Make sure you use the terms nitrogen fixation and
denitrification.
27. Phosphorous is essential to living things because of what? (pg. 79)
28. One factor that controls the primary productivity of an ecosystem is
what? (pg. 80)
29. The open oceans of the world can be considered what compared to
land? (pg. 80)
30. Why do algal blooms occur? (pg. 80)
31. Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and other gases trap what?
(pg. 87)
32. Why is the greenhouse effect a natural situation? (pg. 87)
33. What are the 3 main climate zones?
34. What are they a result of? (pg. 88)
35. Give some examples of BIOTIC factors: (pg. 90)
36. Give some examples of ABIOTIC factors: (pg. 90)
37. What do biotic and abiotic factors together determine? (pg. 90)
38. Using the example of a bullfrog, fully describe its niche: (pg. 91)
39. Look at the warbler diagram on pg. 92. How does this show the
competitive exclusion principle?
40. Give an example of a predator and a prey species: (pg. 93)
41. What is the difference between mutualism and commensalisms and
give examples? (pg. 93) look at figure 4-6:
42. Give an example of a parasite: (pg. 93)
43.Give an example of an ecosystem going through primary succession
(include important terms) (pg. 94):
43. Give an example of an ecosystem going through secondary succession.
(pg. 95):
44. Read about succession in a Marine Ecosystem (pg.96-97). Summarize
the main occurrences:
45. The world’s major land biomes include (list them all!) (pg.99):
46. Each of these biomes is defined by? (pg.99):
Read through the biome sections (pp.100-104). We will do a classroom
activity that looks at these more closely! You will be responsible for
knowing the different characteristics and key organisms.
47. How might the presence of a mountain range affect the types of
plants and animals found in an area? (pg.105)
48. What are aquatic ecosystems determined by? (pg.106)
49. What is the difference between flowing water and standing water
ecosystems (give examples!) (pg.107)
50. What are the 3 main types of freshwater wetlands? (pg. 107)
51. Why are wetlands productive ecosystems (pg.107)?
52. Why are estuaries so important as ecosystems (pg.108)?
53. Look at fig.4-16 on pg. 108. Describe what a salt marsh is and what
types of producers are common in these ecosystems:
54. Draw the diagram of a typical marine ecosystem below (pg. 109):
55. What are some species found in the intertidal zone? (pg. 110)
56. What are some important species found in the coastal ocean? (pg.
110):
57. In what types of community interactions are coral animals involved?
(predator-prey, mutual, commensal?) Give examples:
58.Typically the open ocean has very low what? (pg.112)
59.Most of the photosynthetic activity on earth occurs where? (pg.112).
60. Benthic ecosystems often depend on food from? (pg. 112).