Study Guide
Ecology Quiz
Ecology - The study of the interactions between living and non-living factors in an environment.
biotic - all living factors in an environment; animals, plants, bacteria
abiotic - all the non-living factors in an environment; weather, sun, water, temperature
Population –same group or species living in the same place at the same time.
Community- groups of different organisms sharing the same environment (all biotic factors within an environment).
Ecosystem- all of the organisms within a biotic community and the abiotic factors living together.
Symbiosis - a close long-term association between two or more species.
3 types of symbiotic relationships:
mutualism - symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit ex: the clownfish and sea anemone.
Sea anemone provides protection for the fish and the fish provides scrapes of food for anemone.
parasitism – symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed ex:
heartworms in dogs, fleas and ticks on animals.
commensalism – symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
ex: shark and remora. Remora benefits from feeding off sharks scrapes, protection and transportation, the
shark is not affected.
Food chain – a diagram that shows the flow of energy from one organism to the next.
Energy from sun
producer
herbivore
carnivore
Producer
Herbivore
Carnivore
scavenger
Scavenger
Food web - a complex diagram showing the many energy pathways in a real ecosystem; many food chains together
Producers: grass and trees
Primary consumers or herbivores: a type of consumer that eats plants
ex: rabbit, deer, grasshopper, chipmunk
Primary consumer or carnivores: a type of consumer that eats animals
ex: fox, owl, eagle
Secondary consumer or Omnivore: a type of consumer that eats plants
and animals ex: humans
Scavenger: a type of consumer that eats remains of dead organisms ex:
vulture (not shown in picture)
Decomposers: will break down the remains of dead organisms for
energy.
Energy Pyramid:
Energy Pyramid - is a diagram shaped like a triangle
that shows the loss of energy at each level of the
food chain.
-Producers are the plants that convert sunlight
energy into chemical energy in sugar
-Primary Consumers or herbivores eat the producers
-Secondary consumers or carnivores eat the primary
consumers.
-Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers. If
there were as many tertiary consumers as the
number of producers then there would not be
enough food for all the higher level consumers.
Key Vocabulary:
Habitat – the environment where an organism lives.
Niche – an organisms way of life and its relationships with its abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) environments.
Carrying Capacity and Limiting Factors:
All organisms need food, shelter, living space, and water to survive. These resources are called limiting factors.
The availability of these limiting factors have an affect on the number of organisms that can live in an area at the
same time. The carrying capacity is the largest population that an environment can support.
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> Limiting factors
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Competition – two or more species or individuals trying to use the same limited resource.
Example of Competition between Species:
Example of Competition within a Species: