Name________KEY___________________
Ecology Unit Study Guide
1.
Ecology Unit SG
Biology
What is ecology? - the study of the interactions of organisms with one another and with their
physical environment.
2. What is the biosphere? -part of the Earth in which life exists.
3. What is the ecosystem? - consists of an area’s physical features and living organisms.
i. System- a set of interacting or interdependent components that form an integrated
whole
b. Name 2 examples of abiotic factors - physical features
i. Ex. elevation, humidity, rainfall
ii. (SWATS: soil, water, air, temp, sunlight)
c.
Name 2 examples of biotic factors - living organisms
i. Ex. snails, worms, plants, insects
4. Community - all the populations of organisms living in a given area.
d. Ecosystems rarely function independently of one another because they are connected by
both living and non-living features.
5. Ecological succession - an existing community of organisms is replaced by a different community
over time.
e.
Can occur where no living community existed before (like a volcano arising from the sea).
f.
Can also occur following a dramatic change (like a forest fire).
g.
Succession leads to a collection of organisms called a climax community.
Biomes –see “Biomes Outlines Lab” for specifics of each Biome
6. Biome - an environment that has a characteristic climax community.
h. Terrestrial- associated with a land environment
i. Tropical
1. Tropical Rain Forest
ii. Grassland
1. Tropical Grassland
2. Temperate Grassland
iii. Desert
iv. Temperate
1. Temperate Deciduous Forest
2. Temperate Rain Forest
v. Taiga
vi. Tundra
i. Aquatic- associated with a water environment
i. Freshwater- (rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands)
ii. Estuaries
iii. Marine (intertidal zone, coastal ocean, open ocean)
Name________KEY___________________
Ecology Unit SG
Biology
7. Habitat- an area that provides an organisms with its basic needs for survival
8. Endemic species- a species found in its originating location and is generally restricted to that
geographic area
9. Non-native species – species introduced into an area outside of their rang by accidental or
deliberate human activity
-can also be called: introduced, invasive, alien, nonindigenous, or exotic
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
10. Of all the sun’s energy the reaches the Earth’s surface, only about 0.1% is used by living things.
11. Energy cannot be recycled or used again!
12. For this reason, we refer to the movement of energy through an ecosystem as a flow, not a cycle.
13. Biochemical conversion- the changing of organic matter into other chemical forms such as fuels
14. Bioenergetics- the study of energy flow (energy transformations) into and within a living system
15. The sun is the ultimate source of energy for living things.
16. Producers - organisms that make their own food via photosynthesis.
17. Consumers - organisms that get their energy directly or indirectly from producers.
j.
Give another name for primary consumers - also called herbivores; plant eating animals.
k.
Give an example of Secondary consumers - animals that eat primary consumers. Ex: lions
18. Trophic level - each step in a series of organisms eating other organisms.
l.
At each higher trophic level, less and less of the energy originally captured by the
producers is available.
m. Only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level can be used by the animals at the next
trophic level!
19. Herbivores - organisms that eat only plants.
20. Carnivores - organisms that eat only animals.
21. Omnivores - organisms that eat plants and animals.
22. Decomposers - organisms that obtain energy from non-living organic matter
Ecosystem Relationships
23. Food chain - simplest feeding relationship linking animals and plants in the biosphere.
n.
Usually contains 3-5 total organisms.
24. Food web - complex relationship formed by interconnecting and overlapping food chains.
o.
Competition- finite amount of resources to compete over
p.
Predation- one species uses another as food
q.
Symbiosis-a close and usually obligatory association of two organisms of different species
that live together, often to their mutual benefit
i. Commensalism –one organism benefits without affecting the other
ii. Parasitism –one organism benefits (the parasite), at the expense of the other (host)
iii. Mutualism – each organism benefits
Name________KEY___________________
Ecology Unit SG
Biology
Nutrients are Recycle Through Ecosystems
– see “Biogeochemical Cycles Lab” for examples of each cycle
25. nutrients are recycled and used again and again.
26. Biogeochemical cycle - nutrients use these processes to move through the biosphere.
Ex. Water, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen cycles
27. Water cycle - movement of water between the atmosphere and Earth.
Consists of alternating cycles of evaporation and condensation.
28. Carbon Cycle- movement of Carbon through the biosphere
Carbon- required for all organic compounds
29. Oxygen Cycle- movement of Oxygen through the biosphere
30. Nitrogen cycle - movement of nitrogen through biosphere.
Most can’t be used directly by living organisms - it must be converted into more usable
forms.
Nitrogen - element required by living organisms to build proteins.
31. Limiting factor - the nutrient that is in short supply that limits an organism’s growth.