Ecology Review
Populations
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What is a population?
A group of organisms of the same species
What is demography?
The statistical study of populations
What are the 3 key features of populations? Define each.
Population size, density, and dispersal
Describe and list the three main patterns of dispersion.
Random- self-determined
Even- located at regular intervals
Clumped- grouped together in clusters
When does a population grow?
With the birthrates are higher than the deathrates
Explain exponential growth. Include carrying capacity in your explanation.
Exponential growth: curve in which population stays the same and then increases rapidly (J-curve) until it
reaches carrying capacity
What is a population model? What is a logistic model?
Logistic model- (S-curve) exponential growth is limited by a density dependent factor
Explain the difference between density dependent and independent factors. Give examples.
Density dependent factors: food, water, shelter, space
Density independent factors: weather
Explain the difference between k-strategist and r-strategist. Give characteristics.
K-strategist: long life span, few young, ie. Lions, tigers
R-strategist: short life span, many young ie. cockroaches
Ecosystems
1. What is the definition of ecology?
Study of the interactions of the living and nonliving environment
2. What are the levels of organization within the environment?
Organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere
3. Explain the difference between biotic and abiotic factors. Give examples.
Biotic- living (plants, animals)
Abiotic- non living (weather, climate, temp, rain, rocks)
4. What is biodiversity?
The variety of different organisms
5. What is the definition of succession? Primary succession? Secondary succession?
Process of replacement of organisms within an environment.
Succession in an environment with no topsoil and has no life before.
Succession in an environment with topsoil with previous life.
6. Explain the differences between producers and consumers.
Producer- plants and photosynthetic organism_produce energy from sun
Consumers- eat other organisms
7. What is a trophic level?
8. Which level of the energy pyramid has the most energy? How much energy will be passed on from the first
level to the second level? 1st level, 10%
9. What will a primary consumer feed on? What will a secondary consumer feed on?
Primary consumer= herbivore, secondary consumer=carnivore
10. What are some examples of detritivores? Decomposers? Define each term.
Detritivores: eat dead decaying organisms Decomposers: break down dead things (fungi, worms, bacteria)
11. Explain the difference between a food web and a food chain. Be able to interpret each.
Food chain: only shows a sequential step process of energy flow
Food web: shows a variety of food chains interlinked
12. What is a biogeochemical cycle?
Cyclical pathway of chemicals from the living to the non-living environment
13. How are humans affecting the Carbon Cycle?
Cutting down trees, burning fossil fuels, using electricity power devices to make life easier
14. Be able to explain the nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorous cycles.
Refer to notes
The Environment
1. What areas in our nation are most affected by acid rain? Least affected?
Most: Midwest
Least: out west
2. What are two classes of natural resources?
Renewable and non renewable
3. What is biomagnification?
The bioaccumulation of harmful substances that increase in concentration while moving up the
food chain.
Biological Communities
1. What is symbiosis?
When two or more species live in a close long term association that interact with each other
2. What are the three symbiotic relationships? Give an example of each.
Mutualism: ++, parasitim +-, commensalism +0
3. What is competition? What will usually cause two species to compete?
The process of two organisms competing for a common resource that could be caused by overlapping niches
4. What is interspecific competition?
5. What is competitive exclusion? When will this happen?
6. What is a biome?
A major biological ecosystems that occurs over a large area of land
7. What biome has the most diversity? Where is it located?
Rainforest, along the equator
8. What biome makes up the Midwest? (Ohio)
Temperate deciduous forest
9. List the biomes below that are identified in your textbook.
Desert, Savannah, Taiga, Temperate Forest (deciduous and evergreen), temperate grassland, tropical
rainforest, tundra)
10. Biomes that have more rainfall, higher temperatures, and high biodiversity are found where in the world?
Rainforest
12. What characteristics are represented by biomes close to the equator?
High biodiversity, high temperatures and rainfall
13. What is the northern most biome in our world? What is found just below that biome?
Tundra, Taiga
14. What biome would you find grazing animals?
savanna
Use the world map below: What area would you find the tundra (D)? The rainforest (A)? Desert (B)?
Use the graph above to answer the following questions:
15. If Biome W is a desert what biome would X represent?
savanna
16. What key factors determine where a biome will occur?
Temperature and precipitation
Climatographs are often used to represent a location’s temperature and precipitation patterns.
(Precipitation is represented by the bar graph because it is cumulative.)
17.Which climatograph most likely represents a tropical rainforest? B
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