Name: _____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Period: ______________
Ecology Review Sheet
1. What is ecology?
Scientific study of how organisms interact with their environment
2. What is an ecosystem?
Specific place and all of the living things that can live in it
3. What are the parts of an ecosystem?
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
4. What is a biotic factor? Give an example of some biotic factors that are in an ecosystem.
Biotic Factor: Living part of an ecosystem
Ex: plants and animals
5. What is an abiotic factor? Give an example of some abiotic factors that are in an ecosystem.
Abiotic Factor: Non-living part of an ecosystem
Ex: Temperature, Sunlight, Soil, Water
6. What is a cycle?
Series of events that happen over and over again
7. List three cycles that exist in an ecosystem and describe each.
Water Cycle: movement of water that consists of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
Carbon Cycle: movement of Carbon through the ecosystem. Plants need it for photosynthesis.
Nitrogen Cycle: movement of Nitrogen through the ecosystem. Plants get it from the soil, and
animals get it by eating plants, or other animals.
8. What is a producer? What is a consumer? What is a decomposer?
Producer: makes its own food through photosynthesis. (Plant)
Consumer: Must get food because it cannot make its own. (Animal)
Decomposer: Breaks down dead and decaying organisms. (Bacteria)
9. What is a food chain? Give an example of a simple food chain.
Food Chain: A feeding relationship between a producer and a single chain of consumers
Ex: grass, cow, human
10. What is a food web? Give an example of a food web.
Food Web: All of the possible feeding relationships /food interactions in an ecosystem
11. What is an energy pyramid? How does energy move up the energy pyramid?
Energy Pyramid: A model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level
The producer has the most energy. The more you go up the pyramid, the less energy is
available.
12. What is a biome? Name each of the terrestrial biomes and list one fact about each.
Biome: Area in the world with the same climate and specific plants and animals that can
live in that environment
Ex: Taiga = “Swamp Forest” with coniferous trees (Pine needles)
Tundra= Frozen. Not much vegetation. Known as the “cold desert.”
Desert = Little, to no rainfall. Hot during the day and freezing cold at night.
Grassland = Moderate temperatures. Lots of grasses with few trees.
Deciduous Forest = Has seasons and trees with broad leaves. It’s the biome in which we live.
Tropical Rain Forest = Has the most diverse plants and animals living in it. Warm and rainy.
13. What is a species? What is a population? What is a habitat? What is a niche? What is a community?
Species: organisms that are similar/have shared characteristics
Population: same species living in the same area
Habitat: Physical location where plants and animals live
Niche: Job/role organism has in its habitat
Community: group of populations
14. Using the terms above, please organize them from the simplest to the most complex.
Species, niche, habitat, population, community
15. What is a predator? What is prey? How are these two things related?
Predator: The “hunter”
Prey: The “hunted”
The predator is usually larger/smarter than the prey. The predator does the hunting, while
the prey gets hunted.
16. What is competition?
Competition is when organisms fight for food, territory, or a mate. The stronger of the
species will usually overcome the weaker of the species.
17. What is cooperation? List the various forms of cooperation and give examples of each.
Cooperation is when organisms work together in an ecosystem.
Ex: Mutualism: Both organisms benefit.
Commensalism: One organism benefits while the other is not affected
Parasitism: One organism benefits while the other is harmed
18. Discuss what a limiting factor is and describe some examples of limiting factors.
Limiting Factor: any condition that stops the growth of a population
Ex: Humans… Pollute, Overhunt, Chop down trees
Lack of food
Disease
Natural Disasters