Name ___________________________________________
Period ____ Date __________
CLASSIFICATION AND ECOLOGY STUDY GUIDE
1. The scientific name for polar bears is Ursus maritimus. What genus do the bears belong to? What species?
2. What are the seven levels of the Linnaean classification system, from most general to most specific?
3. Who invented the classification system?
4. Which two species are most closely related, based on this cladogram?
5. Why is the classification system always changing?
6. Cookie monster and elmo share a common ancestor from over 250 million years ago, but now they show many
physical differences. What are these differences most likely caused by?
7. What are the characteristics of animals and plants in the classification system?
8. Do small populations have less or more genetic variation? Why?
9. A particular DNA sequence accumulated three mutations over 10,000 years. After how much time would you
expect this sequence to have accumulated six more mutations?
10. What are the levels of organization in ecology, from most general to most specific?
11. When would it be appropriate to use indirect surveys as an observational tool?
12. What are biotic factors? What are abiotic factors?
13. How would the removal of a keystone species affect an ecosystem’s biodiversity?
14. At what level of organization would a scientist study the interaction between gazelles and cheetah’s in the African
savannah?
15. Why is the statement “All living things depend on the sun” no longer true?
16. If a scientist wanted to measure the size of the tulip population in a grass valley, what method would she use?
17. Why are decomposers important to the stability of ecosystems?
18. What is exponential growth? Draw a graph.
19. What is logistic growth? Draw a graph.
20. Define population.
21. What are other ecological names for herbivores?
22. Define biodiversity.
23. In the nitrogen cycle, what organisms convert gaseous nitrogen into ammonia? What organisms convert ammonia
to gaseous nitrogen?
24. Define herbivore.
25. Define carnivore.
26. Define omnivore.
27. Define detritovore.
28. Define ecosystem.
29. Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation are all parts of which chemical cycle?
30. What does a pyramid of numbers show?
31. What organisms provide most of the energy in ecosystems?
32. Define keystone species.
33. Define biome.
34. Define resource partitioning.
35. Define competitive exclusion.
36. Define ecological equivalents.
37. Define interspecific and intraspecific competition.
38. Fill out the following chart:
39. What is the difference between random, clumped, and uniform dispersion?
40. What is the difference between type I, type II, and type III survivorship curves?
41. What is the difference between immigration and emigration?
42. Describe and give examples for density-dependent limiting factors.
43. Describe and give examples for density-independent limiting factors.
44. What is succession?
45. Define pioneer species.
46. What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
47. What happens to energy as it moves up the food web?
48. A producer uses 100 kcal of energy. How much energy is left at the third trophic level?