Name: Teacher: Per:
ECOLOGY OVERVIEW WORKSHEET
VOCABULARY: Fill in the blanks with the terms below.
Date:
Abiotic factor
Biotic factors
Biosphere
Biome
Consumers
Community
Decomposers
Ecosystem
Evaporation
Food web
Food chain
Ground Water
________________1. organisms that can make their own food
Herbivores
Nitrogen fixation
Producers
Respiration
Omnivores Transpiration
Pyramid of Energy Trophic level
________________2. process where trees release water vapor in the atmosphere
________________3. the portion of the earth in which all living things exist
________________4. animals that live off of both plants and animals
________________5. organisms that feed and breakdown the remains of other organisms
________________6. chart the shows all of the possible feeding patterns within a community
________________7. water found at a certain depth in the soil
________________8. process in which bacteria change atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms
________________9. the process of burning carbohydrates to release energy
_______________10. the process of changing liquid water into gas form
_______________11. large stable ecosystem
_______________12. plant eating animals
_______________13. organisms that must eat to obtain food and nutrients
_______________14. all of the populations in a certain area
_______________15. chart that shows the flow of energy though a series of feeding levels
_______________16. nonliving environmental factors
_______________17. plants, animals, and other living things in the ecosystem
_______________18. chart the shows the amount of energy exchanged between feeding levels
_______________19. all living things and the place where they live
_______________20. each level of energy flow in an ecosystem
FOOD WEBS
17. List the producers: _____________________________________________________________________
18. List the primary consumers (herbivores): ____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
19. List the higher level consumers: ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
20. What is the initial source of energy for every ecosystem?
_________________________________________________
21. What would happen to the other organisms in the food web if... a. the grasses were all eaten by grasshoppers.
_____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
__________________________________________________ b. all of the frogs died because of polluted water.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________ c. the hawks were all killed or captured by humans.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
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TROPHIC LEVELS
22. Which trophic level contains autotrophic organisms? _____
23. Which trophic level contains herbivores? _____
24. Which trophic level contains omnivores and/or carnivores? _____
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
25. Which trophic level contains the most available energy? _____
26. About how much of the energy is transferred to the next level? _____
27. If Level 1 contains 1,000 kcal of energy, how much energy will
ultimately be transferred to Level 3? __________ kcal
WATER CYCLE
1. Water can return to the atmosphere in what two ways? ______________________________________
2. Where does all surface water run-off and groundwater ultimately empty into? _____________________
CARBON CYCLE
3. How is carbon dioxide returned to the atmosphere? _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. How is carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere? ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
NITROGEN CYCLE
5. How are bacteria important to the nitrogen cycle? __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
HUMAN IMPACT
6. What is biological magnification? _______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Give an example: ___________________________________________________________________
ECOLOGY DYNAMICS
Fill in the blanks below with the term that best fits the example. Use the following terms:
A. communities B. biotic factors C. habitat D. niche E. abiotic factors F. symbiosis
___________________ 1. All plants and animals found in a pond ecosystem.
___________________ 2. Certain bacteria have such a close dependency on humans that they cannot survive without them.
___________________ 3. The forest in which a deer lives.
___________________ 4. Frogs require a nearby source of water for respiration and reproductive purposes, thus they spend time in or near water for their entire lives.
____________________5. All living factors in an ecosystem (plants, animals, etc.)
____________________6. All nonliving factors such as climate and temperature.
SYMBIOSIS: Each of the following situations describes a form of symbiosis. After each situation, write the type of symbiosis that is being described. Then explain why this form of symbiosis applies to this situation.
A. parasitism B. commensalism C. mutualism
1. A flowering plant cannot pollinate another plant unless pollen is transported between the plants. While gathering nectar from the plant’s flowers, a bee is lightly dusted with pollen. The bee then transports the pollen as it moves from one flower to another. This enables the flowering plant to reproduce.______________________________________________________________________
2. A liver fluke enters the human digestive system on a piece of beef. The fluke derives nourishment from the human; the human is seriously weakened by the presence of the fluke.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. A fungus that cannot make its own food absorbs sugars and other nutrients from plant roots; the fungus also absorbs from the soil certain minerals that can be used by the plant and which the plant has difficulty obtaining by itself. ______________________________________________________

4. Tall trees provide birds with a place to nest that offers them protection against many kinds of predators.
_______________________________________________________________________
5. A blind human is able to move about safely with the help of a guide dog. The human provides the dog with food, shelter, and medical care. _______________________________________________
Factors That Control Population Growth: Each statement below describes a situation affecting population growth. Write a “D” in the spaces that describe density-dependent limiting factors, and write an “I” for density-independent limiting factors
_____ 1. A severe frost wipes out 50 percent of the citrus crop in southern Florida.
_____ 2. Since snakes prey on frogs, an increase in the frog population causes an increase in the snake population.
_____ 3. Due to severe overcrowding in an Asian village, many children do not survive to reach adulthood.
_____ 4. The eruption of Mt. St. Helens destroys most of the wildlife in the immediate vicinity of the volcano.
_____ 5. Two animals attempt to occupy the same niche, causing the death of the weaker one.
_____ 6. Travelers who venture into a crowded African village become infected with a disease caused by parasites.
_____ 7. Fish on a coral reef stake out their territory and chase away any younger fish that try to live there.
_____ 8. Due to stress, large numbers of female mice miscarry their young and fail to reproduce.
BIOMES: Refer to the drawing and your notes to the right to answer the following.
1. Which biome is the coldest?
2. Which biome is the warmest and driest?
3. Which biome is the warmest and wettest?
4. Which biome has the most diversity of life?
Explain why.
5. Which biome has coniferous (cone-bearing) trees?
6. Which biome makes the best farmland (for crops and cattle)? Why?
7. Which two biomes have the least amount of precipitation?
8. Why is the rainforest a bad choice for supporting agriculture?
9. Which biome do most animals live high in the canopy to escape predators?
10. Which biome would long legs for running be a good adaptation, because there is no place to hide from predators?
11. Which biome has plants that have water-storing stems?
GROWTH RATES
1. How are predator and prey relationships important to an ecosystem?
2. When does competition increase in a population?
3. What is carrying capacity?
4. What two things influence growth rate?
5. Discuss the three types of growth rates.