Chapter 19 Homework Questions This is the first part of questions on Ecology. Please answer these completely and neatly on a separate sheet of paper. Take your time and do a good job. You will see these questions and vocabulary again on a test and the quality of your answers will save you time and effort in studying. 1. What are the two components of the ecosystem? Please describe them completely. Biotic – the living components like plants and animals Abiotic – the non-living components 2. List the abiotic factors in the environment. Radiation (light and heat from the sun) Water Wind and water current Revolution of the earth Rotation of the earth Minerals Topography Atmosphere Soil Gravity Fire 3. Draw the water cycle. See textbook picture on p580 4. Explain how topography and soil is an important factor in the abiotic environment. Topography is the lay of the land (mountains and valleys). The slope and height of a mountain determines rainfall, climate, temperatures, and winds. The soil is an important factor due to the amount of nutrients in the soil and the amount of water the soil can hold and the rest becoming runoff. 5. What are population, community, and ecosystem? P. 582 Population is all of the members of a species occupying the same geographic area at one time. The community is all of the different species in an ecosystem. The ecosystem is all of the living and non-living components. 6. List what an ecologist can measure in a population. P.582 Total population Density Arrangement Changes over time – like birth rate, death rate, life expectancy 7. What are the two main types of populations (based on their nutritional relationships)? Producers – organisms that produce their own sugar through photosynthesis, like plants and algae Consumers – organisms that feed off of the producers and other consumers for their nutrition. 8. What happens to the radiant energy available to plants? How much of it is available to the first consumer? 80 to 90 percent of the energy is lost in each step of the food chain. Look at chart on page of 585 9. What is productivity? How would you increase the productivity in an area? What would you be doing to increase productivity? Productivity is the rate of photosynthesis that occurs in an area. You can increase the productivity by increasing the favorable conditions for plant growth or other producers. You can add plants to an area and the needed abiotic factors for plant growth. 10. Draw an East Tennessee food web with at least 5 organisms. Then in a different color of ink, draw in 4 more animals to make a food web like the one on page 587. See textbook. Chapter 19 Ecology Questions – Part 2 11. Describe the short nitrogen cycle and the long nitrogen cycle and Nitrogen fixation. Why is the nitrogen cycle important to all organisms? The Short Nitrogen cycle involves decomposer bacteria and fungi breaking down dead organic substances and converting the Nitrogen into usable forms of Nitrogen that can be used by plants. The long Nitrogen cycle involves Nitrogen from the air converted by bacteria found on certain plants to usable Nitrogen in the soil in a process called Nitrogen fixation. 12. What is habitat and ecological niche and describe the difference? Habitat is the address or location of the organism. Ecological niche is the organism’s job or function in the habitat 13. Describe a limiting factor? Is any factor that limits the population or the existence of an organism in an ecosystem. It can be anything from water, oxygen, temperature, food, etc. 14. Draw or describe (your choice) the carbon and oxygen cycle. See notes or p585 of textbook. 15. List the major biomes of the world. Put a few key words beside the list to describe that particular biome. a. Tundra -Ground frozen for most of the year. 1/5 of the earths surface. Small grasses and dwarf woody plants b. Coniferous Forest - Pines, spruces, and firs are predominant. c. Temperate Grassland - Rainfall too light to support a forest. Considered “Prairies” Turned into farmland d. Temperate Deciduous Forest – Out typical forest, loses leaves, 4 seasons, abundant rainfall e. Chaparral – Found in California, Mexico and Mediterranean sea. Spiny plants, desert like but heavy rainfall in the winter and dry summers f. Tropical Deciduous Forest – Typically what we think of as the “bush” in Africa and Australia. Hot summers, trees lose their leaves. g. Savanna – Very similar to the prairies but in closer proximity to the equator. Stays very warm. African landscape. h. Tropical Rain Forest – over 98 inches rain per year. Very warm. Close to equator. i. Desert – less than 10 inches of rain per year. Plants are designed to store water. Can be cold or hot. j. Aquatic Ecosystems – Oceans make up ¾ of the earth surface. k. Mountains – exhibits zonation. 16. What are biological rhythms and discuss the different types of biological rhythms. Give your own example to discuss with the class. Be unique or google Diurnal rhythm is a biological rhythm based on a daily cycle. For example, we sleep at night and work during the day, the opposite is true for raccoons and owls. Their diurnal rhythm is different. Seasonal rhythm is the biological rhythm based on the seasons or time of year. Hibernation and or migration patterns are based on seasonal rhythms. Lunar rhythm is the biological rhythm based on the lunar cycle. The tides follow the lunar cycle and a lot of organisms reproductive cycle coordinates with the lunar cycle. 16. Briefly describe the stages of succession. P601 Succession is the predictable and gradual progression of a biotic community over time. Normally starts with pioneer organisms, like weeds, then to perennials, shrubs, pines then to the natural hardwoods. Succession is what would happen to a piece of property that was cleared and then allowed to naturally progress through time. 18. Name the two major types of pollutants and give examples of each. P612 616 Energy pollution like heat, light, sound, and nuclear radiation. Substance pollution is objects or chemicals that are disposed of in the environment. Examples are air, landfills, and water pollution. 19. What is biodegradable and nonbiodegradable mean? P613 Biodegradable are pollutants that break down and return to the natural cycle of the environment. Like wood Nonbiodegradable are pollutants that can not break down to the natural cycle of things, like plastics, aluminum, rubber, etc. 20. What is DDT and why was it banned in the United States in 1973? P614 DDT is a pesticide that was used to combat mosquitoes. It is very harmful to the environment because it collects in the fish and stays in the food chain without breaking down. It also has been linked to some cancers in humans. It was banned due to the irresponsible use of the chemical. 21. Based on your notes from Friday: What is logistic growth with graphs, exponential growth with graph, density-dependent factors and densityindependent factors. Logistic growth is a S shaped curve of a population that experienced exponential growth, but the growth slowed or stopped due to a limiting factor. Exponential growth is a J shaped curve to show a population growth of an organism that is not experiencing a limiting factor. Therefore, the population can continue growing. Density-dependent factor is any limiting factor that is dependent on the number of organisms in the ecosystem. For example predators can be more successful or disease can spread more quickly in a very populated area. Density-independent factors are any limiting factors that are not dependent on the population. For example, pollution or natural disasters.