B7 (Ecology)

• What is ecology primarily concerned with?

  Organisms and their environment interactions
• What are the key terms to understand ecology?

  • Habitat
  • Population
  • Community
  • Abiotic factors
  • Biotic factors
  • Ecosystem
• What is a habitat?

  The place where an organism lives
• What defines a population?

  All organisms of one species in a habitat
• What is a community in ecology?

  All organisms of different species in a habitat
• What are abiotic factors?

  Non-living factors of the environment
• What are biotic factors?

  Living factors of the environment
• Why do organisms compete for resources?

  To survive and reproduce
• What do plants need from their environment?

  Light, space, water, and nutrients
• What do animals need from their environment?

  Space, food, water, and mates
• What is interdependence in a community?

  Species depend on each other for resources
• What can happen if a species is removed from an ecosystem?

  It can have far-reaching effects on others
• What is a food web?

  A diagram of what eats what
• What happens to blackfly larvae if stonefly larvae are removed?

  Less competition for algae
• What is the effect on water spiders if stonefly larvae are removed?

  More likely to be eaten by predators
• What is a stable community?

  Population sizes are roughly constant
• What are abiotic factors that can vary in an ecosystem?

  Moisture level, light intensity, temperature
• How can abiotic factors affect population sizes?

  Changes can affect growth and survival
• What happens if light intensity decreases for plants?

  Photosynthesis rate may decrease
• How can a new predator affect a community?

  It can decrease the prey population
• What happens when grey squirrels outcompete red squirrels?

  The population of red squirrels decreases
• What does the graph of Species A's population suggest?

  A new pathogen arrived around 1985
• What do food chains show in an ecosystem?

  What’s eaten by what
• What always starts a food chain?

  A producer
• What are structural adaptations?

  Features of an organism's body structures
• How do producers make their own food?

  Using energy from the Sun
• What are usually the producers in a food chain?

  Green plants and algae
• What process do producers use to make glucose?

  Photosynthesis
• How does the Arctic fox's white fur help it?

  It camouflages against the snow
• What happens to glucose produced by plants?

  Some is used to make biological molecules
• What is biomass in plants?

  The mass of living material
• Why do whales have a thick layer of blubber?

  To help retain heat in cold environments
• How can biomass be thought of in terms of energy?

  As energy stored in a plant
• How is energy transferred in an ecosystem?

  When organisms eat other organisms
• How do camels lose heat?

  They have a large surface area
• Who eats producers in a food chain?

  Primary consumers
• What follows primary consumers in a food chain?

  Secondary consumers
• What are behavioral adaptations?

  Ways that organisms behave
• What are consumers that hunt and kill other animals called?

  Predators
• Why do swallows migrate during winter?

  To avoid cold conditions