Ecology

• What is ecology the study of?

  Interactions of organisms in an ecosystem
• What do organisms generally compete for in an ecosystem?

  Food, water, space, CO2, and light
• What is interdependence in ecology?

  Organisms relying on each other
• What are abiotic factors in an ecosystem?

  Non-living aspects like light and temperature
• What are biotic factors in an ecosystem?

  Factors due to organisms, like food and predators
• What can quadrats be used for?

  Estimating population size in an area
• How do you estimate a population size using quadrats?

  Sample 10% of the area and multiply
• What does a transect allow us to observe?

  Changes in population distribution over distance
• What does a food chain show?

  Direction of biomass and energy flow
• What are producers in an ecosystem?

  Organisms that use sunlight to produce biomass
• What do primary consumers eat?

  Producers, which are usually plants
• What are secondary consumers?

  Predators that eat primary consumers
• What are apex predators?

  Top of the food chain with no natural predators
• What are trophic levels?

  Levels in a food chain based on feeding relationships
• How do population numbers fluctuate in an ecosystem?

  They change over time due to various factors
• What happens to carbon when organisms die?

  Carbon is recycled to create new organisms
• How do plants use CO2?

  For growth during photosynthesis
• What is the water cycle?

  Rain falls, runs into rivers, evaporates
• How do farmers utilize decomposition?


  To produce natural fertilizers for crops
• What is biodiversity?

  Variety of different organisms in an ecosystem
• Why is high biodiversity important?

  It stabilizes ecosystems and resource availability
• How does human development affect biodiversity?

  It usually results in lower biodiversity
• What problems arise from human development?

  Waste disposal and habitat destruction
• What gases contribute to global warming?

  Carbon dioxide and methane
• What percentage of the greenhouse effect is caused by water vapor?

  95%
• What is the impact of deforestation?

  Reduces biodiversity and habitat availability
• What does the pyramid of biomass illustrate?

  Mass entering the next trophic level
• How do you calculate the percentage absorbed by the next trophic level?

  Percentage = part divided by whole times 100
• Why is biomass lost at each trophic level?

  Not all biomass is absorbed or consumed
• What is food security?

  Availability of food for the population
• What factors contribute to food scarcity?

  Population growth and changing diets
• What is sustainable fishing?

  Fishing at a rate that allows breeding
• How can nets be designed for sustainable fishing?

  Nets with holes to let young fish escape
• What happens if a species is overfished?

  The population can disappear in that area
• What is the role of farmers in food production?

  Maximizing biomass input while reducing loss
• What is the impact of conflicts on food production?

  They disrupt farming and food availability
• What is the significance of Ukraine in global wheat production?

  It used to provide 40% of the world's wheat
• What is the relationship between energy and food transportation?

  Transporting food requires huge amounts of energy
• What is the importance of maximizing biomass in farming?

  It increases food production efficiency
• What is the role of methane gas in agriculture?

  It can be used as fuel from decomposition