Nutrient cycling ensures the sustainability of ecosystems.
True
Water is essential for all life processes and influences species distribution.
True
What is population growth influenced by?
Biotic and abiotic factors
What type of population interaction occurs when one population (the predator) consumes another (the prey)?
Predation
Population interactions play a crucial role in structuring ecosystems
Keystone species have a disproportionately large impact on community structure.
Abiotic factors interact with biotic components to shape ecosystem dynamics.
True
Why is logistic growth considered more realistic than exponential growth?
Limited resources and constraints
Producers retain 100% of the energy they capture.
True
In the carbon cycle, photosynthesis plays a role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, whereas respiration releases it back into the atmosphere
What is a key biotic-abiotic interaction in an ecosystem?
Living organisms interacting with sunlight
Match the population interaction with its effect on each population:
Competition ↔️ (-) for both populations
Predation ↔️ (+) for predator, (-) for prey
Mutualism ↔️ (+) for both populations
Parasitism ↔️ (+) for parasite, (-) for host
The proportion of each species compared to the total number of individuals is called relative abundance.
What does 'species richness' measure in a community?
Number of species
Producers retain 100% of the energy from the previous trophic level.
True
What are key organisms involved in nutrient cycling?
Plants, bacteria, fungi
A mature forest is a stable ecosystem due to its high biodiversity and efficient nutrient cycling.
What role do keystone species play in maintaining ecosystem stability?
Disproportionate impact
Energy flow involves the transfer of energy from producers to consumers, with energy lost as heat
Sunlight provides energy for photosynthesis and affects temperature
Energy flow in ecosystems follows a linear path, with energy lost as heat at each trophic level.
True
Population interactions structure ecosystems by influencing population sizes and distributions.
True
What type of population interaction occurs when one population (the parasite) benefits at the expense of the other (the host)?
Parasitism
What are dominant species in a community characterized by?
Greatest biomass or abundance
Nutrient cycling involves the movement of nutrients between the environment and organisms
Exponential growth assumes unlimited resources and no limiting factors.
True
What is the 10% rule in energy flow within an ecosystem?
Only 10% of energy retained
What is the primary focus of nutrient cycling in an ecosystem?
Movement of essential nutrients
Efficient recycling of essential nutrients through biotic and abiotic components is a key factor in maintaining ecosystem stability
Population growth that slows as it approaches the carrying capacity of the environment is called logistic growth
What does 'variety of species and their relative proportions' refer to?
Species diversity
The organization of different populations of species living together in a specific area is called community structure.
What is the approximate percentage of energy retained at each trophic level?