Ecology final exam

• What is ecology?

  the study of living things and their environment
• What are the different levels of ecological systems?

  Individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere.
• What are the different approaches to the different levels of ecologicalsystems?

  1. individuals: how organisms behave
  2. populations: how groups of the same species change
  3. communities: how different species interact
  4. ecosystems: how living things and their environments interact
  5. biomes and biospheres: how different areas and the whole planet work together
• What are the governing principles of ecology?

  interdependence, biodiversity, energy flow, nutrient cycling, adaptation
• Differentiate between a phenotype and a genotype?

  phenotype: what you observe on the outside

  genotype: genetic blueprint
• What is the difference between a parasite and a parasitoid?

  Parasite: Lives on or in a host organism without necessarily killing it.

  Parasitoid: Eventually kills the host organism.
• What is the difference between a habitat and a niche?

  habitat: this is like your home

  niche: this is like your job; role you play in your home
• How is earth warmed by the greenhouse effect?

  the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a blanket. it traps heat and keeps the earth warm
• How is climate different from weather?

  climate is like looking at the bigger picture, while weather is what you experience day to day
• What is the albedo effect?

  how much sunlight is reflected off the earths surface back into space
• What is the urban heat island effect?

  when cities are significally warmer than their surrounding rural areas because of human activities
• How do air currents impact weather patterns and climate?

  air currents help regulate temperature, precipitation, and other weather conditions
• What is upwelling?

  when cold, nutrient-rich water from deeper ocean layers rises to the surface
• What are the 9 terrestrial biomes? Describe each one. How are theydifferent?

  1. tundra: cold and treeless. few plants can survive
  2. Taiga: boreal forest, cold winters and cool summers
  3. temperate forest: moderate temps
  4. grassland: mostly grass
  5. desert: little rainfall and extreme temperature variations
  6. tropical rainforest: high temps and abundant rain
  7. savanna: warm climate with wet and dry seasons
  8. chaparral: shrubs and small trees
  9. temperate grasslands: similar to grasslands but with colder winters
• How are aquatic biomes categorized?


  By factors such as water depth, salinity, and water flow.
• How are terrestrial biomes categorized?

  climate, vegetation and geographical location
• What are the two types of organic inputs that provide energy intobodies of water?

  aquatic sources and terrestrial sources
• What are the lake zones?

  • littoral zone: shallow
  • limnetic zone: open water
  • profundal zone: deep
• What is turnover and what drives turnover?

  the mixing of water layers that occurs during seasonal changes in temperature.

  it is driven by differences in water density caused by temperature variations
• What are estuaries?

  Coastal ecosystems where rivers meet the sea.
• What are salt marshes?

  Coastal wetlands.
• What are mangrove swamps?

  Coastal wetlands with salt-tolerant trees and shrubs.
• What are the ocean zones?

  • Epipelagic Zone (sunlight zone) near the surface
  • Mesopelagic Zone (twilight zone) a bit deeper and dimmer
  • Bathypelagic Zone (midnight zone) even deeper and completely dark
  • Abyssopelagic Zone (abyssal zone) really cold and under extreme pressure
  • Hadalpelagic Zone (hadopelagic zone) the deepest part
• What are the thermal properties of water?

  High specific heat
• What are adaptations to water density?

  swim bladders, buoyant structures, streamlined bodies, countercurrent exchange, migration
• What are adaptations to water viscosity?

  streamlined bodies, mucus coating, flexible appendages, jet propulsion, reduced size
• How does water depth impact organisms?

  light availability, temperature, pressure, oxygen availability, food availability
• What are human causes of decreased pH levels?

  acid rain, industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, deforestation, CO2 emissions
• What is acid deposition or acid rain?

  when acidic pollutants from human activities mix with water vapor in the atmosphere and fall to the ground as rain, snow, or fog
• What does hyperosmotic mean?

  high concentration of solutes (like salt or sugar) compared to another solution
• What does hypo osmotic mean?

  lower concentration of solutes
• What are adaptations to living in saltwater?

  handling salt levels, conserving water, and controlling buoyancy
• Define homeotherm?

  an animal that can regulate its body temperature to stay relatively constant, regardless of the temperature outside
• Define poikilotherm?

  animal whose body temperature fluctuates with its environment
• Define heterotherm?

  an animal that can regulate its body temperature, but may vary depending on factors like activity level or environmental conditions
• What is thermal optimum?

  temperature range where organism performs best
• What is ocean acidification?

  when the ocean becomes more acidic due to the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere
• What is the difference between the standard error of the mean andstandard deviation?

  The standard deviation shows how spread out individual data points are from the average. The standard error of the mean shows how much the average of multiple sets of data varies from the true average of the entire population.
• What is parent material?

  the starting material that soil forms from, such as rock or sediment
• What is temperature regulation? Is it an example of a negativefeedback loop?

  the process by which organism maintain a stable internal temperature despite changes in the external environment

  yes