Chapter 13 – Principles of Ecology Study Guide
1. Define ecology (focus on interactions). Ecologists study the environment at different levels of organization. What are these levels (from smallest to largest)?
2. What is the term for a group of different species in a given area?
3. Which level of organization in ecology is considered a major regional or global community or organisms?
4. List examples of biotic factors. In other words, define biotic and list common examples.
5. Why would wind be considered an abiotic factor?
6. A rainforest is considered a location that has high levels of biodiversity. What is the definition for biodiversity?
7. What is a keystone species?
8. Beavers are sometimes trapped for their fur. What could be one effect of increased trapping of beavers in an area?
a. Biodiversity among the area’s fish would increase
b. The number of herons and kingfishers would decrease
c. There would be more nesting areas for waterfowl
d. More trees would be cut down
9. An organism that makes its own food is called a ______.
10. A moose is considered to be a consumer because it ______.
11. The basis for the energy in an ecosystem is provided by ______.
12. Most producers get energy from the Sun using the process of ______.
13. Chemosynthesis is the process in which organisms ______.
14. A model that shows a single sequence of feeding relationships is called ______.
15. Why are decomposers important to the environment? What do they do to help the environment?
16. A food chain contains oak trees (producers), mice (herbivores), black rat snakes (carnivores), and bald eagles (carnivores). How many trophic levels does this food chain have?
17. What are food webs?
18. The water cycle, in which water moves from the atmosphere, to the surface, below ground, and back, is also called the ______.
19. Fossil fuels are part of which biogeochemical cycle?
20. Where does most of the phosphorus cycle take place?
21. Each level in a food chain contains less energy than the one below it because some energy is ______.
22. The term biomass refers to total ______.
23. What is the term used for a diagram that shows how available energy is distributed among trophic levels in an ecosystem?
24. What does a biomass pyramid show?
25. What is the term used for a diagram that shows the number of individual organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem?
26. Which of the following can be both primary and secondary consumers?
a. Herbivores
b. Carnivores
c. Omnivores
d. Detritivores
27. Why are bacteria important in the nitrogen cycle?
28. What is a detritivore?
29. Define an ecosystem.
30. List the processes involved in the hydrologic cycle.
31. A pyramid of numbers is used to show ______.
32. All of the organisms that inhabit the savanna make up a (n) ______.
33. Why are producers important to ecosystems? What do they do?
34. What are two processes by which autotrophs make food?
35. If a keystone species is removed from an ecosystem, what happens to the ecosystem?
Short Answer Review
36. What do the arrows in Figure 13.3 represent?
37. List all the heterotrophs shown in the diagram.
38. Identify one food chain in the diagram.
39. If caterpillars were removed from the ecosystem, which organisms would be affected? How?
40. Explain what an energy pyramid is.
41. Draw and show where secondary consumers fall in an energy pyramid.
42. Draw and show the energy available at each consecutive level.
43. Compare energy pyramids with biomass pyramids.
44. Explain why pyramids are actually shaped in a triangle shape.
Chapter 14 – Interactions in Ecosystems
1. Zebras live on the savannas of Africa. A watering hole on the savanna would be part of a zebra’s (Circle one: biotic/niche/habitat/behavior).
2. When two species compete for the same resource, they sometimes divide this resource. This is an example of ______.
3. Hawks and foxes compete to eat field mice. This is a form of ______.
4. List an example of parasitism.
5. Hawaii’s lush tropical forests arose from a process of ______. (Note: this is just the actual process)
6. The reestablishment of a damaged ecosystem in an area where the soil is intact is called ______.
7. The European red squirrel population is declining due to competition with the North American gray squirrel. Most likely, what will eventually happen to the red squirrel?
8. In 1988 several large forest fires occurred in Yellowstone National Park. What process occurred after these fires?
9. Parasitism is most similar to what process?
10. An alder tree is not a pioneer species because
a. Alder trees are a form of lichens
b. It is not one of the trees that make up a final forest
c. Smaller organisms come before trees in succession
d. Pioneer species are always animals
11. The new island of Surtsey was formed near Iceland by a series of volcanic eruptions. Which of these processes occurred first on Surtsey?
a. A complex ecosystem developed
b. Volcanic rock broke down into soil
c. Plants grew on the island
d. Animals moved onto the island
Chapter 15 – The Biosphere
Explain the location, climate (temperature and precipitation), typical organisms, and key features for each biome:
Terrestrial: Aquatic:
Desert Wetlands
Grassland Marine
Temperate Deciduous Forest Freshwater
Tropical Rainforest Estuary
Taiga
Tundra