NAME______

UNIT 10 ECOLOGY QUEST – QUESTIONS

LIVING THINGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT – pages 6-11

  1. What is the definition of each of the following terms?
  1. organism
  1. habitat
  1. What is a biotic factor? What are 5 examples of biotic factors?
  1. What is an abiotic factor? What are 5 examples of abiotic factors?
  1. What is the definition of each of the following terms?
  1. species
  1. population
  1. community
  1. ecosystem
  1. ecology
  1. What is the order of ecological organization from smallest to largest?

BIOMES – pages 58-65

  1. What is a biome?
  1. How does climate (temperature and precipitation) in an area determine its biome?
  1. Complete the chart with the characteristics and organisms found in each biome:

BIOME / CHARACTERISTICS / ORGANISM FOUND IN BIOME
Temperate Rain Forest
Tropical Rainforest
Desert
Grassland
Deciduous Forest
Boreal Forest
Tundra

LIMITING FACTORS pages 18-20

  1. What is a limiting factor?
  1. What are 4 examples of limiting factors?
  1. What is carrying capacity?

INTERACTIONS AMONG LIVING THINGS – pages 24-31

  1. What is a niche? What does a niche include?
  1. What is the definition of each of the following types of interactions among organisms?
  1. competition
  1. predation
  1. symbiosis
  1. What is the difference between a predator and a prey?
  1. What is the effect of predation on population size of the predator and the prey?
  1. What are two predator adaptations?
  1. What are two prey adaptations?
  1. For each type of symbiotic relationship, what is the definition and what is an example of 2 organisms that interact through that type of relationship?

SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP / DEFINTION / EXAMPLE OF 2 ORGANISMS THAT INTERACT THROUGH RELATIONSHIP
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism

CHANGES IN COMMUNITIES – pages 32-35

  1. What is succession?
  1. What is primary succession?
  1. What are the causes and four steps of primary succession?
  1. What is a pioneer species?
  1. What is secondary succession?
  1. What are the causes and four steps of secondary succession?

ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS – pages 42-47

  1. What are the definitions of the following terms?
  2. Producer
  3. Consumer
  4. Herbivore
  5. Carnivore
  6. Omnivore
  7. Scavenger
  8. Decomposer
  1. What is a food chain?
  1. How do you draw a food chain?
  1. Why do all food chains start with a producer?
  1. What is a food web?
  1. Why are decomposers important in a food web?
  1. What is an energy pyramid?
  1. At what level is the most energy available?
  1. How much energy is transferred from one level of a food web to the next higher level?

CYCLES OF MATTER – pages 48-53

  1. What happens in each of the following parts of the water cycle?
  1. evaporation
  1. condensation
  1. precipitation
  1. Explain how each group of organisms plays a role in recycling carbon and oxygen.
  1. Producers
  1. Consumers
  1. Decomposers
  1. Why is nitrogen gas called “free” nitrogen?
  1. What is nitrogen fixation?
  1. What kinds of organisms perform nitrogen fixation?

BIODIVERSITY – pages 95-97; 100-101

  1. What is biodiversity?
  1. Why is preserving biodiversity important?
  1. What is the definition of each of the following terms?
  1. extinction
  1. endangered species
  1. threatened species
  1. invasive species (not in your book) – a species that is not native to an ecosystem
  1. Why do you think invasive species are a problem?