Ecosystems & Ecology Exam Tuesday, May 15Th

Ecosystems & Ecology Exam – Tuesday, May 15th

Multiple choice & matching

1. What law of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be converted to another form?

1. What law of energy states that when energy is converted from one form to another, some energy is lost in the form of heat?

1. What are the nonliving parts of the environment, like air currents, temperature, moisture, light and soil called?

1. What is the change that occurs as one kind of living organism replaces another organism in an environment?

1. These are ecosystems that have similar kinds of climatic conditions and vegetation that can be grouped into a broader category of organization.

1. What are all the ecosystems of the Earth as a whole called that supports life?

1. What are all the living organisms that inhabit an environment called?

1. What is the cycle that is the combined processes, including photosynthesis, decomposition, and respiration, by which carbon cycles between the atmosphere, oceans, and living organisms?

1. What includes all the populations of organisms that live within a defined area such as a woodland, marsh or cornfield?

1. What is it called when one organism has an advantage over another in being able to survive in an environment?

1. What is it called when there is a loss of an organism from a specific niche or habitat?
2. This biome is also known as the Taiga Biome and is well known for its evergreen forests that never loose their foliage.

1. These are important organisms in our food webs, are typically bacteria and they break down dead things.

1. This biome is one of the driest environments with little precipitation.

1. What is the study of interactions between organisms and their environments?

1. What is made up of the community of living organisms plus all of the nonliving features of the environment such as water, soil, rocks, and buildings that interact with each other?

1. What is the circular flow of elements from living organisms to nonliving matter?

1. What term is the ability to do work or to cause changes to occur?

1. This is an area of water where mixing of fresh and salt water occurs where rivers and streams enter the ocean.

1. This term means a community of animals that are found in a particular region.

1. This term means a community of plants that are found in a particular region.

1. These are the most simple/basic models that scientists use to show how matter and energy moves through an ecosystem.

1. This is created by ecologists to show energy conversions in an ecosystem from producers, to primary consumers, to secondary consumers to decomposers.

1. These show all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community.
2. This is the biome that contains organisms adapted to live in or near water that is NOT salty.

1. This biome is often referred to as the “Prairie” because it is ideal for growing grains, grasses and wildflowers.

1. What is the place where an organism lives out its life called?

1. This law states that matter can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed by ordinary physical and chemical processes.

1. What is any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence, numbers, reproduction, or distribution of organisms?

1. This is the largest biome that is also known as the “saltwater” biome.

1. What is the role a species plays in a community to help keep the community in homeostasis?

1. What is the cycle that is the flow of nitrogen from free nitrogen gas to nitrates in the soil and back to the atmosphere again?

1. What are some water masses that make up the marine biome?

1. What is an individual plant or animal called?

1. This term is given to the soil that remains permanently frozen.

1. What are some water masses that make up the freshwater biome?

1. What is a group of similar organisms that are found in a defined area known as?

1. These are also known as herbivores, and they eat producers.

1. This occurs where organisms did not exist before and new “pioneers” being to grow in an environment.

1. In a food chain, food web or food pyramid, these are what they all begin with.

1. What is it called when an organism has the ability to survive changes in its environment?

1. These are also known as carnivores and are at the top of the food pyramids.

1. This occurs when an ecosystem is damaged or partly destroyed by natural causes or human actions and remnants of the former community still exist.

1. This biome is identified by broadleaved hardwood trees that loose their foliage annually and have four distinct seasons.

1. All the land biomes are known as the ______biomes.

1. This biome has the most precipitation of all biomes, and is the most biologically diverse region that is wet and lush with plant growth.

1. This biome is also known as the Boreal Forest, is treeless and temperatures well below freezing for most of the year.

1. What is the cycle that moves water from the oceans, to the atmosphere to the land, to rivers and streams then back to the oceans?

1. What is the land area that is flooded during all or part of the year that is starting to be protected habitats?