Ecological Succession and Pioneer Species

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Which component of the environment includes air, soil, and water?

Abiotic component (correct)

Inorganic component

Biotic component

Organic component

What is a group of individuals of the same species occupying a common geographic area called?

Community

Biome

Ecosystem

Population (correct)

What is formed when two or more populations reside in the same geographic location?

Population

Community (correct)

Ecosystem

Biome

What is comprised of a community and its surrounding abiotic factors?

Ecosystem Signup and view all the answers

What is a collection of ecosystems with similar climates and communities called?

Biome Signup and view all the answers

What is an organism that uses energy from light or chemical reactions to produce organic compounds called?

Autotroph Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a heterotroph that consumes both plants and animals?

Omnivore Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a heterotroph that breaks down dead and decaying organic matter using biochemical reactions without ingesting it?

Decomposer Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a trophic level in a food chain?

Autotrophs Signup and view all the answers

Which biogeochemical cycle involves the cyclic movement of carbon in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment?

Carbon Cycle Signup and view all the answers

What type of community interaction is beneficial to one species, but has no effect on the other species?

Commensalism Signup and view all the answers

What type of succession occurs when new land is formed or bare rock is exposed, providing a habitat that can be colonized for the first time?

Primary Succession Signup and view all the answers

Which type of succession occurs in oak and hickory forests cleared by wildfire?

Secondary succession Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of pioneer species in succession?

To contribute to soil formation through decomposition Signup and view all the answers

What is the endpoint of succession called, according to early ecologists?

Climax community Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the human impacts on the environment mentioned in the text?

Rise in carbon emissions Signup and view all the answers

What is the main concern for beings other than humans?

Survival and procreation Signup and view all the answers

What is deforestation?

The removal of trees to make room for something besides forest Signup and view all the answers

Which process is defined as the use of microorganisms or other forms of life to break down environmental pollutants?

Bioremediation Signup and view all the answers

Which term refers to the excessive richness of nutrients in a body of water, causing a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen?

Eutrophication Signup and view all the answers

What is the main cause of acid rain?

Industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for an organism that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm?

Invasive species Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture?

Desertification Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for an animal or plant species that can be used to infer conditions in a particular habitat?

Indicator species Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically?

Keystone species Signup and view all the answers