Ecology Basics Quiz

Ecology

Definition and Scope

• Study of the interactions between organisms and their environment
• Examines the relationships between living organisms and their physical environment

Levels of Organization

• Ecosystem: community of living and non-living components interacting in a specific environment
• Community: group of different species living in a specific area
• Population: group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area
• Organism: individual living thing
• Ecosystem Services: essential services provided by ecosystems, e.g. air and water purification, soil formation, climate regulation

Ecological Concepts

• Biodiversity: variety of species, genes, and ecosystems
• Ecological Niche: the role and position of a species within its environment
• Adaptation: characteristics that enable organisms to survive and reproduce in their environment
• Energy Flow: transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next
• Trophic Levels: levels of energy transfer in a food chain (producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc.)

Genetics

Definition and Scope

• Study of heredity, genes, and genetic variation
• Examines the transmission of traits from one generation to the next

Key Concepts

• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid): molecule containing genetic information
• Genes: units of heredity that carry information from one generation to the next
• Chromosomes: thread-like structures containing genes
• Traits: characteristics of an organism, e.g. eye color, height
• Genotype: genetic makeup of an organism
• Phenotype: physical expression of an organism's genotype

Genetic Principles

• Mendel's Laws: laws of inheritance, e.g. segregation, independent assortment
• Dominance and Recessiveness: relationship between alleles (different forms of a gene)
• Punnett Squares: diagrams used to predict offspring genotypes and phenotypes
• Heritability: proportion of variation in a trait due to genetics

Ecology

Definition and Scope

• Ecology examines the interactions between organisms and their environment, including living and non-living components.

Levels of Organization

• An ecosystem is a community of living and non-living components interacting in a specific environment.
• A community consists of different species living in a specific area.
• A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.
• An organism is an individual living thing.
• Ecosystem services include essential services like air and water purification, soil formation, and climate regulation.

Ecological Concepts

• Biodiversity refers to the variety of species, genes, and ecosystems.
• An ecological niche is the role and position of a species within its environment.
• Adaptation refers to characteristics that enable organisms to survive and reproduce in their environment.
• Energy flow involves the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next in a food chain.
• Trophic levels are the levels of energy transfer in a food chain, including producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and more.

Genetics

Definition and Scope

• Genetics is the study of heredity, genes, and genetic variation, examining the transmission of traits from one generation to the next.

Key Concepts

• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is a molecule containing genetic information.
• Genes are units of heredity that carry information from one generation to the next.
• Chromosomes are thread-like structures containing genes.
• Traits are characteristics of an organism, such as eye color or height.
• Genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism, while phenotype is the physical expression of an organism's genotype.

Genetic Principles

• Mendel's Laws are the laws of inheritance, including segregation and independent assortment.
• Dominance and recessiveness describe the relationship between alleles (different forms of a gene).
• Punnett Squares are diagrams used to predict offspring genotypes and phenotypes.
• Heritability is the proportion of variation in a trait due to genetics.