Environmental Science Basics
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Questions and Answers

What is the basic focus of ecology?

  • The study of the interactions between living organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments. (correct)
  • The study of the interactions between non-living organisms and their biotic environment.
  • The study of the interactions between living organisms and their abiotic environment.
  • The study of the interactions between living organisms and their biotic environment.

    • What is the global ecosystem known as?

  • Ecosystem
  • Landscape
  • Biosphere (correct)
  • Community

    • What is the focus of ecosystem ecology?

  • Energy flow and chemical cycling among abiotic components.
  • Energy flow and chemical cycling among non-living components.
  • Energy flow and chemical cycling among biotic and abiotic components. (correct)
  • Energy flow and chemical cycling among biotic components.

    • What is the study of exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems known as?

    <p>Landscape ecology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the focus of population ecology?

    <p>Factors affecting population size over time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their biotic environment known as?

    <p>Ecology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for all living things in the biosphere?

    <p>Biotic factors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their abiotic environment known as?

    <p>Ecology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the focus of global ecology?

    <p>The influence of energy and materials on organisms across the biosphere.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment?

    <p>Ecology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the surroundings of an organism that affect its life and development?

    <p>Environment</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the hierarchy of ecology levels from top to bottom?

    <p>Global ecology, landscape ecology, ecosystem ecology, community ecology, population ecology, organismal ecology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of factors include science like chemistry, physics, and geology?

    <p>Abiotic factors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for all of the communities that live in an area together with the abiotic factors in the environment?

    <p>Ecosystem</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the study of the whole array of interacting species in a community?

    <p>Community ecology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the part of Earth that supports life?

    <p>Biosphere</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of bacteria and fungi in an ecosystem?

    <p>Decomposers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main reason that most food chains have five or less links?

    <p>90 percent of the energy is lost at each level</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is shown in an ecological pyramid?

    <p>The relative amounts of energy or biomass in different trophic levels</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next?

    <p>10%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a food chain?

    <p>A series of organisms that transfer food between trophic levels</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is biomass?

    <p>The total amount of organic matter in a trophic level</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens to the majority of energy in an ecosystem?

    <p>It is lost as heat and movement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of organisms are most worms?

    <p>Plant scavengers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of a sunflower in its ecological niche?

    <p>Absorbing light, water, and nutrients for photosynthesis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for an organism that is captured and fed upon by another organism?

    <p>Prey</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for a relationship in which two species live closely together?

    <p>Symbiosis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of symbiotic relationship involves one species benefiting and the other being neither helped nor harmed?

    <p>Commensalism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for a relationship in which one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it?

    <p>Parasitism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of commensalism in nature?

    <p>Remora fish attaching to a shark</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main characteristic of terrestrial biomes?

    <p>They are characterized by vegetation type</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the event that changes a community in a biome?

    <p>Disturbance</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which biome is characterized by a warm year-round temperature and seasonal precipitation?

    <p>Savanna</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the process by which similar characteristics arise in distant biomes through different evolutionary paths?

    <p>Convergent evolution</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the largest terrestrial biome in terms of area?

    <p>Taiga</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the zone of a lake where light can penetrate and photosynthesis occurs?

    <p>Photic zone</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the transition area between a river and the sea?

    <p>Estuary</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the zone of the ocean where light can penetrate and photosynthesis occurs?

    <p>Photic zone</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the abiotic factor that affects the distribution of organisms through its effects on biological processes?

    <p>Temperature</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the biotic factor that affects the distribution of organisms through predation, herbivory, and competition?

    <p>Biotic factor</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Environment and Ecology

    • The environment is the surroundings of an organism that affect its life and development.
    • Abiotic factors are non-living components of the environment, such as chemistry, physics, and geology, which interact to produce weather, seasonal changes, tides, air quality, and water quality.

    Ecology

    • Ecology is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments.
    • There are five levels of ecology:
      • Organismal ecology: the study of individual organisms and their physiology, evolution, and behavior.
      • Population ecology: the study of populations of organisms and the factors that affect their size and distribution.
      • Community ecology: the study of the interactions between different species in a community.
      • Ecosystem ecology: the study of energy flow and chemical cycling in ecosystems.
      • Landscape ecology: the study of the exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems.

    Biomes

    • A biome is a large region of the Earth's surface with a distinct climate, vegetation, and animal life.
    • There are several types of biomes:
      • Terrestrial biomes:
        • Tropical forest
        • Desert
        • Savanna
        • Chaparral
        • Temperate grassland
        • Northern coniferous forest
        • Tundra
      • Aquatic biomes:
        • Freshwater biomes (rivers, lakes, wetlands)
        • Marine biomes (oceans, estuaries, coral reefs)

    Ecological Factors

    • Biotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms include:
      • Predation
      • Herbivory
      • Competition
    • Abiotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms include:
      • Temperature
      • Water
      • Sunlight
      • Wind
      • Rocks and soil
    • Salinity, oxygen levels, and pH also affect the distribution of organisms.

    Trophic Levels and Food Chains

    • Trophic levels are the different feeding levels of organisms in an ecosystem.
    • Producers (plants) form the base of the food chain, followed by primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), and tertiary consumers (apex predators).
    • The 10% law states that only 10% of the energy from one trophic level is available to the next trophic level.

    Ecological Pyramids

    • Ecological pyramids are diagrams that show the relative amounts of energy or biomass at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
    • Types of ecological pyramids include:
      • Energy pyramids
      • Biomass pyramids
      • Pyramid of numbers

    Symbiosis and Parasitism

    • Symbiosis is a close relationship between two species.
    • Types of symbiosis include:
      • Mutualism (both species benefit)
      • Commensalism (one species benefits, the other is unaffected)
      • Parasitism (one species benefits, the other is harmed)

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    Get started with environmental science by learning about the basic needs of life, ecology, and interactions in the environment. Explore the study of global processes, habitats, and individual organisms.

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