Environmental Science Quiz: Australian Ecosystems

Red kangaroos are found in semi-arid and arid regions in the interior of Australia.

Movement of individuals or gametes away from high population density or their area of origin.

Dispersal influences the range (global distribution) of organisms.

Australia has diverse climates: wet and cool in the southeast, cool and moist winters/warm and dry summers in the south and hot and wet in the north (seasonal drought).

Kangaroo population density can be greater than 20 kangaroos/km^2

The four main abiotic factors that make up climate are temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind.

Light intensity and wavelength (quality) affect photosynthesis. Shading by leaves creates competition for light on the forest floor.

Water availability is crucial for species distribution. Desert organisms have adaptations for water conservation.

Oxygen diffuses slowly in water, so oxygen concentrations can be low in deep oceans and lakes.

Salt concentration affects the water balance of organisms through osmosis (osmoregulation). Most aquatic organisms are restricted to either freshwater or saltwater habitats.

Wind is important in flat plains, sea coasts, and mountains. It affects plant transpiration, shape, pollination, and seed dispersal.

Soil characteristics like physical structure, pH, and mineral composition limit plant distribution. This in turn influences the animals that feed on them.

A 4.5°C or 6.5°C warming over the next century could significantly alter species distribution.

An ecosystem includes all living organisms in a community and their interactions with the non-living factors in their environment.

The movement of energy through an ecosystem, starting with producers capturing sunlight and then transferring energy to consumers and decomposers.

The continuous movement of elements within an ecosystem, such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, between living and non-living components.

The combined biological, geochemical, and physical processes within an ecosystem that contribute to its overall health, productivity, and stability.

Benefits humans receive from ecosystems, such as food, clean air, and water regulation.

Ecosystem services that provide us with resources like food, water, and raw materials.

Ecosystem services that control natural processes like climate, water purification, and disease regulation.

A large geographical region characterized by its dominant plant and animal life, typically determined by climate patterns.

Fundamental ecosystem processes that underpin all other ecosystem services, such as soil formation, nutrient cycling, primary production, and habitat formation.

The movement of energy through different organisms in an ecosystem, starting with sunlight captured by plants and passing up the food chain.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. This means the total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant.

Every energy transformation increases the disorder (entropy) of the universe. This means some energy is always lost as heat during energy transfers.

The percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next, typically around 10%. This means only a small fraction of energy makes it to top predators.

A linear sequence of organisms where energy flows from producers to consumers, starting with plants and moving up through herbivores and carnivores.

A food chain where detritivores (decomposers) feed on dead organic matter, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

The evolution of new species from populations that live in the same geographic area, often due to resource competition or other ecological pressures.

The evolution of new species from populations that are geographically isolated, leading to genetic divergence and reproductive isolation.

A type of natural selection where one extreme phenotype is favored over others, leading to a shift in the population's average trait value.

When organisms compete for the same limited resources, such as food, water, or space.

The proportion of phenotypic variation in a trait that is due to genetic factors.

A group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment, providing a baseline for comparison.

Observations that show organisms are competing for the same resource, such as overlapping diet, decline in one population after another arrives, or changes in behavior.

Extreme environmental events, like droughts, can act as strong selective pressures, leading to rapid changes in species' traits.

Phosphate that is dissolved in water, making it readily available to plants and other organisms.

Excessive nutrient enrichment in a body of water, often caused by human activities like agricultural runoff. It leads to algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and changes in biodiversity.

The current geological epoch where humans have become the dominant force shaping Earth's environment, resulting in significant and lasting impacts on Earth's systems.

The current geological epoch where human activities have become the dominant force shaping Earth's environment, resulting in significant and lasting impacts on Earth's systems.

Significant alterations in the Earth's weather patterns and temperature, primarily caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.

Changes in the living components of an ecosystem, often triggered by changes in the environment, such as climate change, habitat loss, or invasive species.

The condition of having excessive amounts of nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen, in an ecosystem, often leading to eutrophication.

The ways in which human actions directly affect ecosystems, including habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing, and climate change.