50 Questions
What does population ecology study?
All of the organisms of a single species within a given geographic area
What is the difference between an ecosystem and a habitat?
Ecosystems include both biotic and abiotic components, while habitats are places suitable for particular organisms to live
What determines the niche of an animal within its ecosystem?
Feeding habits and other adaptations
What are density-dependent factors within an ecosystem?
Disease, predation, competition for resources
What is the concern of biosphere ecology?
All living organisms on Earth and how they affect the planet
Which type of speciation occurs when a population is reproductively isolated due to a geographical change?
Allopatric speciation
What can lead to the formation of a new species if an isolated population has new environmental conditions and new traits emerge?
Environmental adaptation
In which mechanism do the barriers preventing populations from mating become stronger, leading to the inability to produce fertile offspring?
Reinforcement
What refers to the choices that individuals make to mate based on traits possessed by the other individual?
Sexual selection
When do populations evolve to find different traits favorable, if separated geographically?
When selective pressures cause a divide between the organisms
In a food web, what do producers represent?
Organisms that create their own food
Where are primary consumers positioned in a food chain?
First trophic level
What is the flow of energy through trophic levels generally like?
Upward from the lowest trophic level to the highest
What is the main difference between a food chain and a food web?
Representation of interconnected interactions
Which organisms are classified as secondary consumers in an ecosystem?
Carnivores and omnivores
What do quaternary consumers primarily feed on in an ecosystem?
Other consumers
What can be modeled using knowledge of food chains and food webs?
Flow of energy through ecosystems
What is the percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next?
10%
What does biotic potential refer to?
The rate at which a species reproduces with ideal living conditions
What establishes the carrying capacity of a species?
The environmental resistance
What can be attributed to environmental resistance in a population?
The factors that limit the growth of a population
What does the carrying capacity of an ecosystem represent?
The maximum number of living organisms that an environment can support
What are examples of limiting factors in an ecosystem?
The availability of food, water, and shelter
What does the sustainability of an ecosystem depend on?
The community of animals, plants, and other organisms that live in the same area
What can reduce the maximum carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
Limiting factors such as the availability of food, water, and shelter
Which factor may sustain a larger population?
Nutrition
What type of symbiosis benefits one species without helping or harming the other?
Commensalism
What is the study of the evolutionary development of animal behavior as a result of ecological pressure called?
Behavioral ecology
What is the defense of resources within a territory known as?
Territoriality
Which factor is unlikely to support large population sizes compared to temperate climates?
Extreme climates
Which type of symbiosis benefits both organisms involved?
Mutualism
What may hurt one or both of the populations competing for resources?
Competition
What is the main reason animals defend a territory?
To secure limited resources
In social groups, what is a potential drawback related to living in groups?
Higher risk of disease spread
What concept is illustrated by the preference to donate a kidney to a closely related individual?
Kin selection
What does social behavior such as altruism tend to increase?
Reproductive rates of individuals
What influences the selection of mating partners and production of offspring?
Environmental pressure
What is a direct reflection of the most beneficial traits in a specific environment?
Mating preferences
What represents the strongest chance at survival in species that practice social child raising?
Social child raising
What governs the actions of many individuals and tends to increase the survival and reproductive rates of individuals and groups?
Altruism and kin selection
What does alpha diversity measure in an ecosystem?
The number of species
What is genetic biodiversity primarily concerned with?
Genomes
What is ecological biodiversity interested in?
The number of ecosystem types within a landscape
What does gamma diversity consider?
The total number of species across all ecosystems
What is the term 'biodiversity' often measured at?
Different levels and scales
What do stable ecosystems with high diversity have an abundance of to fill ecological roles?
Species
What is the primary concern of researchers studying genetic biodiversity?
Genomes
What does ecological diversity break up environments into?
Independent microclimates
What happens when one organism declines or goes extinct in stable, highly diverse ecosystems?
A similar species will provide its ecosystem function
What does biodiversity refer to?
The wide variety of flora and fauna in an environment
Test your knowledge of speciation with this quiz! Explore the concepts of allopatric and sympatric speciation and understand how new species form through the evolutionary process.
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