Ecology Study Guide

Levels of Organization:
1. What is an abiotic factor? Give examples. A non-living factor in an environment. Rock,
sand, dirt, mountains, water
2. What is a population? A group of organisms of one species living in the same place at the
same time. They compete for food, resources, & mates
3. What is a niche? A way of life for an organism (JOB)
4. What is ecology? The study of interactions among organisms and their environment
5. What is a biotic factor? Give examples. A living factor in an environment; plants, animals,
bacteria
6. What is a community? Many populations in one area
7. What is a biosphere? All biotic & abiotic factors in the same area
8. What is an organism? One member of a species
9. What is an ecosystem? Many communities living in the same area

Energy Flow:
10.What are animals called that feed only on other consumers? Carnivore
11.What happens as trophic levels increase? Energy decreases
12.Which trophic level has the highest amount of energy? producers
13.What types of producers would you find in a freshwater pond? algae
14.What is the role of a scavenger? Give an example. To eat dead animals. Vultures
15.What are the 3 types of ecological pyramids? What do they contain/show? 1. Energy
pyramid: shows the decrease of energy as trophic level increases. 2. Pyramid of numbers:
shows the number of organisms on each tropic level. 3. Biomass pyramid: mass of
organisms on each tropic level.
16.What is the role of a predator? A consumer that hunts & kills other consumers
17.What an herbivore? Consumers that only eat producers- Plant eaters
18.Know how to analyze a food web and be able to identify the different roles of organisms.
19.Know how to analyze a food chain and be able to identify the different roles of organisms.
Feeding Relationships:
20.What is parasitism? Give an example. When one organism is being harmed and the other
benefits. Ex: tapeworm
21.What is symbiosis? The close and permanent relationship between organisms of different
species.
22.What is commensalism? One organism benefits while the other is neither harmed or
helped
23.What is mutualism? An interaction in which both organisms in the relationship benefit
24.What is predation? A predator and prey relationship. The predator hurts and kills the prey.

Biomes
25.What are the biotic factors in the ocean? Fish, sharks, whales, plankton, seaweed, algae,
crabs
26.What is a tropical rainforest? Located in Central S. America, S. Asia, & Western Africa, no
seasons, a lot of rainfall, plants are evergreens, sugarcane, and bamboo
27.What is a desert? Dry, every continent except Europe, no seasons, cacti, hot, little rainfall
28.What is a temperate deciduous forest? Georgia, all 4 seasons, oaks, maples, squirrels,
rabbits, deer

Succession
29.What is a pioneer species? The first species in an area after succession. Ex: lichen &
bacteria
30.If lightning causes a fire that destroys all the plants in a forest, what is most likely to grow
back first in the burned area? Woody shrubs
31.What is ecological succession? A series of changes in a community in which new
populations generally replaces older populations.
32.In what order would succession occur if a fire were to burn up a forest and leave barren
soil? Grasses-> shrubs pines maples
33.What is the difference between primary and secondary succession? Primary- life starts
from scratch; secondary- life starts over again; some life still exists on the soil
34.Know what a climax community is and what it looks like in a picture.
35.What causes a succession to occur? Fires, volcanoes, drops in sea level, natural disasters,
human actions

Nutrient Cycles:
36.How is nitrogen removed from and returned to the atmosphere? bacteria
37.What is an increase in Earths average temperature from the buildup of carbon dioxide and
other gases in the atmosphere? Global warming
38.What are the four parts of the water cycle? 1. Evaporation 2. Condensation 3. Precipitation
4. Runoff
39.What is a renewable resource? A resource that can be recycled or replaced naturally by
the environment
40.Why do animals need nitrogen? To make proteins
41.What are the steps of the carbon cycle? Decomposition, Cell Respiration, Photosynthesis
42.What is nitrogen fixation? Bacteria living on the roots of plants can absorb nitrogen from
the atmosphere and convert it to a form plants can use
43.Know what the carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles look like.
44.What is the process by which plants release water during respiration? transpiration