Ecosystems

Unit Review

1. What is the difference between an organism, population, community, and
ecosystem? Explain all four.

Organism - An individual living thing that can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, and
maintain homeostasis. It can be a virus, bacterium, protist, fungus, plant or an
animal.

Population - A population comprises all the individuals of a given species in a
specific area or region at a certain time. Its significance is more than that of a
number of individuals because not all individuals are identical. Populations contain
genetic variation within themselves and between other populations. Even
fundamental genetic characteristics such as hair color or size may differ slightly
from individual to individual. More importantly, not all members of the population
are equal in their ability to survive and reproduce

Community - Community refers to all the populations in a specific area or region at
a certain time. Its structure involves many types of interactions among species.
Some of these involve the acquisition and use of food, space, or other environmental
resources. Others involve nutrient cycling through all members of the community
and mutual regulation of population sizes. In all of these cases, the structured
interactions of populations lead to situations in which individuals are thrown into
life or death struggles.
In general, ecologists believe that a community that has a high diversity is more
complex and stable than a community that has a low diversity. This theory is
founded on the observation that the food webs of communities of high diversity are
more interconnected. Greater interconnectivity causes these systems to be more
resilient to disturbance. If a species is removed, those species that relied on it for
food have the option to switch to many other species that occupy a similar role in
that ecosystem. In a low diversity ecosystem, possible substitutes for food may be
non-existent or limited in abundance

Ecosystem - Ecosystems are dynamic entities composed of the biological
community and the abiotic environment. An ecosystem's abiotic and biotic
composition and structure is determined by the state of a number of interrelated
environmental factors. Changes in any of these factors (for example: nutrient
availability, temperature, light intensity, grazing intensity, and species population
density) will result in dynamic changes to the nature of these systems. For example,
a fire in the temperate deciduous forest completely changes the structure of that
system. There are no longer any large trees, most of the mosses, herbs, and shrubs
that occupy the forest floor are gone, and the nutrients that were stored in the
biomass are quickly released into the soil, atmosphere and hydrologic system. After
a short time of recovery, the community that was once large mature trees now
becomes a community of grasses, herbaceous species, and tree seedlings.

2. How does the composition of soil affect the community of plants in an area? Think
about succession.

See links below:
http://www.soilhealth.com/soils-are-alive/what-affects-soil-organisms/p-
02.htm

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr068

3. Describe the differences between the symbiotic relationships. Explain each type
and give an example.

Mutualism both organisms benefit from the relationship (+, +). Example
Crocodile and bird bird cleans teeth for the crocodile and the bird gets a meal

Commensalism one organism benefits from the relationship and the other in
neither helped nor harmed (+, 0). Example bird and a tree or some types of birds
that follow grazers and eat the bugs they stir up from the ground.

Parasitism one organism benefits (parasite) but the other organism is harmed by
the relationship (host) (+, -). Example Dog and a tick

4. Demonstrate the flow of energy through the trophic levels. Show in order which
level receives the most to the level that receives the least.

Producer ! Primary Consumer ! Secondary Consumer ! Tertiary Consumer
100% 10% 1% .1%
MOST !



Least
90% of energy is lost as heat energy.

5. What types of factors affect an organisms ability to survive in an ecosystem?

Limiting Factors Food, Water, Shelter, Space, Mates

6. Describe the order of the events in primary and secondary succession.
See links below:

http://www.majordifferences.com/2014/04/difference-between-primary-
and.html#.Vf9SvumRZUQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8-LZdIyUQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZKIHe2LDP8

7. What is lost to the environment at each of the trophic levels in an ecosystem?

Heat/Waste Energy 90%

8. What role do microorganisms, such as bacteria, play in ecosystems?

Recycle nutrients Nitrogen Cycle fix nitrogen in compounds that can be used by
living organisms, Denitrification process to return nitrogen to the atmosphere

9. What would the pupil of an animal look like that is very active during the day in
the desert?

10. How do you determine if an organism is a primary consumer, secondary
consumer, and tertiary consumer by looking at a food web? Can an organism fall
into more than one of these categories, and why?

Primary consumers eat producers, secondary consumers eat primary
consumers, and tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers. The arrows
point towards the individual that is receiving energy from the feeding
relationship. Organisms can fall into more than one category based on their
feeding relationships. If they eat producers and consumers, they can occupy
more than one trophic level.

11. How is carbon released into the atmosphere?

Carbon is released into the atmosphere by respiration
Gases containing carbon move between the oceans surface and the atmosphere
through a process called diffusion.
Volcanic activity is a source of carbon into the atmosphere.
Deforestation. When we cut down trees and forests, they can no longer remove carbon
dioxide from the air. This results in additional carbon dioxide placed in the atmosphere.

Wood burning. When we burn wood, the carbon stored in the trees becomes carbon
dioxide and enters the atmosphere.
Combustion of fossil fuels. We extract fossils fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) from the
ground and burn them for energy at power plants. The burning of fossil fuels is called
combustion. Fossil fuel combustion releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
12. What type of organism aids and is most critical to the cycling of nitrogen? Give
an example.

Microorganisms - Bacteria

13. What could cause excess nitrogen in an aquatic ecosystem?

Human Pollution and other human activities
Nutrient pollution is one of America's most widespread, costly and challenging
environmental problems, and is caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the
air and water.
Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients that are natural parts of aquatic ecosystems.
Nitrogen is also the most abundant element in the air we breathe. Nitrogen and
phosphorus support the growth of algae and aquatic plants, which provide food and
habitat for fish, shellfish and smaller organisms that live in water.
But when too much nitrogen and phosphorus enter the environment - usually from
a wide range of human activities - the air and water can become polluted. Nutrient
pollution has impacted many streams, rivers, lakes, bays and coastal waters for the
past several decades, resulting in serious environmental and human health issues,
and impacting the economy.
Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water causes algae to grow faster than
ecosystems can handle. Significant increases in algae harm water quality, food
resources and habitats, and decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need
to survive. Large growths of algae are called algal blooms and they can severely
reduce or eliminate oxygen in the water, leading to illnesses in fish and the death of
large numbers of fish. Some algal blooms are harmful to humans because they
produce elevated toxins and bacterial growth that can make people sick if they come
into contact with polluted water, consume tainted fish or shellfish, or drink
contaminated water.
Nutrient pollution in ground water - which millions of people in the United States
use as their drinking water source - can be harmful, even at low levels. Infants are
vulnerable to a nitrogen-based compound called nitrates in drinking water. Excess
nitrogen in the atmosphere can produce pollutants such as ammonia and ozone,
which can impair our ability to breathe, limit visibility and alter plant growth. When
excess nitrogen comes back to earth from the atmosphere, it can harm the health of
forests, soils and waterways.

14. What process extracts CO2 from the atmosphere, and what process adds CO2 to
the atmosphere?

Photosynthesis and Respiration

15. What effect does removing a predator have on a population?

Prey abundance and evenness

Prey population dynamics
Prey evolution
Abundances of species in other trophic levels

16. What stage of ecological succession has the most biodiversity?

Biodiversity, the number of living beings and the biomass of an ecosystem
tend to increase as the succession progresses and they stabilize when the
climax stage is reached.