Final Exam Study Guide

Chapter 20
1. Ecology
a. Biosphere- all living organisms on Earth, together with the environments in which they live
b. Biome- large area of biosphere that’s characterized according to its unique climatic & ecological
features
c. Ecosystem- community of organisms, together with physical environment in which the
organisms live
d. Community- association of populations of different species that live in the same area
e. Population- group of interacting individuals of a single species located w/in a particular area
f. Organism- any individual living thing that can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, and maintain
homeostasis
2. Climate- predictable; based on average weather conditions experienced in a region over relatively long
periods of time
3. Weather- temperature, precipitation (rainfall & snowfall), wind speed & direction, humidity, cloud
cover, & other physical conditions of Earth’s lower atmosphere at a specific place over a short period
of time
4. Terrestrial biomes- land biomes & usually named after dominant vegetation in area
a. Avg. temp. & precipitation are most important factors to determine type of biome
5. Aquatic biomes- found in water & classified on basis of physical & chemical features
a. Freshwater- low salt concentration
b. Marine- make up ¾ of Earth’s surface; higher salt content
6. Estuaries- shallowest of marine ecosystems; region where river empties into sea
7. Intertidal zone- part of coast that’s closest to shore & extends from highest tide mark to lowest tide
mark
8. Benthic zone- relatively stable habitat & rich in sediments containing dead & decaying remains of
organism (detritus)

Chapter 21
1. Population size- total number of individuals in population
2. Population density- number of individuals per unit of area
3. Growth rate = (birth and immigration) – (death and emigration)
4. Exponential growth- represented by J-shaped curve; occurs when population increases by constant
rate over constant time interval
5. Logistic growth- represented by S-shaped curve; takes into consideration changes in growth rates that
occur as resources become limited
6. Carrying capacity- max. population size that can be sustained in a given environment
7. Density-dependent factor- limits growth of population more strongly as the density of population
increases; food shortage
8. Density-independent factor- can limit the size of population but does not act more strongly as density
of population increases; weather

Chapter 23
1. Diversity- species composition
a. Species richness- total number of different species that live in the community
b. Relative species abundance- number of individuals of a species in a given community compared
to individuals of other species in that community
2. Interactions
 a. Mutualism- both benefit +/+
b. Commensalism- one benefits at no cost to other +/0
c. Exploitation- one species benefits & other is harmed +/-
d. Competition- both species may be harmed -/-
3. Exploitation
a. Herbivores- consumers eat plants & plant parts
b. Predators- animals that kill other animals for food
c. Parasites- consumers live in or on organism they eat
d. Pathogens- cause disease in their hosts
4. Niche- sum total of conditions & resources a species or population needs in order to survive &
reproduce successfully in its particular habitat
5. Habitat- environmental situations in which organisms live, including all living & nonliving factors
6. Keystone species- have disproportionately lg. effect on types & abundances of other species in a
community
7. Invasive species- nonnative species disrupt & overtake communities
8. Succession:
a. Primary- occurs in newly created habitat when a few species that are able to grow & reproduce
under challenging conditions begin to colonize the area
b. Secondary- communities regain successional state that existed before a disturbance

Chapter 24
1. Biotic factors- interacting living organisms
2. Abiotic factors- nonliving environment that surrounds community of living organisms in ecosystem
3. Producers- organisms that capture light energy & convert it into chemical forms through process of
photosynthesis
4. Consumers- obtain energy & nutrients by eating other organisms
5. Decomposers- break down tissue from once-living organisms to obtain their energy & nutrients
6. Net primary productivity (NPP)- amount of energy captured by photosynthetic organism minus the
amount they expend on cellular respiration & other maintenance processes
7. Food chains- linear sequence of who eats whom
8. Food webs- show various food chains of a community, where they overlap, & how they’re connected
9. Primary consumers- one step removed from producers
10. Secondary consumers- organisms feed on primary consumers
11. Tertiary consumers- organisms feed on secondary consumers
12. Trophic levels- different steps of a food chain; reflect number of energy conversions that occur from
the ultimate source of energy
13. Carbon cycle- transfer of carbon w/in biotic communities, between living organism & their physical
surroundings, & w/in abiotic world
14. Eutrophication- addition of extra nutrients to lakes or streams; process in which enrichment of water
by nutrients causes bacterial populations to increase & oxygen concentrations to decrease

Chapter 25
1. Biomagnification- increase in the tissue concentrations of a bioaccumulated chemical at successively
higher trophic levels in a food chain
2. Endocrine disrupter- chemical that interferes/ hormone function to produce negative effects
3. Greenhouse gas- any of several gases in Earth’s atmosphere that let in sunlight but trap heat
4. Greenhouse effect- increase in Earth’s temperature when absorbed heat that is remitted by
greenhouse gases becomes trapped b/c it lacks the energy to escape into outer space
5. Global warming- worldwide increase in temperature; caused by human activities