Name:______________________________________________________ Date:_______________ Period:_____
STUDY GUIDE: Ecology
Match the words with their definitions on the following page (most words can be found in your book,
but for others… use your notes!!)
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
omnivore
herbivore
carnivore
detritivore
primary productivity
producer
consumer
ecology
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
decomposer
biotic factor
abiotic factor
biodiversity
symbiosis
mutualism
commensalism
competition
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
niche
acid rain
greenhouse effect
autotroph
habitat
community
ecosystem
_________________________1.
_________________________2.
A close, long-term relationship between two or more different species.
_________________________3.
A type of organism that uses the energy from sunlight to produce their own
nutrients; also known as autotrophs.
_________________________4.
_________________________5.
A type of symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit.
_________________________6.
_________________________7.
An organism that eats both plant and animal.
_________________________8.
An organism that feeds on dead organisms or waste; examples are some
bacteria and fungi
A type of organism that eats other organisms. Its meaning means “meateater”.
A type of symbiotic relationship where only one organism benefits from the
relationship and the other is not affected at all.
An organism that eats only plants and other types of producers. Its name
means “plant eater”.
_________________________9. Consists of community and all the physical aspects
_________________________10. Describes the number of different species found within an ecosystem.
_________________________11.
Organisms that can make their own food by capturing energy from sunlight.
Examples are plants, trees, and some types of bacteria; also known as
producers.
_________________________12. Organisms that gain their energy from eating other organisms -- animals
_________________________13. Precipitation, or rain, with below-normal pH, often the result of industrial
pollution and automobile exhaust
_________________________14. Something that causes decay
_________________________15. The functional role of species within an ecosystem; a way of life.
_________________________16. The living parts of a habitat-- this includes the plants and animals of the
environment.
_________________________17. The different species that live in the same habitat
_________________________18. The physical, non-living parts of a habitat. Examples include climate, soil, and
sunlight.
_________________________19.
_________________________20.
_________________________21.
_________________________22.
The place where a community lives
The rate which photosynthesis produces organic materials.
The study of interactions of organisms with their environment.
This is used to explain the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to
accumulation of greenhouse gases.
_________________________23. When two or more different species compete for the same resource.
Short Answer:
1. Use arrows to connect the following animals in a food web. Remember, the arrow points to the
organism that receives the energy. THEN, write their trophic energy level. For example, the owl is
the “tertiary consumer”.
Moth:
Bird:
Owl: tertiary consumer
Frog:
Tree:
Grasshopper:
2. State whether the following relationships between the following organisms shows mutualism, parasitism, or
commensalism.
yucca plant/
yucca moth
mistletoe/spruce tree
honey guide bird/
badger
remora/shark
Yucca flowers are pollinated by yucca moths. The moths lay
their eggs in the flowers where the larvae (babies) hatch and
eat some of the developing seeds. Both species benefit.
Mistletoe sucks water and nutrients from the spruce tree.
Honey guide birds alert and show badgers to bee hives. The
badgers then open the bee hives and feed on the honey first.
Then the honey guide birds eat.
The remora (a bony fish) temporarily attaches to the sharks
body. They travel with the shark and feed on the leftover
scraps from the shark’s meals. The sharks do not eat the
remora.
Year
3. The data shows populations of snake and mice found in an
experimental field.
a) During which year was the mouse population at zero
population growth? _______
b) What is the carrying capacity for snakes? _____
c) What is the carrying capacity for mice? _____
d) What is the rate of growth (r) for mice during 1970? _____
During 1980? ______
Snakes Mice born Mice died
1960
2
1000
200
1970
10
800
300
1980
30
400
400
1990
15
600
550
2000
14
620
600
2001
15
640
580