Ecology Test Review Chapter 1

Ecology – Test Review Quiz 1 1. Match the following examples to the correct type of ecosystem service: Nutrient Cycling Water Purification Ecotourism Food Supporting Services Regulating Services Cultural Services Provisioning Services 2. Select all the biotic factors below: Abiotic factors Water Wind Biotic factors Grass Parasite Microbes Predator 3. Definition of Ecology: The study of the relationships between organisms and their environment 4. True or false. Abiotic factors are living factors in the environment, such as predators, pray, and parasites. False 5. Which will the following statements best defines Ecology? Ecology of the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. Ecology – Week 1 Questions 1. What are ecosystem services? The benefits that humans gain from the natural environment from functioning ecosystems. 2. What are the four types of services and what is an example of each? Define the following: a. Provision Systems i. Any type of benefit to people that is extracted from nature. Examples: - Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish, and livestock - Drinking water, timber, wood, oils and natural gas b. Regulating Services i. Is the benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomenon. Examples: - Climate regulation, disease regulation, water regulation, water purification, pollination, erosion, decomposition c. Culture Services i. A non-material benefit that contributes to the development and cultural advancement of people. Examples: - Spiritual and religious, ecotourism, inspirational - Recreation, ecotourism, aesthetic d. Supporting Services i. These processes allow the earth to sustain basic life forms. Examples: - Nutrient cycling, water cycling - Evolution, soil formation, spatial structure, primary production 3. Define the following: a. Ecology i. The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment at all levels of organization. b. Biotic i. Living things Examples: - Predators, parasites, competitors c. Abiotic i. Non-living things (including energy and chemical environments) Examples: - Moisture, temperature, sunlight, salinity - Climate, atmosphere - Water, air, soil, sun and nutrients Notes: Hierarchical Nature of Ecological Systems 1. Biosphere (Largest) a. Global Processes b. The thin layer around the earth that supports all of life 2. Ecosystem a. Energy flux and cycling of nutrients 3. Community a. Interactions among populations 4. Population a. Population dynamics; the unit of evolution 5. Organism (Smallest) a. Survival and reproduction; the unit of natural selection Ecosystem Function • Biological, geochemical and physical processes and components that take place or occur within an ecosystem. Ecological systems and processes have characteristics in time and space • Populations and communities vary in time and space • Respond to environmental variation (ex. climate, microclimate, etc…) Ecology • The environment includes the physical and chemical conditions and biological or living components of an organism’s surroundings. • Relationships include interactions with the physical world as well as with members of the same and other species. Ecosystems • The ecosystem consists of two components, biotic and abiotic, interacting as a system. Hierarchical Structure 1. Organisms of the same species that inhabit a given physical environment make up a population. 2. Interacting populations make up a community. 3. The community plus the physical environment makeup and ecosystem. • • All communities and ecosystems exist in the broader spatial context of the landscape – an area of land or water. Geographic regions having similar geological and climatic conditions support similar types of communities and ecosystems, referred to as biomes. Individuals • The individual organism forms the basic unit. • It responds to the environment and passes genes to successive generations. Scientific Method 1. Observation 2. Defining a problem (question) 3. Develop hypothesis 4. Experiment 5. Collection of data 6. Analysis 7. Conclusion