Term
| What three things must an organism be able to obtain from its habitat? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are five ABIOTIC factors that are part of most habitats? |
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Definition
| Water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature, and soil |
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Term
| What is the main difference between population and communities? |
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Definition
Population - All the members are the same species.
Communities - All the members of a community are made up of more than one species of organism.
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Term
| List the four ways ecologists determine population size. Explain each method. |
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Definition
Direct observation - count all of its members
Indirect observation - observe signs of organisms rather than the organisms themselves.
Sampling - using an estimation to determine the approximate population
Mark and Recapture Studies - Scientists capture animals and place a mark on them. They are released and recaptured 2 weeks later. Animals are counted with marks and without marks. Then they estimate using a mathematical formula to find out the population. |
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Term
| What are the four limiting factors of populations? Explain a scenario in which each may limit a populations size. |
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Definition
food, water, space and weather.
Food - there has to be enough food for all animals to eat in order for them to survive.
Water - There must be enough water for animals to drink or enough water to fit all of the animals (like fish in a pond) in order for the animal to survive.
Space - There must be enough space for all plants or animals to grow within its capacity.
Weather - Temperature and amount of rainfall will affect a plants ability to live and survive. |
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Term
| What are the three major types of interactions among organisms? Explain each. |
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Definition
Predation - where one organism kills another for food.
Competition - the struggle between two organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource.
Symbiosis - a close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species.
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Term
| What are the three types of symbiotic relationships between organisms? Give an example of each. |
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Definition
Mutualism - a relationship in which both species benefit
Example - birds sitting a hippo - the birds eat the ticks on the hippo and the hippo is rid of the ticks.
Commensalism - a relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither helped nor harmed
Example - birds building a nest in a tree
Parasitism - when one organism lives on or inside another organism and harming it.
Example - a tick on a dog |
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