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Packet #2 – Ecology (Unit 2) Summer 2014
This Activity Packet belongs to: __________________________
At the end of the unit you will turn in this packet). Record the completion due dates in the chart below. You should expect a variety of quizzes: announced, unannounced, open-notes and closed-notes.
If this packet is LOST, please:
drop it off at the BHS Science Dept. (rm 365) OR drop it off in Ms. Brunson’s classroom (rm 351) OR
call the Science Dept. at (617) 713-5365.
Packet page Activity
Points Earned Avail.
Nature Journaling --- +
Notes: Community Ecology --- ---
Exploring Population Growth 16
Energy, Inc. 10
Notes: Food webs and pyramids --- ---
Review: Ecological Pyramids 10
Lab 1: Owl Pellets, Food Webs, and Biomass Pyramids 4
Food Web Practice 3
Nutrient Cycle Exploration 20
What Have I Learned about Energy and Matter? 5
Ecology Packet 1 Review (for quiz/test) 20
Total 88
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Nature Journaling- Recognizing the living world around us Purpose: to practice recording detailed and accurate observations, to make connections between classroom learning and outside learning in our study of ecology Materials: paper (preferably not lined) either loose-leaf or in a notebook; pencils; colored pencils or markers; pen Procedure: 1. Find a location in nature in which you can write and sketch. Some ideas are: your back yard, a park,
gardens, bird feeders, parks, lakes or ponds, rivers, city streets, beach, ski slopes, hiking trails. 2. Get started: Your first entry will follow the guidelines below—this may be done in class if the weather
cooperates, but it may also be assigned as homework. But it’s fun homework! J 3. Get feedback: Ms. Brunson will look over your journal and make suggestions for future journals if
you require them. 4. Check out new locations: I may assign another journal (same format, but now a new location of your
choosing) and give you about a week to complete it. Journal Entry Guidelines: this applies to all journals throughout the summer Okay, you may resist this, but amuse me at least on the first journal entry: before writing, sit in your location with your eyes closed and use your sense of smell and sound to experience the world around you. Most animals sense in ways other than vision, and humans are so vision-dependent that it’s weird when we actually try this. Give it a whirl. A. Written section: 1. Who are you? 2. Where are you? Give a specific location. 3. When is this? Give the date and time. 4. What’s the weather like? (Sunny, muggy, hot, cool, breezy, calm, drizzling, etc) 5. What’s the sky like? (Bright blue, overcast, dark, moon-light, etc) 6. What do you notice around you? Write 1-2 sentences, but be descriptive. 7. What relationships do you notice between living and nonliving things? Between two living things? 8. How do humans who visit this place impact it? What positive impact do we have? What negative
impact do we have? B. Drawings/Visuals: You may either draw or take a photograph of what you noticed at ground level, eye level, AND above your head. Try to sketch what you see to scale. If you take a photo, print it out and attach. C. Commentary: Finish with a brief, 2-3 sentence-long description of what you’re feeling or thinking about, and/or your thoughts on what you see around you.
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Notes – Ecology Intro Use your own words to write a definition for the term ecosystem. Take notes on following topics (Intro to Ecology ppt): Ecology Ecological Levels Abiotic Factors: Biotic Factors: Notes – Community Ecology Habitat vs. niche Describe the habitat and niche for the following organisms:
Sea Star
Habitat- Niche: • Nutrition- • Activity- • Reproduction- • Locomotion-
Gray squirrel
Habitat- Niche: • Nutrition- • Activity- • Reproduction- • Locomotion-
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Interactions Interspecies competition happens when… Examples:
(+, -, or 0) ___/___
Predation Examples:
(+, -, or 0) ___/___
Protection against predation Camouflage: Mimicry: What is symbiosis? What are the 3 types of symbiosis? What is mutualism? Examples:
(+, -, or 0) ___/___
What is commensalism? Examples:
(+, -, or 0) ___/___
What is parasitism? Examples:
(+, -, or 0) ___/___
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Exploring Population Growth: How is population growth naturally regulated? Model 1 – Population Growth
1. Refer to Model 1
a. What is the term used for populations moving into an area? ___________________________ b. What is the term used for populations leaving an area? ______________________________ c. Name two factors that cause an increase in the population size.
_____________________ and ___________________ d. Name two factors that cause a decrease in population size.
_____________________ and ___________________ 2. Using Model 1 and the letters B, D, E, and I, write mathematical expressions to show the types of
population described below. Note: The use of > and < may be needed. a. A stable population (total number of organisms is not changing).
b. A declining population (total number of organisms is decreasing).
c. A growing population (total number of organisms is increasing).
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Model 2 – Growth Curves
3. Refer to Model 2.
a. During what phase of the growth curves in each diagram is the population just beginning to colonize an area? _________________________
b. Which type of population growth appears to continue unchecked (increasing rapidly)? _________________________
4. The growth curves in Model 2 are often referred to using the letters of the alphabet they resemble. The logistic growth curve is sometimes referred to as an S-curve. What letter would you use to describe the exponential growth curve? __________
5. What causes the population to slow down during logistic growth?
___________________________________ 6. The maximum population an environment can sustain is affected by environmental factors that cause
the population to level out or become stable. What term is used to describe this level of logistic growth? _______________________________________
7. Propose some reasons why population growth is so rapid immediately after the lag phase in both
diagrams of Model 2. (Hint: look at your answers to 5 and 6). 8. Exponential growth (diagram A) refers to the phenomena of populations that double in size every
generation. If you start with a single bacterium capable of dividing every 20 minutes, how many bacteria would you have after just four hours?
9. Diagram B shows that the population size fluctuates around the carrying capacity. Discuss with your
group some of the factors in the environment that could cause these fluctuations. In your answer you should relate these factors to the information from Model 1.
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Model 3 – Predator-Prey Relationships
10. Refer to the graph in Model 3:
a. What does the y-axis on the left represent?
b. What does the y-axis on the right represent?
c. For both y-axes, what value do the numbers on the axes need to be multiplied by?
11. What was the approximate populations of snowshoe hares in 1865?
12. What was the approximate populations of lynx in 1865?
13. When the number of snowshoe hares is high, what happens to the number of lynx? Use actual data from the graph to support your observation.
14. What happens to the population of lynx as the number of snowshoe hares decreases? Use actual data from the graph to support your observations.
15. Propose a possible explanation for the apparent cause and effect relationship between populations of lynx and hares.
16. What other factor would influence the size of the hare population in addition to the size of the lynx population?
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Energy Inc. Introduction: Energy flows through an ecosystem as organisms eat other organisms. We can see the flow of the energy using a food chain or food web. A food chain is a series of organisms through with food energy is passed in an ecosystem. A food web is a more complex relationship that shows all the feeding interactions within a community of organisms. This demonstration will show how energy is used by organisms and passed from one organism to another in a food chain. This is a group demonstration. Each group will take on the identity of one of the organisms in the food chain and create an “energy budget.” Demo setup 1. Draw the food chain below.
2. What is the ultimate source of energy for all food chains?
3. What is your group’s part in the food chain?
4. Think of all the different things that your organism uses energy for (consider both long and short term goals). Create a list of 5 or 6 categories. One of your categories must be “savings” (referring to the energy your organism stores).
5. To create an “energy budget,” try to think of the percentage of energy used by your organism for each category (percentages must be in increments of 5% and add up to 100%). Savings must be 5-15% of your “energy budget.”
6. Create a bar graph for your organism’s “energy budget” with the given materials. Each piece of paper represents 5% of your energy budget. Title your bar graph and be prepared to share your energy budget with the class.
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Class demonstration
1. Record observations of each groups “energy budget.” Do all the categories make sense to you?
Grass Grasshopper Frog Snake Hawk
Analysis: 1. What portion of the “energy budget” did the organisms use? What portion of the energy was available
to pass on to the next organism in the food chain?
2. What did you notice about the total amount of energy available to each organism as we moved through the food chain?
3. Explain why energy is not cycled (or reused, like matter and nutrients) through the ecosystem. In the context of conservation of energy, what happens to the energy?
4. Think of the overall populations of each organism from this food chain. Which of the organisms has the largest population? Which organism most likely has the smallest population? Describe how this demonstration could explain population size.
5. The biology teachers at Brookline High go out and collect frogs for dissection, drastically decreasing their population in this ecosystem. Predict what would happen to the populations of the other organisms.
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Notes – Food Webs and Pyramids Definitions and examples: Autotroph Heterotroph Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Decomposer What is the difference between a food chain and a food web? What is biomass? DO NEXT ACTIVITY – ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS Energy Pyramid 10% Rule
Biomass Pyramid Pyramid of Numbers
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Should we eat low or high on the food chain? Biological Magnification Watch video clip Invasive Species
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Ecological Pyramids: How does energy flow through an ecosystem? Every organism in an ecosystem is either eating or being eaten. When cows eat grass, they obtain some of the energy that the grass transferred from the sunlight it absorbed. If cows could carry out photosynthesis, would they have access to more energy than they get as herbivores? Which organisms in an ecosystem require the most energy to sustain life? Instructions: Use the information in Model 1 below and your class/reading notes to help you complete this review worksheet. You may consult your partner, but the ideas you express here should show your own understanding.
1. A unit used to measure energy is the kcal (kilocalorie – like what’s on a food label).
a. What is the source of all energy in the pyramid in Model 1? ________________________________
b. How much energy does this source provide to a square meter of the Earth per year? (Be sure your answer includes units.) _______________________________
2. Label the pyramid levels in Model 1 with the following: primary producers, primary consumers,
secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers. 3. The arrows in Model 1 represent the energy available to the next level of the pyramid.
a. What percentage of the source energy from Question 1a is absorbed by the oak leaves in Model 1? Show your work.
b. By what process do the oak leaves capture this energy to make carbohydrates? ______________________
4. Describe how the consumers in one level of the pyramid obtain energy from the organisms at the
previous level of the pyramid. (For example – how to caterpillars get energy from Oak tree leaves?)
Turn over for more practice
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5. Calculate the percentage of energy that is transferred from one level of the pyramid in Model 1 to another for all of the levels.
a. Oak leaves to caterpillars. Show your work.
b. Caterpillars to blue jays. Show your work.
c. Blue jays to hawk. Show your work. 6. Write a statement that describes the pattern of energy transfer among consumers within a pyramid of
energy. 7. Propose an explanation for why populations of top carnivores, such as hawks, are always smaller than
the populations of herbivores, such as caterpillars. 8. List at least three other species that might be found in the trophic level with the oak trees. 9. List at least three other species that might be found in the trophic level with the blue jays. 10. What type of organisms are missing from all of the trophic pyramids shown in Model 1?
Average your answers for 5a-5c:
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Lab 2: Owl Pellets, Food Webs, Pyramids, and Bio-magnification Introduction: The barred owl inhabits woodlands and swamps in the Eastern part of the United States. This owl is approximately 43-50 cm (17-20 in) long with a wingspan of 99-110 cm (39-43 in) and has a mass of about 0.8 kg. Owls are nocturnal raptors that feed on small mammals, birds and reptiles. Owls swallow their food whole or if too big, may tear it into chunks. Owls are not able to digest hair, bones or feathers. The owl digestive system has a specialized section that presses the undigested portions together forming a pellet. Since the owls cannot pass the pellet through their digestive system, they must spit out the pellet. Scientists use pellets to investigate the diet of raptors such as owls. They can determine what the raptor ate, how healthy it is, how large it may be, if there are diseases present, and many other things. Food chains show how each organism gets the food it needs, the energy it uses, and how those nutrients are passed from organism to organism. Many food chains begin with the sun, but every organism needs some source of energy. Because everything is connected in a food chain, if an organism on the bottom level consumes any chemicals or contracts a certain disease, the organisms in the upper levels often face serious issues. This becomes a major problem when pesticides are thrown into the mix. As we go up the links on the food chain (trophic levels), the concentration of the pesticide consumed becomes greater. So animals at the top of a food chain would be at the highest risk for pesticide ingestion. Let’s look at a simple food chain: Flowers à Insects à Mice à Hawk. The flowers may absorb some pesticide from the soil and the insect eats the flowers. The pesticide may or may not kill the insect, but remains in the insect’s body. Dead or alive, the insect is eaten by a mouse who then has a greater concentration of the pesticide in its digestive system. The only effects may be a simple stomachache or intestinal problems, but the mouse survives. It may then be eaten by a hawk. Because the concentration of the pesticide has gotten larger, the hawk may get very sick and die. If the hawk doesn’t die, that pesticide still remains in its system and can be passed on to chicks or influence the health of any offspring. When Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was used on crops, scientists found that it was entering the food chain of Bald Eagles. Some of those scientists concluded that the DDT was thinning the egg shells of the reproducing eagles, causing them to be crushed when the parents attempted to incubate them. Hence, the use of DDT was banned in the United States. Background and some questions adapted from: Hildreth, J (2002). Owl pellet dissection. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from Kidwings virtual owl pellet dissection Web site: http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm. Materials: owl pellets, dissecting tools, identification keys, magnifying glass, glue, paper Procedure: 1. Obtain one owl pellet per group. ALL students are to wear gloves and goggles. 2. Measure the length and width of your owl pellet. Record on your answer sheet. 3. Carefully examine the exterior of the pellet. Do you see any signs of fur? Feathers? Answer on your
answer sheet. 4. Use dissecting tools and fingers to gently pry apart the pellet. NOTE: The bones you are looking for
are small and easily broken. 5. Set aside any bones found. 6. Analyze the bones with the identification key and identify prey. Pay attention to:
a. Shape and size of the skull b. Shape of eye sockets c. Length of the snout compared to the rest of the skull
7. Repeat until you have completely dismantled the pellet.
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8. Try to verify the skull identification using another bone, such as a pair of leg bones. Check with your teacher and add to the class data table.
9. Put all hair, feathers and waste in garbage (not down the drain!) and wash off dissecting tray. 10. Remember to wash hands at the end of the procedure. These pellets have been sterilized, but… Data and Calculations: A. Complete Table #1 – Please note that a vole is ‘equivalent’ to a mouse B. Create and label a Pyramid of Numbers for the owl based on the number eaten per year with one
owl on the top with total annual number of all prey below. *Use the assumption that an owl produces an average of 2.5 pellets per day.
C. Use the facts from Table #2 about the prey to draw a complete food web that is representative of the
pellet your group dissected.
Table #2. The diets of various barred owl prey. Prey Diet
Mouse It eats a wide variety of plant and animal matter depending on what is available, including insects, seeds, fruits, flowers, nuts, and other plant products.
Mole A mole's diet is mostly insects and other invertebrates, including earthworms, centipedes, millipedes, snails, slugs, grubs, ants, sowbugs, termites, beetles, and crickets
Shrew
Shrews eat beetles, grasshoppers, butterfly and moth larvae, wasps, crickets, spiders, snails, earthworms, slugs, centipedes, and millipedes. Shrews also eat small birds, mice, small snakes, and even other shrews when the opportunity presents itself. Seeds, roots, and other vegetable matter are also eaten by some species of shrews.
Rat
The rat's diet typically includes seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables, fruits, meats and invertebrates. They consume about one-third of their weight in food every 24 hours. Because of their inability to vomit, rats are very hesitant to try new foods that may be poisonous. They will take a small nibble and wait to see if they feel sick and, if so, will avoid that food in the future.
Bird Birds are usually insectivores (eat insects) and frugivores (eat fruit). They also sometimes eat terrestrial non-insect arthropods, seeds, grains, and nuts.
D. Complete Table #3 to determine the amount of biomass at each level of the pyramid. E. Use your data to create a Biomass Pyramid. For the top carnivore level you need to see the opening
paragraph to find the mass of Barred Owl. For the herbivore level use the assumption that an owl produces an average of 2.5 pellets per day (which you already accounted for in your pyramid of numbers) and the total Mass of prey (kg). For the producer level, make the same assumption and then use the total of the Biomass eaten by the prey.
Analysis: Answer questions from the data sheet on a separate paper and hand in with your data sheet.
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Food Web Practice A food web is shown below. The arrows refer to energy flow, and are always pointing towards the organism that is getting the energy (this is also the organism that is eating the other organism). Refer to the food web to answer the questions that follow.
1. List the producers, consumers and decomposers shown in the food web. producers consumers decomposers
2. Using a crayon or colored pencil, trace one food web that has the mountain lion at the top. Using a
second color, trace a second food chain that also has the mountain lion at the top.
3. What level of consumer is the snake (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc)?
4. What is the highest trophic level that you can find and what organism is at that level? 5. Remove the grasshoppers from the food web. How many other organisms are affected (directly and
indirectly)? Explain.
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Nutrient Cycles - How are nutrients recycled through ecosystems? Why? We have learned the importance of recycling our trash. It allows us to use something again for another purpose and prevents the loss of natural resources. But what happens to the waste in nature? Why aren’t we up to our necks in natural refuse? Why is there always a supply of water? Why is there oxygen to breathe and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis? Organic compounds in nature are also recycled. This recycling process converts the complex organic compounds to simple, inorganic compounds, which then can be returned to nature to be used again and again. Model 1- The Water Cycle
1. What is the largest reservoir for water on earth?
2. What process contributes to the formation of groundwater?
3. Name two ways in which water is converted to vapor.
4. How does water return return to the oceans from land?
5. Rain, sleet, and snow are examples of what?
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6. If the air contains high levels of pollutants what effect might this have on water quality?
7. Which of the processes of the water cycle – precipitation, evaporation, condensation, runoff, percolation, or transpiration – might contribute to the addition of pollutants to rivers, lakes, and oceans? Why?
8. Which of the processes associated with the water cycle might be responsible for helping to clean or filter the water?
9. The water cycle is a closed system, meaning no water enters from beyond the system nor leaves the system. What does that say about the importance of keeping the water on Earth free from pollution?
Model 2 – The Carbon Cycle
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10. Name two ways that carbon (usually in the form of CO2) enters the atmosphere.
11. What process uses CO2 from the atmosphere?
12. What organisms carry out that process?
13. Wastes and dead organisms must be broken down in order for their components to be used again. What organisms in the cycle carry out this process?
14. What would happen if decomposition did not occur?
15. Not all dead organisms are acted on by decomposers. Instead of being immediately recycled, the carbon from some organisms is kept in a type of long-term storage, or carbon sink. Answer the questions below about this long-term storage.
a. List three materials that contain this stored carbon.
b. What is the collective term for these three materials?
c. How do modern humans use these carbon stores?
d. How does our use of these carbon stores affect the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere?
Read This! Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the so-called greenhouse gases. These gases hold heat energy in the atmosphere, which raises the overall temperature of the Earth. This helps maintain the Earth’s biosphere, but also has led to environmental concerns. The more CO2 in the atmosphere, the higher the Earth’s average temperature will be. 16. What is another way in which human activity is increasing the amount of atmospheric CO2, and what
are potential global effects of these changes in CO2 levels?
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Model 3 – The Nitrogen Cycle
17. In what two ways is N2 gas removed from the atmosphere?
18. Name 3 types of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle. Read This!
Nitrification is a process by which specific bacteria convert different forms of N-containing compounds (like ammonia, NH3) in the soil to nitrites (NO2) and nitrates (NO3). This process is important since the only forms of nitrogen that are usable by plants to build their proteins are the nitrates.
19. By what process are animal wastes, urine and dead organisms converted to other nitrogen containing compounds?
20. What is the only form of nitrogen that non-legume plants can take in and use?
21. What do the denitrifying bacteria do?
22. If the number of nitrifying bacteria decreased what effect would this have on the nitrogen cycle and what type of compounds would accumulate as a result?
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23. In order to continually use the same area of land for agriculture, some farmers apply fertilizers to improve the level of nitrates in the soil. An alternative to intensive use of fertilizer is to plow the roots of the leguminous plants back into the soil and leave the area unplanted for a season. Why would a farmer plow this type of plant roots back into the soil and what would be the benefit of turning over the soil and leaving the old plant roots?
Eutrophication Oligotrophic vs. eutrophic Steps of eutrophication:
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What Have I Learned about Energy and Matter in Communities? Edited from BSCS Textbook, p323 Introduction: By now you should be aware of how closely connected the flow of energy is to the cycling of matter in communities. In this activity, you and your teacher will evaluate what you have learned about these concepts. You will work individually to think about the impact that a natural disaster would have on various communities on earth. Then you will respond to some questions about survival in different communities. Process and Procedures – Part A: 1. Read about the following catastrophe:
The earth is entering a phase of instability that no one had predicted. Throughout both hemispheres, hundreds of volcanoes are erupting with great force. The earth’s atmosphere is thick with minute volcanic debris and dust. As much as 75 percent of the sunlight is now blocked from reaching the earth’s surface. This period of eruptions is expected to continue indefinitely. It is likely that soon virtually all sunlight will be blocked from reaching the earth’s surface.
2. Read the following questions and answer them in the space provided: a. What might be the effect if, instead, 80-95 percent of the sunlight were blocked from earth?
What might be the effect (direct or indirect) on the following organisms: (Be specific and explain your answers!! Don’t just say – they would die…why would they die?)
i. an earthworm? ii. a shark?
iii. a maple tree?
iv. a saguaro cactus?
v. a teenager?
b. Imagine that all sunlight is blocked from reaching the earth’s surface. i. What might be the effect on the following organisms:
Producers - Consumers - Decomposers –
c. Describe how the cycling of matter through a community would be affected. (Look at your
notes if you need to remind yourself of how matter (nutrients) cycles…)
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Process and Procedures – Part B:
Use everything you learned in the Ecology Unit to answer the following questions individually. 1. From the thousands that sprout, why will only 1 or 2 healthy trees grow into the available space
between other existing trees?
2. Are the fish that live 2 km (1.2 mi) deep in the ocean likely to be herbivores or predators? Explain.
3. Human societies that live by hunting and gathering usually have much smaller populations than groups in a similar setting that live primarily by growing crops. Why do you think that is so?
4. Suppose you find yourself snowed in for the winter in a remote mountain cabin with no way of contacting the outside world. You must survive for several months with only what is on hand to eat. Aside from a small supply of canned peaches, your only resources are 2 100-lb sacks of wheat and a flock of 8 hens. Discuss the advantages of the following strategies, and then circle the letter that you would choose. (Keep in mind the 10% rule.)
a. Feed the grain to the hens and eat their eggs until the wheat is gone. Then eat the hens.
b. Kill the hens at once, and freeze their carcasses in the snow. Live on the diet of wheat porridge and chicken.
c. Eat a mixture of wheat porridge, eggs, and 1 hen a week. Feed the hens well to keep the eggs coming until all of the hens are killed.
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Ecology Unit Review Guide Vocabulary – Here are some vocabulary words, which you should understand and be able to apply. This list is for your own reference -‐ do NOT turn anything in regarding this list! It might be beneficial to you to make flashcards or to use this list to ask someone to quiz you on the meanings. But, don’t turn it in to me – do it as a studying method. Ecology Population Community Ecosystem Biome Consumers (primary, etc.) Producers Decomposers Trophic level Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Pyramid of biomass Biotic factor Abiotic factor Limiting factor Carrying capacity Population density Eutrophication Growth rate Birth Death Immigration Emigration Predation (predator/prey) Niche Habitat Competition Symbiosis Mutualism Parasitism Commensalism Pyramid of Numbers Pyramid of Energy Food chain Food Web Water cycle Carbon cycle Nitrogen cycle Nitrogen fixation Transpiration Exponential (J-shaped) growth Logistic (S-shaped) growth Content of Exam: You are responsible for understanding the concepts from in-class activities, laboratory experiments, homework assignments, articles and readings. You should also be able to apply the concepts learned in this unit to new examples. All students must make a 3 x 5” index card, front and back, for use during the exam. Everyone is required to make one; you will turn this in on the day of the exam. It must be hand-written unless you have an accommodation (see me ahead of time). I suggest that as you study, identify concepts that give you the most difficulty and use the index card for those concepts. If you need an index card, let me know. Making your own study sheet – Please type your work (exceptions can be made for those who have very neat, easily readable handwriting). Do not attempt to cram everything into one page; expect it to be multiple pages. You do not need to write in complete sentences, but your answers should be thorough and clear. Please number your questions and do your best to answer them in order. You should incorporate the question into your answer OR download this document from the class website and place your answers after the questions and bring in a hard copy. Your study sheet should be made so that it will be useful to you for the final exam, so explain things such that when you are reviewing this sheet in six weeks, it will be clear to you in the future. Questions 1. What is the difference between a community and an ecosystem? 2. Dfine and give an example of each type of symbiosis. 3. How does parasitism differ from predation? 4. What are some adaptations organisms have to escape predation or be more efficient predators? 5. What is the effect of competition between species? 6. How might climate (temperature, rainfall, wind, etc.), light, disease, food availability, and space limit
the size of a population? Relate this to carrying capacity. 7. What causes logistic growth rather than exponential growth?
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Energy, inc. 8. What is the ultimate source of energy for a food web?
Food webs and pyramids notes; Owl Pellets, Food Webs, and Biomass Pyramids 9. What is a food web? Why is it more realistic
than a food chain? 10. Based on the food web diagram on the next
page, name one example for each: producers, first order (primary) consumers, second order (secondary) consumers, third order (tertiary) consumers.
11. Explain how an increase in the numbers of small crustaceans would affect the population of algae and the population of squids.
12. Explain how a decrease in the numbers of sharks would affect the population of orca whales.
13. Why is there a decrease in energy at each level in the food chain? Explain how the pyramids of energy, numbers, and biomass illustrate this principle. Draw a labeled example of a pyramid of energy based on the diagram to the right.
14. What is the role of decomposers in the ecosystem? Why are these organisms essential to the continued existence of the ecosystem?
15. How does biological magnification work? Why do toxins affect organisms higher up on the food chain more than organisms lower on the food chain?
16. How can invasive species affect an ecosystem? Nutrient Cycle Notes
17. Why are the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles important to the study of ecology? 18. Why type of organism is most important for nitrogen cycling? 19. How does eutrophication affect various organisms in a lake?
What Have I Learned about Energy and Matter? All concepts in this activity are review for the quiz
