Biology 201: Ecology

Question 1

Ecology

Accepted Answer

The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment.

Question 2

Ecosystem

Accepted Answer

A community of living organisms and their nonliving environment interacting as a system through nutrient cycles and energy flows.

Question 3

Biome

Accepted Answer

A large-scale community of organisms defined primarily by the dominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations to a particular climate.

Question 4

Population

Accepted Answer

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Question 5

Community

Accepted Answer

All the populations of different species living and interacting in a particular area.

Question 6

Niche

Accepted Answer

The role and position a species occupies in its environment, including its habitat, diet, activity patterns, and interactions with other species.

Question 7

Food Chain

Accepted Answer

A linear sequence showing how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to the next, from producer to top consumer.

Question 8

Food Web

Accepted Answer

A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem, showing the multiple feeding relationships among organisms.

Question 9

Trophic Level

Accepted Answer

A level in a food chain or web defined by the organism's feeding position: producers (level 1), primary consumers (level 2), and so on.

Question 10

Producer (Autotroph)

Accepted Answer

An organism that produces its own food from inorganic substances using light energy (photosynthesis) or chemical energy (chemosynthesis).

Question 11

Consumer (Heterotroph)

Accepted Answer

An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms rather than producing its own food.

Question 12

Decomposer

Accepted Answer

An organism, such as bacteria or fungi, that breaks down dead organic matter and recycles nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Question 13

Symbiosis

Accepted Answer

A close and long-term biological interaction between two different species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Question 14

Mutualism

Accepted Answer

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the interaction (e.g., bees and flowering plants).

Question 15

Parasitism

Accepted Answer

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of another (the host).

Question 16

Commensalism

Accepted Answer

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Question 17

Carrying Capacity

Accepted Answer

The maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain indefinitely given available resources.

Question 18

Biodiversity

Accepted Answer

The variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem, measured at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

Question 19

Succession

Accepted Answer

The gradual process by which ecosystems change and develop over time, progressing from pioneer species to a climax community.

Question 20

Keystone Species

Accepted Answer

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its abundance, and whose removal would drastically alter the community.

Question 21

Biogeochemical Cycle

Accepted Answer

The pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through the biotic and abiotic components of Earth (e.g., carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle).

Question 22

Primary Productivity

Accepted Answer

The rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture and store energy as biomass through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Biology 201: Ecology

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