2. Even though it interacts with others of its kind and with the abiotic realm around it, a single living individual is best described as a/an
3. Fossil fuels are found in the
4. Large terrestrial regions with distinct climates and distinct species adapted to them are called
5. Which of the following is not true of solar energy reaching the earth?
6. Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere naturally trap some of the light that reflects back from the earth's surface. The light is converted to heat, with the gases acting as insulating blankets. This natural process warms the earth enough to support life. This process is called
7. Think of a terrestrial forest ecosystem (we have presumably all walked in a forest). From an ecological point of view, ecosystems such as this are actually simple to understand.
8. Limiting factors are abiotic factors that can enhance or prevent growth of a population, even if all other factors are at or near the optimum. Which of the following would be an example of a limiting factor?
9. Organisms that gain their energy and nutrients from eating plants are called
10. Organisms that gain their nutrients by breaking down organic compounds in the absence of oxygen do so by
11. Heat is a byproduct of each energy transformation in an ecosystem. Therefore, this represents a one way energy flow from the sun through the ecosystem.
12. Both energy and nutrients flow through ecosystems. Which of the following is true?
13. If asked to pick the model that best illustrates real-world biotic ecosystem interactions, you should pick the
14. Energy flow pyramids show
15. The relationship between gross primary production (GPP), net primary production (NPP), and respiration energy (R) is
16. Which of the following does not qualify as a biogeochemical cycle?
17. Evaporation and ________ are responsible for putting water into the atmosphere.
18. ________ is the only significant natural process that moves carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
19. A significant cause of natural sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere is
20. Ecosystem study primarily involving GIS (geographic information system) is usually most closely associated with
21. Biodiversity refers to the variety of
22. Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace both first proposed
23. Evolution
24. A random change in an organism's DNA is called
25. Populations, not individuals, evolve.
26. Disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to a particular disease
27. When scientists refer to "survival of the fittest," fitness refers to a species'
28. Scientific evidence suggests that the earth's surface has changed significantly over time, as great land masses have moved past and/or into each other. These shifting land masses are connected to subsurface structures called
29. Climate changes and asteroids impacting the earth may be seen as opportunities for evolutionary change.
30. The process whereby one species changes into one or more other species over time is called
31. Fortunately for the world, the golden toad, once thought extinct in its Costa Rican rainforests, has been rediscovered.
32. If you found 20 different plant species in a 1m2 area, but only one of each species, we would say there was
33. The American alligator, once nearly hunted to extinction, is making a comeback. It plays an essential role in its habitat because its nesting mounds and resting holes are important to the lives of other species. The alligator is also important in keeping some prey populations in check. Should such an important species become extinct, there would be devastating consequences to its ecosystem. Such a species is called a/an ________ species.
34. The role that a species plays in its ecosystem, its "way of life" or pattern of living, is called its
35. Some lichens (an "organism" composed of a fungus and an alga) are particularly sensitive to industrial pollutants, especially factory smoke. Scientists have been able to use lichens as a measure of pollution since greater lichen deaths mean higher pollution amounts. Because we can use lichens in this way, we say they are
36. While some landowners may consider beavers a pest, they are important to their ecosystem: the dams they build create wetland that many other species use. Because of the role they play, we call them ________ species.
Brendan Swanson