Biomes and Microhabitat

Review BIODIVERSITY & SUCCESSION 7.10ABC

By Rachel Butler

Interdependency in ecosystems: ​

I can describe how different environments support different varieties of organisms.

Organisms exhibit interdependency in ecosystems, whether small microhabitats or large complex biomes.

A microhabitat is a small-scaled environment with all biotic and abiotic factors needed to support the limited variety of organisms occupying an area. Examples of a microhabitat include a garden, a schoolyard, or the space between two rocks.

Earth's environments can be classified into a variety of biomes including freshwater, marine, desert, forest, grassland, and tundra. Each biome is characterized by a combination of abiotic factors such as climate, geology, soil type, and water resources. These unique biomes support different varieties of organisms.

Organisms live in their certain environment and are adapted to it. The organisms we find change with environment.

Multiple Choice

A habitat that receives little or no precipitation will most likely be suitable for organisms that -

• hibernate for long periods of time.

• are covered in thick fur to keep warm

• spend most of the day in the sunlight

• store large quantities of water internally.

Multiple Choice

An ecosystem is least dependent on the amount of available -

• energy

• rocks and minerals

• foods and water

• nutrients

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would be the best choice to complete the concept map above location X?

• temperature

• bacteria

• rocks

• air

Multiple Choice

Which of the following biomes supports the greatest variety of organisms?

• A.

• B.

• C.

• D.

Multiple Choice

Which one of the locations indicated is most likely to have the greatest biodiversity and ability to sustain the ecosystems located within the biome?

• Q

• R

• S

• T

Biodiversity: ​

I can describe how biodiversity contributes to the sustainability of an ecosystem.

A healthy ecosystem exhibits biological diversity within and between trophic levels. As biodiversity of an ecosystem increases, the ability to withstand environmental stress due to the loss of a single species or group also increases, improving the sustainability of the ecosystem.

The biological diversity on Earth reflects the environmental diversity. In a certain geographical region, the variety of life and the intricate interactions among those lives show how diverse the environments and organisms are. A variety of genes, different kinds of species, the ecosystems, and the relationship between them; form biodiversity.

The stability of the ecosystem is related to biodiversity. Simply put, the lower the biodiversity of an ecosystem, the worse the corresponding stability of the ecosystem would be. If an ecosystem enjoys a higher biodiversity, which means more genes, more species, and so on, the ecosystem can withstand more environmental stress. If certain genes or species are lost permanently, the biodiversity is reduced. With the same environmental stress, this ecosystem will have less ability to adapt.​

Multiple Choice

The greater a habitat’s biodiversity, the greater will be that habitat’s -

• sustainability over time with varying conditions.

• consumption of energy in the form of sunlight.

• temperature ranges across the seasons.

• distance to the nearest water source.

Multiple Choice

Why does biodiversity contribute to a habitat’s sustainability?

• The more plants and animals in a habitat, the greater the biomass, which is how habitats store energy.

• The greater the number of species, the more competition there is for food between predators, which sustains their populations

• Changing conditions that harm one species leave other species to survive and perhaps even thrive.

• Landforms change shape less frequently when there is a greater number of species using the land.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following most likely supports the most sustainable ecosystem?

• The habitat with the greater number of green plants

• The habitat with the greatest variety of living things.

• The habitat with the warmest average temperature.

• The habitat with the greatest number of consumers.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following contributes most to promoting sustainability in an ecosystem?

• Lack of decomposers.

• A balanced water table

• Variety of organisms.

• A narrow temperature range.

Multiple Choice

A forest is most sustainable when it has –

• tall trees only.

• small shrubs only.

• flowering plants only.

• a variety of plant species.

Multiple Choice

The greatest sustainability is expected in the habitat with the –

• most biodiversity.

• highest latitude.

• largest water supply.

• greatest biomass.

Multiple Choice

Biodiversity contributes to the sustainability of an ecosystem because -

• all the organisms in the ecosystem have genetic material

• there is an increased chance for organisms to survive changes

• organisms are allowed to respond to internal and external stimuli

• the flow of energy in an ecosystem remains constant

Ecological Succession: ​

I can describe the role of ecological succession (for example, in a microhabitat of a garden with weeds).

The greater the biodiversity in an ecosystem, the greater the sustainability; however, all ecosystems change over time as their populations transition through a natural ecological succession toward a climax community. Ecological succession is the transition of organisms over time in community, such as the changes that occur in a garden with weeds or regrowth of an area after a forest fire.

After a disturbance such as natural disaster, the dynamic and predictable transitions of organisms would make up a community. This is ecological succession. Stabilization is the process of reaction when it reaches a climax community.

There are different kinds of successions. Generally, if development happens on a bare site, which has not been occupied before, it is considered as primary succession. The rock exposed by geologic activity which begins a succession would be this kind. If the community develops and proceeds of a site from which a community was removed, it is secondary succession, such as develops on existing soil. ​​

Multiple Choice

Over time, a shallow pond fills with plants, such as duckweed and cattails. These plants –

• will die off quickly in the shallow water.

• support ecological succession from pond to marshland.

• will grow into larger trees as they mature.

• eventually will dry out and create a fire hazard.

Multiple Choice

Ecological succession usually includes changes in all of the following EXCEPT -

• the number of different kinds of plants.

• the number of plants of any one species.

• the overall size of the dominant plants

• the rate at which species produce offspring

Multiple Choice

In the process of ecological succession, grasses appear before shrubs because grasses –

• loosen the dirt for new trees to take root.

• provide food for animals returning to the area.

• require plenty of sunlight to make their own food.

• can grow rapidly even in areas with shallow soil.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of one stage in ecological succession?

• A tree falls over in a forest.

• Weeds grow in a garden.

• Fish swim in a pond.

• A bird lays eggs in a nest.

Multiple Choice

After a catastrophic wildfire that clears the land of all plants and trees, -

• plants will not grow again in the burned area.

• bushes will grow in the area before weeds grow.

• weeds will grow in the area before trees grow.

• only trees will grow in the burned area.