What are the ecological levels of organization from smallest to the largest?

A shark and remora fish can be found swimming together in the ocean. The remoras may attach themselves to the shark as it swims through the water. When the shark finds food, the remoras eat some of the food not consumed by the shark. The shark neither benefits nor is harmed.

Termites eat wood, but cannot break down wood on their own. They must have a small microbe in their intestines to break it down for them. The microbe in turn receives food and shelter.

A living (or once-living) organism in an ecosystem is classified as which type of factor?

Which of the following is NOT an abiotic factor?

Groups of different populations along with their abiotic factors.

Groups of different populations living together in the same place at the same time.

The smallest unit of life that can sustain itself.

A niche ________________.

Andrea is on the girls cross country team. She is heading out for a run when she comes across 20 Canadian geese.  What level of organization is this group of Canadian geese?

Abby is walking to school with her best friend Jaylyn. They begin talking about everything they see including the ash trees, grass, weeds, ants, and people. They also notice how cold it is, how there are several large puffy clouds out, and how the sun is just starting to come up.  What level of organization are they discussing?

Most holes used by bluebirds for nesting are chiseled out by woodpeckers. Bluebirds never use a woodpecker hole unless it has been abandoned. Which type of relationship does this describe?

Which of the following is an autotroph?

Where do primary consumers always obtain their energy?

Which type of organisms obtains energy by breaking down dead organic matter?

In a food webs, where do the arrows point?

What does a food web represent?

Which of the following is a herbivore?

Which organism receives the least amount of energy from the autotrophs shown?

The number of organisms _________ with each successive (higher) trophic level. 

Organisms that cannot make their own energy via photosynthesis; they must consume others to obtain energy.

How much energy is lost as we move up trophic levels?

320,000 kCals of energy are found at the producer level in an energy pyramid. How much energy is available for consumers in the secondary consumer level?

When a specific population grows past the ecosystem's carrying capacity, what happens to the population?

Excessive amounts of rain caused a flood in the southwest United States that resulted in substantial amounts of deaths in the rabbit population. This situation is an example of a density _____________ limiting factor.

Limiting factors which impact the size of a population no matter how large that population is.

A lion and a cheetah attempt to occupy the same niche. The more aggressive lion survives; the cheetah does not.

What is ecological succession?

Primary succession begins if

Which of the following are examples of pioneer species? Select all that apply!

How does an ecosystem start if there is no soil?

After a forest fire, an ecosystem would start regrowth through which type of succession?

The maximum number of individual organisms that an ecosystem can comfortably support is known as

J curve - as population gets larger, it also grows faster. This occurs because there are more individuals reproducing as the population grows and is known as

S curve- The population reaches carrying capacity and levels out.

The position that an organism occupies in a food chain/web; “feeding step”

Identify all types of interspecific relationships that match the description: +/-

Identify all types of interspecific relationships that match the description: -/-

Identify all types of interspecific relationships that match the description: +/0

Identify all types of interspecific relationships that match the description: +/+

Identify all types of interspecific relationships that match the description: Interaction is beneficial to both species.

Interaction is beneficial to one species while the other is neither harmed nor benefited. The organisms DO NOT live in close contact with each other (indirect relationship).

Digestion of cellulose by microorganisms in the digestive systems of ruminant mammals.

Any color, pattern, shape, or behavior that enables an animal to blend in with it surroundings.

Many toxic or unpalatable animals are conspicuously colored.

 Effective because a single pattern, shared among several animals, is more easily learned by a predator.

The larva of the hawkmoth puffs up its head and thorax when disturbed, looking like the head of a small poisonous snake.

When two species compete for exactly the same resources (or occupy the same niche), one is likely to be more successful. One species outcompetes the other and eventually the second species is eliminated.

Some species coexist in spite of apparent competition for the same resources. Closer study reveals that they occupy slightly different niches; dividing up the resources by pursuing slightly different resources or securing resources in slightly different ways.

The resources a population uses in the absence of competitors or under ideal circumstances.

The resources a population actually uses.

Has the highest biomass or is the most abundant in the community.

Exerts control on community structure by their important ecological niches. (Examples include the sea otter and prairie dogs.)

Which dispersal pattern is least common?

Why do populations tend to live in clumps? Select all that apply.

When solving the logistic growth equations, which variable represents population?

When solving the logistic growth equations, which variable represents carrying capacity?