science olympiad - ecology

________________ uses various analytical techniques to study genes in an evolutionary and ecological context.

Molecular energy

About how many extinctions since the 1600s have been the direct results of human activities?

392

An area was recently destroyed by a raging wildfire. What would allow secondary succession to take place?

The dead animals that did not survive return nutrients to the soil.

Besides mercury, what other heavy metals cause toxic pollution?

Lead, Cadmium, and Chronium

Between which months would you expect to see the seeds of annual plants germinate?

August-October

Despite have a large amount of biodiversity, why is the Amazon Rainforest facing the risk of desertification?

Deforested areas of the rainforest are being eroded by the rain, which makes the soil even less fertile.

Does acid rain contain sulphuric acid, nitric acid, both, or neither?

Both.

Does thermal inversion occur during winter or summer?

Winter

Ecological studies are necessarily ________, as opposed to reductionistic.

Holistic

Energy flow is __________________________

One way

How do biodiversity and biomass vary during ecological succession?

Both biomass and biodiversity increase as succession progresses until it reaches the climax stage where they both begin to stabilize.

How do you calculate the mortality rate?

Mortality rate = (# of individuals dying)/(# of individuals surviving)

How is ecosystem ecology related to population ecology?

Ecosystems contain communities and habitats. Communities are composed of populations. Therefore, the characteristics of populations determine the characteristics of communities, which determine, in part, the characteristics of ecosystems.

How many tons of carbon can 1 cm of plant material hold?

2.5 tons

How much of air pollution does mobile combustion account for?

50-60%

In the nitrogen cycle, the term 'denitrification' refers to what?

The conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas.

Is the upward movement of warm air good or bad for the dissipation of air pollutants?

Good

Name three ephemeral annual xerophytes.

Argemone mexicana, solanum xanthocarpum, and cassia tora.

Name three free-floating hydrophytes.

Azolla, eichhornia, lemna, pistia, salvinia, spirodelia, and wolfia.

Name three root-submerged hydrophytes.

Hydrilla, isoetes, potamogeton, and vallisnerica.

Name three succulent xerophytes.

Optunia, aloe, agave, euphorbia splendens, cereus, and mammillaria

Some forms of bacteria, like multiple resistance staphylococcus aureus (MRSR) are resistant to many kinds of antibiotics. Explain how this type of resistance might occur.

As humans use antibiotics on bacteria, the ones that survive pass on their genes to the next generation, and so on and so forth until the entire species has adapted to be resistant to the antibiotics.

The biodegration of materials by aerobic microorganisms resulting in the production of carbon dioxide, water, and other products is termed what?

Aerobic decomposition.

The ozone layer in the stratosphere extends from __________________ km

20-25 km

The release of water vapor from the leaves of trees is called what?

Transpiration

What are aerosols?

Minute particles suspended in the atmosphere.

What are edaphic factors?

An ecological factor in which we study the structure and composition of soil, as well as it's chemical and physical properties.

What are P.O.P.'s?

Toxic substances formed from organic compounds.

What are particulate pollutants?

A complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that get into the air.

What are pollutants introduced into the environment by human activity called?

Qualitative pollutants.

What are secondary pollutants?

A pollutant formed in the atmosphere when primary pollutants are released.

What are some agencies of pollution?

Sewage, industrial waste, smoke, automobile exhaust, herbicides, insecticides, noise, radioactive substances.

What are the four ecological spheres?

Biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and the atmosphere.

What are the four levels of ecological organization?

Population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere.

What are the four main categories of sources of pollution?

Industrial, residential, commercial, and environmental.

What are the four processes that lead to biological evolution (adaptions)?

Mutation, natural selection, migration, and genetic drift.

What are the main sources of mercury pollution?

Gold mining and use of substances derived from mercury in industry and agriculture.

What are the main types of waste?

Organic waste, recyclable waste, non-recyclable waste, toxic waste, nuclear toxic waste, and space waste.

What are the processes autotrophs use to create organic material from inorganic material?

Photosynthesis and chemosynthesis

What are the sequential stages of a hydrosere on a hydrarch?

1. Phytoplankton stage 2. Rooted-submerged stage 3. Rooted-floating stage 4. Reed-swamp stage 5. Sedge-meadow stage 6. Woodland stage 7. Forest stage/climax.

What are the sequential stages of a xerosere on a rock?

1. Crutose lichen stage 2. Foliose lichen stage 3. Moss stage 4. Herb stage 5. Shrub stage 6. Forest stage/climax.

What are the three general categories of forests?

Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical

What are the three levels of biodiversity?

Genetic biodiversity, species diversity, and ecological diversity.

What are the three main elements used in fertilizer?

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

What are the types of ecological factors?

Climatic factors, topographic factors, edaphic factors, and biotic factors.

What are the types of soil erosion?

Water erosion, wind erosion, slip erosion, and over felling/overgrazing.

What are three general patterns for population?

Random, clumped, and uniform.

What are transitional communities?

Organisms that come and go.

What can control gaseous pollutants?

Adsorption

What disease can radiation cause?

Leukemia

What does age structure information tell ecologists about a population?

Among other things, age structure data allows ecologists to predict future population growth patterns.

What does lead poisoning do?

Reduces O2 carrying capacity of haemoglobin in the blood.

What does P.C.R. stand for?

Polmerase chain reaction.

What does P.O.P. stand for?

Persistent organic pollutants.

What environmental damage is caused by mercury pollution?

Mercury contaminates living organisms and biomagnificates. Humans are affected by this when they eat contaminated organism.

What events might lead to primary succession?

Basically any event that eradicates life, ex;

-Volcanic eruption

-The formation of new islands

-Extremely destructive forest fires

-Human development

What influences species distribution?

Predation, competition, and resource abundance.

What is a biodigester?

A piece of equipment that produces carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and fuel gases.

What is a life table?

An age-specific death schedule.

What is a pioneer community?

The first organisms to occupy an area.

What is a scavenger?

An organism that feeds off already dead organisms.

What is a soil profile?

An imaginary longitudinal section of the soil, showing it's different regions.

What is biological control?

A natural method to control the size of an animal, microorganism, or plant population.

What is biomediation?

The use of microorganisms to break down harmful substances.

What is eutrophication?

A form of water pollution that can destroy lakes, ponds, etc.

What is genecology?

The study of ecology which deals with the variations of species based on their genetic potentialities.

What is genetically-modified food?

Genetically-modified organism (GMOs) are animals, microorganism, and plants that contain recombinant DNA.

What is global warming?

The increase of the temperature of the planet due to the accumulation of certain gases in the atmosphere.

What is non-point source pollution?

Pollution that comes from many different sources and is not clearly identifiable.

What is nuclear radiation?

Radiation emitted from atomic nuclei.

What is phytogeography

The science that deals with the geographic distribution of plants.

What is plutonium reprocessing?

It's the recycling of plutonium.

What is point source pollution?

Pollution from a clearly identifiable source.

What is resource partitoning?

Resources are divided allowing species with similar requirements to use the same resources in different areas, ways, and/or times.

What is selective waste collection?

The separation of materials intended for recycling.

What is Simpson's Index?

The probability of finding two different organisms at random.

Equation: D=1-(([n(n-1))/(N(N-1)))

Where;

D=diversity

n= the total number of organisms of a particular species

N=the total number of organisms of all species

What is the chemical formula for the compound most commonly produced by nitrite bacteria?

NO2

What is the Greek work for ecology?

Oekologic

What is the inflection point?

The maximum point in a logistic growth model.

What is the kyoto protocol?

It is an international agreement linked to the United Nations framework convention on climate change, which commits it's parties by settling internationally binding emission reduction targets.

What is the largest desert ecosystem in the world?

The Sahara Desert

What is the most crucial limiting factor in a desert?

Water

What is the near balance of births and deaths called?

Zero population growth.

What is the red data book?

A state document established for documenting rare and endangered species of animals, plants, and fungi.

What is the role of the ozone layer for living organisms?

It protects organisms from ultraviolet radiation.

What is the theory of competitive exclusion?

A theory that says that species who utilize the same resources cannot coexist indefinitely.

What is the wide part of a river where it almost meets the sea called?

An estuary

What methods of prey defense do you ex to expect caribou to use against wolves?

Physical defenses include sheer population number and herding.

Behavioral defenses include running in a straight line because wolves can only run at full speed for about a mile.

What must the pH of water in the atmosphere be in order to create acid precipitation?

5.6 or lower.

What radioactive material is largely associated with bone cancer?

Strontium-90.