"Ecology & Biomes"

What is ecology?

The study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment.

What are biotic factors?

Living components of the environment such as plants, animals, and microbes.

What are abiotic factors?

Nonliving components like temperature, water, light, and soil.

What is the main goal of ecology?

To understand the distribution and abundance of organisms.

What does organismal ecology study?

How individual organisms interact with their environment.

What does population ecology study?

Groups of individuals of the same species.

What does community ecology study?

Interactions between different species.

What does ecosystem ecology study?

Energy flow and nutrient cycling.

What is the biosphere?

All ecosystems on Earth combined.

What is an ecosystem?

A community of organisms plus their physical environment.

What are the two key processes in ecosystems?

Energy flow and nutrient cycling.

Why do ecosystems require constant energy input?

Energy is lost as heat and must be replenished, usually by the sun.

How does energy move through an ecosystem?

In one direction: sun → producers → consumers → decomposers.

Why is energy lost at each trophic level?

Heat loss due to the second law of thermodynamics.

What are producers?

Organisms like plants that make their own food.

What are primary consumers?

Herbivores that eat producers.

What are secondary and tertiary consumers?

Carnivores that eat other animals.

What are the steps of the scientific method?

Observation, question, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion.

What types of studies do ecologists use?

Field studies, lab experiments, and modeling.

What are abiotic factors?

Nonliving environmental components like temperature, water, light, wind, pH, and salinity.

Why is temperature important for organisms?

It affects enzyme activity, metabolism, and survival.

Why can extreme temperatures be harmful?

They can stress or kill organisms.

Why do coral reefs require warm water?

Their species depend on warm, stable temperatures.

Why is water essential for life?

It is required for plant growth and animal survival.

Why do deserts have sparse vegetation?

Low water availability limits plant growth.

Why do rainforests have high biodiversity?

High water availability supports dense plant and animal life.

Why is light important for ecosystems?

It powers photosynthesis.

How does wind affect organisms?

It influences temperature and water loss.

How do pH and salinity affect organisms?

They determine which species can survive in an environment.

What is climate?

Long-term average weather patterns.

How is climate different from weather?

Weather is short-term; climate is long-term.

What causes global climate patterns?

Uneven heating of Earth.

Why is the equator warmer than the poles?

It receives more direct sunlight.

What happens to warm air at the equator?

It rises, creating global wind patterns.

What happens to cool air at higher latitudes?

It sinks, contributing to circulation cells.

What does atmospheric circulation move around Earth?

Heat and moisture.

How do mountains affect climate?

They create rain shadows by blocking moist air.

How do oceans affect climate?

They moderate temperatures and increase humidity.

What is a biome?

A large region with similar climate and organisms.

What determines biome type?

Temperature and precipitation.

What are the two main categories of biomes?

Terrestrial and aquatic.

What determines terrestrial biomes?

Climate, especially temperature and rainfall.

What are examples of terrestrial biomes?

Tropical rainforest, desert, grassland, temperate forest, taiga, tundra.

What tool do scientists use to classify biomes?

Temperature vs. precipitation graphs (Whittaker diagrams).

What conditions lead to a rainforest?

High temperature and high rainfall.

What conditions lead to a desert?

Low precipitation.

What conditions lead to a tundra?

Low temperature.

What defines aquatic biomes?

Salinity, depth, light, oxygen, and water movement.

What is the photic zone?

The sunlit layer where photosynthesis occurs.

What is the aphotic zone?

Deep water where no sunlight reaches.

What is the pelagic realm?

The open-water portion of the ocean.

What is the benthic realm?

The ocean floor, including deep zones.