Chapter 4 Reading Questions – Flashcards

What kind of relationship exists between multiple organisms who seek the same limited resource?

Which organism pollinates 73% of our crops?

Many wild orchids cannot be successfully dug up and transplanted because they need the native mycorrhizae (a fungus) in the soil to survive. What kind of interaction is this?

Fungi and bacteria are __________, organisms that break down leaf litter and other nonliving matter, making it available for plant uptake.

How does predation differ from parasitism?

When a species is moved from its native area to a new area, it can become an invasive species and damage its new ecosystem. What is one reason these species are able to do damage to an ecosystem?

What kind of interaction occurs when two cardinals (birds of the same species) are trying to build a nest in the same tree?

When a parasite lives inside the human gastrointestinal tract, absorbing some of the human's nutrients at the human's expense, it is considered a(n) __________ interaction.

Two species of lizard live on the same tree and consume the same sorts of food. Regardless, neither species is in direct competition with the other. The key to this scenario is that one of the species is nocturnal; the other is diurnal. What is this called?

Many plants have developed complicated defenses to protect themselves against __________.

What two types of relationships exhibit symbiosis?

When an increase in the population of prey occurs, which of the following usually occurs in the population of its predator?

How much energy is available to the third trophic level, a secondary consumer, if its prey in the second trophic level, a primary consumer, is only able to obtain 10% of the available energy of the first trophic level?

Autotrophs, at the base of the trophic pyramid, exist in greater numbers than organisms at higher levels of the pyramid and also have greater stores of energy as well as greater __________.

What moves through the community from one trophic level to another as organisms feed on one another?

Which is enhanced by decomposers and detritivores as they recycle nutrients?

What potential energy-bearing compound is produced through photosynthesis and made available for consumers?

Which of the following are most likely to be keystone species in an ecosystem?

Which statement is an accurate description of a keystone species?

Prairie dogs dig extensive series of tunnels. Beavers build dams that alter the hydrologic profile of an area. What sort of organisms are prairie dogs and beavers?

Lichen is often the first organism to appear in an area that has had all life stripped from it because of some disturbance. What is lichen in this regard?

Which statement is correct concerning the process of ecological succession?

If you wanted to represent the relative importance of the trophic levels in a food chain, the most accurate way to do so would be a graph in the form of __________.

Ecological restoration tries to __________.

If a human consumes both plant and animal products, then he or she is considered a(n) __________.

Which trophic level provides energy for all of the other trophic levels?

What two factors exert the greatest influence over a terrestrial biome?

Which of the following biomes features distinct wet and dry seasons?

Which of the following biomes has the most annual rainfall?

Which list includes biomes in the correct order from those that have the lowest annual rainfall to those that have the highest?

Which of the following biomes has acidic soil with few nutrients and little organic matter?

If you were to randomly visit a specific area on Earth, what two factors would you need to know to determine the type of biome you will visit?

This biome often features wildfires due to extensive dry seasons.

What type of biome has been converted most frequently by humans for agricultural use?

Which biome features soil that contains a layer of permafrost?