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What are biotic factors? What are some examples of biotic factors?
- Living parts of an ecosystem/
- Examples: grass, plants, hawks, ferrets, badgers, eagles, worms, fungi, bacteria.
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What are abiotic factors? What are some examples?
Nonliving parts of an ecosystem/Examples include H20, sunlight, Oxygen, & soil.
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Photosynthesis requires abiotic factors. What are some of these necessary factors?
Water, sunlight & CO 2
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What are all of the different populations that live together in an area?
a community
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Describe the levels of organization, or progression, of an ecosystem.
organism->population->community->ecosystem (OPCE)
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What is the study of how living things interact w/ea. Other & w/their environment?
ecology
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What is the place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs?
a habitat
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What is an organism’s particular role, or how it makes its living?
a niche
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What is the reason for competition in an ecosystem? What is an example of competition within an ecosystem?
- Reason for competition:
- The struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat w/limited resources
Example: Hawk and elf owl living in saguaro at different times of day
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What is an organism that does the killing?
a predator
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What is an organism that is killed?
prey
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What does predation mean?
The interaction in which one organism kills and eats another.
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What is a close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species?
symbiosis
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What is mutualism? What is an example of this type of symbiotic relationship?
A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefits/Example: mammal intestines and bacteria or a saguaro cactus and long-eared bats.
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what is a plant or an organism that can produce its own food?
a producer or autotroph
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What is an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms?
consumer
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What is an herbivore? Give an example of one.
- Consumers that eat plants/
- Examples:
- caterpillars/cattle/deer
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What is a meat eater?
carnivore
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What is an omnivore? Give an example of one
- Consumer that eats both plants and animals
- Example:
- coyote
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What is a scavenger? Give an example of one.
A carnivore that feeds on bodies of dead organisms
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What is a decomposer? Why is life on earth so dependent on decomposers?
Organisms that break down wastes & dead organisms & return the raw materials to the environmentare decomposers.
Decomposers like fungi, molds, bacteria & mushrooms return simple molecules to the environment which can be used again by other organisms.
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What is a series of events in which one organism eats another & obtains energy?
food chain
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What consists of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem? Organism’s that are part of one of these have a much greater chance of survival if they are not just part of one food chain , as a more diverse diet exists?
food web
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What is an energy pyramid? How does energy differ at each level?
The amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web Most of the energy is available at the producer level. Each level beyond the producer level has less energy than the level before it.
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What is the water cycle?
The water cycle is the continuous process by which water moves from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere & back (H20 on Earth is warmed, evaporates into water vapor, rises, cools, condenses, becomes saturated and precipitates. Accumulation of water on Earth and then the cycle repeats itself)
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What is a group of ecosystems w/similar climates & organisms?
a biome
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What are some kinds of biomes or aquatic ecosystems are found in the state of Connecticut?
forests, grasslands, mountains, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers
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What are materials produced in homes, businesses, schools, etc, like paper, empty packages, and food scraps called?
municipal solid waste
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What are some methods of handling solid waste?
- 1. bury it in landfills
- 2.burn it (incineration)
- 3. recycle it
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What are four major forms of recycling products?
- paper
- plastic
- metal
- glass
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What can you do to control the solid waste problem? (3 R’s)
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What is the process of helping the natural decomposition processes break down many forms of waste?
composing
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What is material that can be harmful to human health or the environment if it is not properly disposed of?
hazardous waste
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What are some types of hazardous wastes?
Toxic, explosive, flammable, corrosive or radioactive
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What is air pollution? What is an example of a type of air pollution?
- A change to the atmosphere that has harmful effects/
- Examples:
- emissions
- forest fires
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What are some causes of air pollution?
Factories/smokestacks/power plants/vehicle emissions/natural causes like pollen, dust or ash from a volcano
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What are particles & gases that are released into the air from vehicles?
emissions
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Why is so little water available for people to use on earth?
- *97% of the water on Earth is salt which is not good for drinking or watering crops
- *¾ of fresh water available is ice water is not always close to where people live
- *some water is not available/near people’s homes
- *may not be clean/is polluted
- *some people use water faster than the water cycle can replace it
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What is water stored in layers of soil & rock beneath Earth’s surface?
groundwater
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What is an area in which water, sediments & dissolved materials drain to a common outlet, such as a river, lake, bay, or ocean?
watershed
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Three major CT rivers, The Connecticut, Housatonic and Thames Rivers, all spill into what large body of water below our state?
Long Island Sound
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Why does most pollution on earth occur?
human behavior or activity
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What is sewage? Why is it so dangerous?
Water and human wastes that are washed down toilets, sinks, & showers If not treated to kill disease-causing organisms, they quickly multiply& people very ill.
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How can fertilizers pollute water?
These chemicals that provide nutrients for plants/crops to grow better can wash into bodies of water and make algae grow too rapidly. This algae blocks the light needed for photosynthesis.
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What are pesticides?
Chemicals that kill crop-destroying organisms such as beetles or worms/They can be harmful to animals that feed on the animals that consume the pesticide, however.
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List some of the ways humans pollute water in the U.S.?
- oil spills (most dramatic or worst)
- fertilizers
- pesticides
- agricultural wastes
- hazardous wastes
- construction debri
- heat
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How can bodies of water be polluted by natural causes, such as the result of the water cycle?
There are many ways bodies of water get polluted. Some are natural ways, but most include human behavior or activity.
Water from rain or storms may can cause harm to bodies of water. During the water cycle, water vapor cools causing it to condense on foreign particles (acids from emissions/volcanic ash/pollen/dust, etc.) When clouds become saturated precipitation occurs. During this stage of the water the cycle, gravity may pull pollutants to the ground.
Accumulated precipitation also contributes to contaminants on the ground being picked up by flowing Water. Sewage, hazardous wastes, pesticides, fertilizers, agricultural wastes and construction debris can be transported into clean bodies of water causing pollution/unsafe aquatic conditions.
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