The Great Burdock plant’s seeds have spines on them that attach to the fur of animals that brush against it. The seed then travels with the animal until it eventually falls off, which spreads the plant’s seeds farther than the plant could have done. What type of symbiotic relationship is this?
Which of the following is a specialist species?
Which of the following is not an example of interactions between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem?
How can an increase in biodiversity lead to an increase in ecosystem stability?
If a stationary body of water has a constant temperature from top to bottom it is most likely a(n) _______.
The inversion of terrestrial and aquatic energy pyramids is dependent upon the nature of that environment’s particular _______.
Variation of ecological habitats within a species is characteristic of which type of diversity?
Explain which three marine habitats would have the least access to phytoplankton, and why.
The deep ocean, the sea floor, and hydrothermal vents have the least access to phytoplankton. Phytoplankton need sunlight and are concentrated near the water’s surface, while these habitats are deep and receive little or no sunlight. Food may reach them from above, but phytoplankton generally do not grow there.
The temperature stability of earth’s atmosphere is mostly due to _______.
What is the difference between commensalism and mutualism?
In commensalism, one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed. In mutualism, both organisms benefit.
Summarize why the pyramid of energy can never be inverted like the pyramids of numbers and biomass can.
An energy pyramid can never be inverted because energy decreases at every trophic level. Organisms use much of the energy they take in for life processes, and much is lost as heat, so only a small fraction passes to the next level. Producers must therefore form the broad base, with less energy available at each level above them.
The biomass pyramids for phytoplankton and trees in their respective environments are _______.
Illustrate the factors that allow the aquatic pyramid of biomass to be inverted.
In aquatic ecosystems, phytoplankton reproduce rapidly and are eaten quickly, so their standing biomass at any given moment may be smaller than the biomass of the zooplankton and other consumers they support. Their fast turnover continually replaces the phytoplankton, allowing consumer biomass to exceed producer biomass and creating an inverted biomass pyramid.
Which hummingbird adaptation is most advantageous for supporting their high metabolism?
Explain how microevolution and migration can affect an ecosystem.
How does a decrease in biodiversity impact an ecosystem?
Which of the following does not occupy the bottom of an energy pyramid?
The variety of organisms within an ecosystem is characteristic of which type of diversity?
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