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PCAT Biology Ecology

Subjects : pcat, biology
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Food chain is not a simple linear chain but an intricate web






2. Region on the continental shelf that contains ocean area with depths up to 600 feet and extends several hundred miles from the shores






3. The vegetation that becomes dominant and stable after years of evolutiionary development






4. Elemental nitrogen is chemically inert and cannot be used by most organisms. Lightning and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots of legumes change the nitrogen into the usable - soluble nitrates






5. Nekton and benthos - scavengers - and predators (fiercely competitive)






6. The study of interactions between organisms and their environment






7. The chief disruptive force






8. The nitrogen locked up in the wastes and dead tissues is released by the action of the bacteria of decay - which convert the proteins into ammonia






9. Nitrates are absorbed by plants are used to syntheisze nucleic acids and plant proteins






10. Oceans connect to form one continuous body of water - which controls the earth's temperature by absorbing solar heat






11. (living) includes all living things that directly or indirectly influence the life of the organism including the relationships that exist between organisms






12. Ammonia (NH3) is broken down to release free nitrogen - which returns to the beginning of the denitrifying






13. Nutrients - water - and sunlight limitations aid in maintaining populations at relatively constant levels






14. Body temperature is very close to that of their surroundings -as temperature rises - these organisms become more active






15. Symbiotic relationship from which both organisms derive some benefit






16. Conserve water actively






17. Any group of similar organisms that are capable of reproducing






18. Recycle water - oxygen - and phosphorus






19. One species may be competitively superior in some regions - and the other may be superior in other regions under different environmental conditions. this would result in the elimination of one species in some places and the other in other places






20. First to resettle a virgin area






21. Have cold winters - warm summers - and moderate rainfall -found in the Northeast and Central-Eastern United States and Central Europe






22. Only animal life and other heterotrophic life exists






23. Chief animal inhabitant is the moose; however - the black bear - wolf - and some birds






24. Monkeys - lizards - snakes - and birds - floor is inhabited by saprophytes






25. Group of organisms of the same species living together in a given location






26. Consists of populations of different plants and animal species interacting with each other in a given environment






27. One or both organisms can't survive without the other






28. Determines water holding capacity






29. Frozen area with no vegetation and terrestrial animals -animals that do inhabit polar regions generally live near the polar oceans






30. Receive less rainfall than the temperate forests - have long - cold winters - and are inhabited by single coniferous tree-the spruce -extreme northern parts of Canada and Russia






31. Two species may rapidly evolve in divergent directions under the strong selection pressure resulting from intense competition. thus - the two species would rapidly evolve greater differences in their niches






32. Affect the type of vegetation that can be supported






33. Receive less than ten inches of rain each year; the rain is concentrated within a few heavy cloudbursts -ex: Sahara in Africa and Gobi in Asia






34. Contains plankton - passively drifting masses of microscopic photosynthetic and heterotrophic organisms - and nekton - and algae






35. Trees such as beech - maple - oaks - and willows shed their leaves during cold winters months






36. Autotrophic green plants and chemosynthetic bacteria that use the energy of the sun and simple raw materials to manufacture carbohydrates - proteins - and lipids






37. Cold - dry - and inhabited by fir - pine - and spruce trees -much vegetation has evolved adaptations for water conservation such as needle-shaped leaves -Extreme Northern Part of the US and in Southern Canada






38. Must be maintained at an optimal level -organisms have adaptations necessary for protection against extremes






39. Energy is transferred from the original sources in green plants through a series o organisms with repeated stages of consumption and finally decomposition






40. Animals that consume only plants or plant foods






41. Individual unit of an ecological system - but the organism itself is composed of smaller units -organs >tissues >cells >molecules >atoms > subatomic particles






42. Active swimmers such as fish - sharks - or whales that feed on plankton and smaller fish






43. Adaptations for maintaining their internal osmolarity and conserving water






44. Because organisms at the upper levels of the food chain derive their food energy from organisms at lower levels - and because energy is lost from one level to the next - each level can support a successively smaller biomass






45. The orderly process by which one biotic community replaces or succeeds another until a climax community is established






46. An essential component of amino acids and nucleic acids - which are the building blocks of all living things






47. Cannot synthesize their ow food and must depend upon autotrophs or others in the ecosystem to obtain their food






48. Sunlit layer of the open sea extending to a depth of 250-600ft






49. Deer - fox - woodchuck - and squirrel






50. Forest floors contain moss and lichens