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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. 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






2. Includes the community and the environment and usually all five kingdoms






3. Encompasses all that is external to the organism and is necessary for its existence






4. Affect the type of vegetation that can be supported






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






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






7. Deer - fox - woodchuck - and squirrel






8. Determined by the same decisive factors-temperatures and rainfall






9. Material is cycled and recycled betweenn organisms and their environments - passing from inorganic forms to organic forms and then back to the inorganic forms






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






11. Animals that feed on secondary consumer






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






13. Plants growing on other plants - trees grow closely together; sunlight hardly reaches the forest floor






14. Community in an ecological succession is identified by a dominant species






15. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 1: Freshwater is _______________ which results in the passage of water into the cell. Freshwater organisms have homeostatic mechanisms to maintain water balance by the regular removal of the excess water. these include






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






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






18. Individuals belonging to the same species use the same resources and if a particular resource is limited - then these organisms must compete with one another






19. Needs constant energy source and cycling of materials between the living system






20. Consumer organisms that are higher in hte food chain are usually larger and heavier than those further down






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






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






23. Regiong beneatht he photic zone that receives no light






24. Organisms that manufacture their own food






25. 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






26. 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






27. Forest floors contain moss and lichens






28. Recycle water - oxygen - and phosphorus






29. Characterized by low rainfall - although considerably more than the desert biomes receive -provide no shelter for herbivorous mammals from carnivorous predators -ex: East of the Rockies - steppes of the Ukraine - and the pampas of Argentina






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






31. Treeless - frozen plain found between the taiga lands and the northern ice sheets - very short summer and thus a very short growing season during which time the ground becomes wet and marshy






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






33. Live together in an intimate - often permanent association - which may or may not be beneficial to both participants






34. Lichens and moss






35. Animals that only eat other animals -possess pointed teeth and fang-like canine teeth for tearing flesh -have shorter digestive tracts because the easier digestibility of animal food






36. Without a constant input of energy from the sun - an ecosystem would soon run down - as food is transferred from one level of the food chain to the next - a transfer of energy occurs






37. Includes all portions of the planet that support life -the atmosphere - the lithosphere - and the hydrosphere






38. Developed long legs and many are hoofed






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






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






41. Vegetation such as vines and eppiphytes






42. One species may be competitively superior to the other and drive the second to extinction






43. Animals that eat both plants and animals






44. Include those protists and fungi that decompose dead organic matter externally and absorb the nutrients - they consistitute a vital link in the cycling of material within the ecosystem






45. Rock and soil surface






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






47. The study of interactions between organisms and their environment






48. First to resettle a virgin area






49. 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






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