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






2. 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






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






4. 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






5. When a parasite benefits at the expense of the host






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






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






8. Animals that feed on secondary consumer






9. Region exposed to low tides that undergoes variations in temperature and periods of dryness






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






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






12. Animals that consume green plants (herbivores)






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






14. The oceans






15. Used to include only the population and not their physical environment






16. 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






17. Integrated system of species that are dependent upon one another for survival






18. Have adaptations enabling them to survive in very cod water - with high pressures - and in complete darkness






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






20. The metabolically produced CO2 is released to the air. The rest of the orgnaic carbon remains locked whthin an organism until its death (except for wastes given off) - at which time decay processes by bacteria return the CO2 to the air






21. In the ocean - the top layer thorugh which light can penetrate - is where all aquatic photosynthetic activity takes place






22. Regiong beneatht he photic zone that receives no light






23. Rock and soil surface






24. Distinct community in a geographic region






25. Polar bears - musk oxen - and arctic hens






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






27. Determines the nature of plant and animal life in the soil






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






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






30. Developed long legs and many are hoofed






31. Defines the functional role of an organism in its ecosystem -described what the organism eats - where and how it obtains its food - what climatic factors it can tolerate and which are optimal - the nature of its parasites and predators - where and ho






32. The chief disruptive force






33. Includes climate - temperature - availability of light and water - and the local topology






34. 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






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






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






37. Animals that consume only plants or plant foods






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






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






40. 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






41. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 3: Freshwater biomes - except very large lakes - are affected by variations in _________. temperature of freshwater bodies varies considerably; they may freeze or dry up - and mud from their floors may be stirred up by






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






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






44. Forest floors contain moss and lichens






45. Free-living organisms that feed on other living organisms






46. Vegetation such as vines and eppiphytes






47. Include reproduction and protection from predators and destructive weather






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






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






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