Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

Topic: Ecology

Ecology is the study of how organisms

interact with their environment. There are
many different levels of ecology. The
diagram to the left shows all of the different
levels

Ecosystems have both living components (biotic factors such as the trees, birds, and
fish) and nonliving components (abiotic factors such as how much rain or sun an
area gets). All ecosystems need energy, and the most basic form of energy comes
from the sun. Producers (also known as autotrophs) are able to make their own
food. These are eaten by consumers (also known as heterotrophs). We can track
the flow of energy linearly using a food chain or look at a more detailed flow of
energy using a food web.

Organisms can interact with each other in many different ways. Symbiosis is the general term for organisms
that closely interact with each other. There are three different types of Symbiosis: parasitism, mutualism, and
commensalism. The table to the right shows some of the different ways
different organisms can interact with each other.

A limiting factor is some sort of factor (biotic or abiotic) that is going to

limit the population’s growth. It could be an important nutrient that is
cycled through the ecosystem (such as water, nitrogen, carbon, or
phosphorus), or it could be a food source or predator. A great example of
limiting factors are predator-prey graphs. It is easy to see how the size of
the population is affected.

Here, the size of the populations depends on the number or

prey and predators. The predator population peaks after the
prey population because of the lag time in reproduction.
When the predator population is at its highest, the prey is at
its lowest. With limited food, the population size of the
predator decreases. This allows the prey population to
increase, and the cycle continues again…
Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

Population Growth Patterns

Populations grow in predictable patterns. Population growth accommodates changes in population size due to
births and deaths as well as immigration and emigration. Populations experiencing exponential growth will
increase dramatically over time. When resources become a limiting factor, a population will grow logistically
until it reaches the environmental carrying capacity, or maximum population size the environment can
support. Density- dependent limiting factors affect dense populations, but density independent limiting
factors affect populations regardless of density

Nutrient Cycles
Important nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water are cycled through living things and the
environment through biogeochemical cycles. The following pictures are overviews of the carbon, phosphorus,
and nitrogen cycles.
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle

Habitat and Niche

Every organism has a habitat and a niche. Each organism in an ecosystem has an ecological niche, which
includes the type of food it consumes, its behavior and its habitat – the place where it lives. Competitive
exclusion prevents two species from sharing the same niche. In different geographical regions ecological
equivalents may have similar ecological niches

Ecological Succession
Ecological succession is the process of change in a species that make up a community. Succession refers to the
progression of plants and animals that repopulate a region after an ecological disturbance. Primary succession
begins in a previously uninhabited area, such as bare rock exposed by the receding of a glacier or created by
volcanic eruption. Secondary succession occurs in a previously inhabited area that is damaged by an
ecological disturbance such as fire of flood
Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

Directions: Use the word bank to fill in the descriptions below

WORD BANK

Ecological succession Commensalism Community

Niche Biotic Autotroph
Food web Biogeochemical cycle Ecology

Limiting factor

1a. _____________________________________ A term that describes a living, or once living thing, in an

ecosystem
1b. _____________________________________ Organism that converts sunlight energy into stored chemical
energy
1c.______________________________________ Symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the
other is neither harmed or benefited
1d. ______________________________________ Collection of several interacting populations that inhabit a
common environment
1e. ______________________________________ A model that shows the complex network of feeding
relationships within an ecosystem.
1f. ______________________________________ A sequence of biotic changes that regenerate a damaged
community or start a community in a previously uninhabited area.
1g. ______________________________________ The movement of a chemical through the biological and
geological, or living and nonliving, parts of an ecosystem.
1h. ______________________________________ The environmental factor that limits the growth and size of a
population of organisms in an ecosystem.
1i. ______________________________________ The system composed of living organisms and non-living
components of the environment.
1.j______________________________________ The interrelationship of a species that includes all of its abiotic and
biotic components
Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

Directions: Choose the best answer below

2. A group of students measured a ten-square-meter section of a pond ecosystem and recorded observations. Which
statement is a testable hypothesis?
A. The frogs living in the pond represent a population.
B. Water is an abiotic component in the pond ecosystem.
C. If the fish are given more food, then they will be happier.
D. If the frogs are startled, then they will jump into the water.

Use the list below to answer the question.

Observations
- two grey wolves - five moose - several species of conifer trees
- large granite rock - shallow pond

3. A student wrote several observations in a field notebook. Which term best classifies all of the student’s
observations?
A. population B. Food Chain C. Ecosystem D. Community

4. A farmer observed that an increase in a field’s soil nitrogen content was followed by an increase in producer
productivity. What does this observation most likely indicate about the relationship between nitrogen and the
producers in the field?
A. Nitrogen was a biotic factor.
B. Nitrogen was a limiting factor.
C. Nitrogen became a surplus resource.
D. Nitrogen became a selection pressure.

Organisms interact with each other in several ways.

5. What interaction is shown between the lion and the zebra in the picture above?
a. predator/prey
b. parasite/host
c. consumer/decomposer
d. consumer/producer

The Mute Swan is a species of bird with an orange-reddish bill and white feathers. It is naturally found in Europe and Asia
but can sometimes be found in the United States as a result of the importation of these non-native birds.

6. Mute Swans are one of the heaviest flying birds and consume up to 8 pounds of vegetation each day. How will the
migration of Mute Swans into an area most likely affect the birds native to that area?
a. The native birds and the Mute Swans will coexist peacefully together.
b. The native birds will immediately migrate to another area.
c. The native birds will decrease in number because there is not enough food for all the birds.
d. The native birds will adapt to consume less food or different types of food.
Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

7. Barnacles create home sites by attaching themselves to whales. This relationship neither harms nor benefits the
whale. This relationship benefits the barnacles. What kind of symbiosis does this relationship represent?
a. Parasitism c. mutualism
b. predator/prey d. commensalism

8. The diagram suggests that

a. energy flows from secondary consumers to primary
consumers in an ecosystem.
b. tertiary consumers are the ultimate source of energy in an
ecosystem.
c. there are more tertiary consumers than producers in an
energy pyramid.
d. producers are the foundation of all energy pyramids.

Lake Erie has suffered long term pollution problems. While the situation is improving for this Great Lake, there are still
areas of concern. The table below shows an advisory from the early 1990s for eating fish taken from Lake Erie that may
contain PCBs.

Recommended Restrictions for Eating Selected Sport Fish (PCB Advisory)

Fish Species Lake Erie Ashtabula River Maumee River Ottawa River Portage River
Carp under 20 inches 3 4 3 5 3
Carp 20+ inches 4 4 3 5 3
Channel Catfish 4 4 5 5 3
Freshwater Drum 2 2 2 5 2
Lake Trout 4 4 4 5 4
Largemouth Bass 1 3 2 5 2

Key
1 = No Restriction 3 = One Meal per Month 5 = Do Not Eat!
2 = One Meal per Week 4 = Six Meals per Year

9. Which Lake Erie tributary is probably most contaminated with PCBs?

a. Portage River
b. Ottawa River
c. Maumee River
d. Ashtabula River

Many natural ecosystems have been destroyed by human activity. To better manage our remaining natural ecosystems,
we must first understand how the ecosystems are structured. One way to do this is to determine how the organisms in
the ecosystem obtain the matter and energy they need to survive. The figure below shows a simplified food web.
Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

10. Often, organisms compete with each other for a food source. Which of the following pairs of organisms compete
with each other for food?
a. mice and rabbits
b. squirrels and owls
c. rabbits and green plants
d. mice and owls

11. A herd of zebra eating grass includes groups of organisms from

different species. These groups best exemplify
a. a biome interaction.
b. a community interaction.
c. an ecosystem interaction.
d. a population interaction.

12. The Earth's carbon cycle consists of the flow, cycling, and recycling of all of the carbon on the Earth. Every living
organism's composition includes the element carbon. How does carbon become part of living organisms?
a. Producers take in carbon directly from the soil through their roots, and consumers eat the producers.
b. Producers take in carbon dioxide from the air, and consumers eat the producers.
c. Carbon is a part of sunlight and enters through the skins of all organisms.
d. Consumers take in carbon dioxide from the air, and producers eat the consumers.

PLEASE FLIP THE PAGE FOR THE OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS

Student: ____________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _____________

Open-ended Question:

Use the graph below to answer the question.

13. Isle Royale is located in Lake Superior. Isle Royale is home to populations of wolves and moose. The interactions
between the wolves and moose, as well as the individual population sizes, have been studied since 1958. The
graph shows the population sizes over time for both wolves and moose.
Part A: Describe one limiting factor for the moose population.
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Part B: Explain one likely reason why the wolf population rapidly increased between 1975 and 1980.
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Part C: Predict what will happen to the moose population’s size after 1994 by describing the shape of the curve.
In your answer, be sure to explain the reasoning behind your prediction.
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