What is ecology? — Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
What is an ecosystem? — An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with each other and with their physical environment.
What is a habitat? — A habitat is the natural environment where an organism lives.
What is a niche? — A niche is the role an organism plays in its ecosystem, including how it obtains resources and interacts with other organisms.
What is a population? — A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area.
What is a biological community? — A biological community consists of all the populations of different species living and interacting in the same area.
What is biodiversity? — Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms within an ecosystem, region, or the entire Earth.
What are producers in an ecosystem? — Producers are organisms, such as plants and algae, that make their own food through photosynthesis.
What are consumers? — Consumers are organisms that obtain energy by eating other organisms.
What are decomposers? — Decomposers are organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, that break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients.
What is a food chain? — A food chain is a sequence that shows how energy passes from one organism to another through feeding relationships.
What is a food web? — A food web is a network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem.
What is a trophic level? — A trophic level is the position an organism occupies in a food chain or food web.
Why does energy decrease at higher trophic levels? — Much of the energy is lost as heat during metabolic processes, so only a portion is transferred to the next trophic level.
What is the primary source of energy for most ecosystems? — The Sun is the primary source of energy for most ecosystems.
What is symbiosis? — Symbiosis is a close, long-term relationship between organisms of different species.
What are the three main types of symbiotic relationships? — Mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
What is an ecological succession? — Ecological succession is the gradual change in the species composition of an ecosystem over time.
What is the difference between primary and secondary succession? — Primary succession begins where no soil exists, while secondary succession occurs after a disturbance where soil remains.
Why are ecosystems important? — Ecosystems support life by providing habitats, cycling nutrients, maintaining biodiversity, and regulating energy flow.
