Chapter 4.2 Biology Niches and Communities Assessment
What is the difference between a habitat and a niche?
A habitat is the general place where an organism lives and a niche is the range of physical and biological conditions in which a species lives and the way the species obtain what it needs to survive and reproduce.
What is a keystone species?
A keystone species is single species that is not usually abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on the structure of a community.
How is a niche like a profession?
A niche is similar to a profession as it is your role in the world.
What is the difference between a predator and a parasite?
A predator is an organism that preys upon other organism while a parasite is an organism that obtains nourishment and shelter on another organism.
What is competition? Why can't two organisms compete if they live in different habitats?
A symbiotic relationship between or among living things for resources, such as food, space, shelter, mate, ecological status, etc. According to the competititive exclusion principle, if two species attempt to occupy the same niche, one species will be better at competing for limited resources and will eventually exclude the other.
A relationship between organisms in which one species benefits and the other is not affected is called
Commensalism
A species tolerance for environmental conditions helps determine its
Habitat
How might a dramatic decrease in vegetation lead to a decrease in a prey species? (Hint: Think of how the vegetation, prey, and predator could be connected in a food chain.)
If there is less vegetation, herbivores won't be able to eat anything, so they won't have enough energy to escape from predators.
What are the two types of competition?
Intraspecific and interspecific. Intraspecific is between members of the same species. Interspecific is between members of different species.
Bacteria living in a cow's stomach help the cow break down the cellulose in grass, gaining nutrients in the process. Is this an example of commensalism or mutualism? Explain your answer
It would be commensalism because the cow is getting nutrients from the grass, but the grass is not helped or harmed.
The three main classes of symbiotic relationships in nature include
Mutualism, parasitism, commensalism
What is symbiosis?
Symbiosis is the relationship in which two species live close together. The three types of symbiosis are mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.
Herbivory is defined as
The interaction in which one animal feeds on producers
The full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way it interacts with those conditions is called
The organisms niche
