Ecological Concepts and Principles

This video is an ecology unit review for AP Biology students, covering key concepts such as exponential and logistic growth, K and R selection strategies, biomes, niches, trophic levels, food webs, nutrient cycles, and human impact on ecosystems. The review aims to prepare students for their upcoming ecology test and the AP exam by reinforcing topics not fully covered in class. It emphasizes the importance of understanding ecological principles and their implications for natural and human-altered environments.

What is the term for the maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely?

• Exponential growth

• Carrying capacity

• Logistic growth

• Limiting factor

Which factor is primarily responsible for driving exponential growth in a population?

• Death rates

• Birth rates

• Resource depletion

• Carrying capacity

In R-selection strategy, organisms typically:

• Have a long lifespan with few offspring

• Have a stable population size

• Have many offspring with little parental care

• Have few offspring with high parental care

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

• Species can share resources equally in a niche

• One species will outcompete another if they occupy the same niche

• Niches are not affected by competition

• Two species can coexist in the same niche indefinitely

What is the primary producer in most aquatic ecosystems?

• Coral reefs

• Zooplankton

• Phytoplankton

• Terrestrial plants

What percentage of energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?

• 90%

• 50%

• 10%

• 1%

Which cycle involves the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants?

• Nitrogen cycle

• Phosphorus cycle

• Carbon cycle

• Water cycle

What is nitrogen fixation?

• The decomposition of nitrogen compounds

• The absorption of nitrogen by plants

• The release of nitrogen gas into the atmosphere

• The process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia

How does habitat destruction primarily lead to species extinction?

• By increasing food availability

• By reducing genetic diversity

• By enhancing ecosystem stability

• By increasing the birth rate

What is a major consequence of reduced biodiversity in an ecosystem?

• Improved resource availability

• Enhanced genetic diversity

• Increased ecosystem stability

• Ecosystem collapse