Describe the five levels of ecological organization in the context of the biosphere and biomes
What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER: Biomes are defined by vegetation types, and include the microorganisms, fungi and
animals that are associated with the vegetation type. The five levels of ecological
organization are defined by increasingly complex and inclusive levels of organization. Any
given level of organization obviously occurs within the biosphere, and can be, but does not
have to be, associated with a particular biome. Organismal ecology focuses on the genetic,
biochemical, physiological, morphological and behavioral adaptations of organisms to the
abiotic environment. Since the abiotic environment, primarily precipitation and
temperature, define biomes, organisms occur or do not occur in some respects within
biomes. Population ecology focuses on groups of individuals of the same species that live
in the same area (together). Community ecology focuses on groups of populations that
occur together in one area. Ecosystem ecology focuses on the cycling of nutrients and flow
of energy between the biotic components of an ecological community and the abiotic
environment. The biosphere includes all organisms on Earth and the places where they
live. All levels of ecological organization are bounded by the extent of the biosphere, that
is, where life is found, from terrestrial to freshwater to marine environments. All biomes
and their freshwater and marine counterparts are also bounded by the extent of the
biosphere and defined by the morphological and physiological similarities in species that
occupy similar abiotic environments.
You might also like to view...
The healthiest carbohydrates are
a. simple sugars. b. disaccharides. c. fruit sugars. d. "complex" carbohydrates e. cane sugars.
What key factor limits the number of trophic levels in an ecosystem?
a. maximum solar radiation b. energy loss c. herbivore size d. predator size e. climate
Which of the following mechanisms is not directly involved in inactivating an activated RTK?
(a) dephosphorylation by serine/threonine phosphatases (b) dephosphorylation by protein tyrosine phosphatases (c) removal of the RTK from the plasma membrane by endocytosis (d) digestion of the RTK in lysosomes
Fats that contain only SINGLE bonds are called, __________ _________ (solid at room temp.)
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).