Ecology
40 questions tagged Ecology — spanning every one of the seven Ws.
What Is a Biome?
A biome is a large-scale ecological community defined by its dominant vegetation, climate, and wildlife — examples include tropical rainforests, deserts, tundra, and grasslands.
What Is a Lichen?
A lichen is a composite organism formed by a symbiotic partnership between a fungus and one or more photosynthetic partners (green algae or cyanobacteria), functioning as a single ecological unit.
Where Is the Okavango Delta?
The Okavango Delta is in northwestern Botswana, in southern Africa — the largest inland delta in the world, where the Okavango River fans out into the Kalahari Desert sands.
Where Is the Sundarbans?
The Sundarbans is the world largest mangrove forest, spanning about 10,000 square kilometres across the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers in Bangladesh (60%) and India (40%).
Where Is Lake Natron?
Lake Natron is in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya, at the base of Ol Doinyo Lengai — East Africa only active volcano that erupts carbonatite lava.
Where Is the Pantanal?
The Pantanal is in western Brazil, extending into Bolivia and Paraguay — it is the world largest tropical wetland, covering approximately 150,000-195,000 square kilometres.
Which Desert Is the Oldest?
The Namib Desert in southwestern Africa is considered the world oldest desert, having been arid or semi-arid for at least 55-80 million years — since the Late Cretaceous period.
What Is Mycelium?
Mycelium is the vast underground network of thread-like filaments (hyphae) that forms the main body of a fungus — mushrooms are just the visible fruiting bodies of this hidden network, which can span kilometres.
What Is a Keystone Species?
A keystone species is an organism that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its abundance — its removal would cause dramatic changes or even collapse of the ecosystem.
What Is a Wetland?
A wetland is an area where water covers the soil or is present at or near the surface for at least part of the year — including marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens — making them among the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth.
Where Is Tonle Sap?
Tonle Sap is in central Cambodia, Southeast Asia — it is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, connected to the Mekong River by the Tonle Sap River, which famously reverses flow direction twice a year.
Which Fungus Is the Largest Organism?
A honey fungus (Armillaria ostoyae) in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, USA, is the largest known organism on Earth — its underground mycelial network spans approximately 9.6 square kilometres and may be 2,400-8,650 years old.
Which Tree Produces the Most Oxygen?
Large, fast-growing deciduous trees like oaks, beeches, and maples produce the most oxygen per individual tree — a mature oak produces roughly 100 kg of oxygen per year, enough for about 2-3 people.
Why do mosquitoes exist?
Mosquitoes play ecological roles as pollinators, as food for birds, bats, fish and dragonflies, and as nutrient recyclers, even though they are best known for spreading disease.
What Is a Controlled Burn?
A controlled (prescribed) burn is a planned fire set under specific conditions to reduce fuel loads, restore ecosystems, and prevent catastrophic wildfires.
Why do mountain ranges often contain different ecosystems on the same slope?
Changes in temperature, moisture, and sunlight with elevation create stacked climate zones. A single mountain can contain multiple habitats from base to summit.
When did the passenger pigeon, once a mammal predator's prey source, go extinct?
The passenger pigeon went extinct in the wild by the early 1900s, and the last one died in 1914.
Which marine species forms the largest known animal migration in the world?
The Antarctic krill is part of one of the largest animal migrations on Earth. Swarms can move vertically every day and occur in enormous numbers across the Southern Ocean.
Whose work first showed that sea otters are a keystone species?
Ecologist Robert T. Paine introduced the idea of the keystone species in the 1960s through studies of sea otters and intertidal ecosystems. Sea otters help control sea urchins and protect kelp forests.
Whose expedition first described the altitude zones on a mountain as a series of climates?
Alexander von Humboldt’s Andean observations showed that temperature and vegetation change predictably with elevation.
How do beavers build dams across streams?
Beavers cut trees and branches with their teeth, then stack them with mud and stones to slow water flow. Their dams create ponds that protect lodges and provide food access.
What is a jellyfish bloom?
A jellyfish bloom is a sudden increase in jellyfish numbers in a particular area and time, often due to favorable environmental conditions.
Why do river deltas often have rich wildlife and fertile soil?
Deltas gather nutrient-rich sediment from upstream, creating shallow wetlands and productive habitats for plants and animals.
Why do mountains often have more biodiversity than surrounding lowlands?
Mountains create many climates and habitats in a small area as temperature, moisture, and sunlight change with elevation and slope. That variety can support many species and drive endemism.
Why do some mountain peaks stay bare while nearby slopes are forested?
Bare peaks are often too cold, windy, or steep for trees to grow. Above the tree line, low temperatures and a short growing season prevent forests from surviving.
Why do some fungi grow inside wood?
Wood-decay fungi feed on compounds in dead or weakened wood. They break down lignin and cellulose, recycling nutrients back into ecosystems.
Why do some seeds need fire to sprout?
Some seeds wait for fire because heat, smoke, or post-fire conditions remove competitors and trigger germination. Fire can also crack hard seed coats or release chemical signals.
Why do some fungi form fairy rings?
Fairy rings appear when a fungus spreads outward from a central point in the soil. The older center may die back while the active edge keeps growing and fruiting.
What is a nest parasite in birds?
A nest parasite is an animal, often an insect or other bird, that exploits another bird’s nest for breeding or raising young. In birds, this often overlaps with brood parasitism.
What is a mycorrhizal network?
A mycorrhizal network is a web of fungal threads linking plant roots in soil. It can move nutrients and signals between plants.
What is a seed dispersal mechanism?
A seed dispersal mechanism is the way a plant spreads its seeds away from the parent plant. Common methods include wind, water, animals, and explosive release.
What is a decomposer?
A decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead material and recycles nutrients. Fungi are among the most important decomposers in forests.
What is a forest canopy?
The forest canopy is the upper layer formed by the crowns of trees. It captures much of the sunlight and shapes the forest habitat below.
What is a saprophyte?
A saprophyte is an organism that feeds on dead organic matter. The term is often used for fungi and bacteria that decompose plant material.
What is a microbiome?
A microbiome is the community of microorganisms living in a particular environment, such as the human gut, soil, or ocean. It also often refers to the collective genetic material of those microbes.
What is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium?
A nitrogen-fixing bacterium converts nitrogen gas from the air into forms that plants can use. This process is essential for soil fertility and agriculture.
When was the first hydrothermal vent found with tube worms and clams together?
That combination was first documented in 1977 at the Galápagos Rift. It was one of the first clear examples of a whole vent ecosystem.
When did lichens first appear in the fossil record?
Lichens are known from fossils at least 410 million years old, and may have originated even earlier.
Which fungus forms the biggest underground network in forests?
Mycorrhizal fungi can form huge underground networks with plant roots, and some species cover vast areas. These networks help trees exchange nutrients and water.
How do leafcutter ants feed their fungus farms?
Leafcutter ants do not eat the leaves themselves; they use them to grow fungus, which becomes their main food. The colony carefully tends the fungus garden like agriculture.