Define the following terms and give one example for each:
(a)Commensalism (b)Parasitism
(c)Camouflage (d)Mutualism
(e)Interspecific competition
(a)Commensalism is the association between organisms of different species in which one species benefits but does not apparent harm to the other. For example, in the large intestine of human being, bacteria Escherichia coli are present which helps in digestion.
(b)Parasitism is an association in which one organism lives on or in the body of another, from which it obtains its food. For example, the parasites of humans include fleas and lice, various bacteria, protozoans and fungi.
(c)Camouflage is a high degree of similarity between an animal and its visual environment, which enables it be disguished or concealed. For example, birds with necks and heads of contrasting colours are not easily recognised by their enemies under certain conditions.
(d)Mutualism is an association between two organisms of different species in which each partner benefits. For example, the cross fertilization or pollination of plant flowers by insects (sometimes by birds) is a mutual relation of wide occurrence and great importance, because many plants are self- sterile.
(e)Inter-specific competition can be defined as an interaction occurs between different species that share some environmental resource when this is in short supply. Inter-specific competition often results in the dominance of one species over another. For example, when two species of Paramoecium,Paramoecium caudatum and P.aurelia are confined in a closed containers with fixed amount of food, out of them one species always died out.
Why do all the fresh water organisms have contractile vacuoles whereas , majority of marine organisms lack them?
Does light factor affect the distribution of organisms? Write a brief note giving suitable examples of either plants or animals.
In a sea shore, the benthic animals live in sandy, muddy and rocky substrata
and accordingly developed the following adaptations.
a. Burrowing
b. Building cubes
c. Holdfasts/peduncle
Find the suitable substratum against each adaptation.
Define the following terms and give one example for each:
(a)Commensalism (b)Parasitism
(c)Camouflage (d)Mutualism
(e)Interspecific competition
Lianas are vascular plants rooted in the ground and maintain erectness of their stem by making use of other trees for support. They do not maintain direct relation with those trees. Discuss the type of association the lianas have with the trees.
Give an example for:
(a)An endothermic animal
(b)An ectothermic animal
(c)An organism of benthic zone
Which element is responsible for causing soil salinity? At what concentration does the soil become saline?
A population of Paramoecium caudatum was grown in a culture medium. After 5 days the culture medium became pvercrowded with Paramoecium and had depleted nutrients. What will happen to the population and what type of growth curve will the population attain? Draw the growth curve.
In an aquarium two herbivorous species of fish are living together and feeding on phytoplanktons. As per the Gause's Principle, one of the species is to be eliminated in due course of time, but both are surviving well in the aquarium. Give possible reasons.
Write a short note on
(a)Adaptations of desert plants and animals
(b)Adaptations of plants to water scarcity
(c)Behavioural adaptations in animals
(d)Importance of light to plants
(e)Effect of temperature or water scarcity and the adaptations of animals.
Why do submerged plants receive weaker illumination than exposed floating plants in a lake?
In an association of two animal species, one is a termite which feeds on wood and the other is a protozoan Trichonympha present in the gut of the termite. What type of association they establish?
Why do high altitude areas have brighter sunlight and lower temperatures as compared to the plains?
The following diagrams are the age pyramids of different populations. Comment on the status of these populations.
An orchid plant is growing on the branch of mango tree. How do you describe this interaction between the orchid and the mango tree?
The density of a population in a habitat per unit area is measured in different units. Write the unit of measurement against the following:
a. Bacteria …………..
b. Banyan …………..
c. Deer …………..
d. Fish …………..
In an association of two animal species, one is a termite which feeds on wood and the other is a protozoan Trichonympha present in the gut of the termite. What type of association they establish?
Observe the set of 4 figures A, B, C and D, and answer the following questions: •
(i) Which one of the figures shows mutualism?
(ii) What kind of association is shown in D?
(iii) Name the organisms and the association in C.
(iv) What role is the insect performing in B?
What is the ecological principle behind the biological control method of managing with pest insects?
a. Label the three tiers 1, 2, 3 given in the above age pyramid.
b. What type of population growth is represented by the above age pyramid?
Give one example for each of the following:
(i) Eurythermal plant species ………………
(ii) A hot water spring organism ………………
(iii) An organism seen in deep ocean trenches ………………
(iv) An organism seen in compost pit ………………
(v) A parasitic angiosperm ………………
(vi) A stenothermal plant species ………………
(vii) Soil organism ………………
(viii) A benthic animal ………………
(ix) Antifreeze compound seen in antarcticfish ………………
(x) An organism which can conform ………………
Categorise the following plants into hydrophytes, halophytes, mesophytes and xerophytes. Give reasons for your answers.
a. Salvinia b. Opuntia
c. Rhizophora d. Mangifera
Most living organisms cannot survive at temperature above 45 °C. How are some microbes able to live in habitats with temperatures exceeding 100 °C?
