Herbivores are plant-eating organisms. They are classified in the primary consumer trophic level. An easy way to remember this is to break down the word. Herbs are types of plants, so when we see “herb” in herbivore think of plants. Carnivores eat other animals. Autotrophs and producers need not eat anything to get energy, rather, they make their own.

The latin name consists of the genus and species of the organism. These are the most specific of the taxonomic classifications. The taxonomic classifications are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

Omnivores eat plants and meats. Carnivores eat meat only. Herbivores eat plants only. Detrivores eat dead organisms.

This question requires careful reading of the correct order of an ecosystem on earth. The correct order, from smallest to largest, for an ecosystem is “individual, population, community, ecosystem.” Individual organisms make up populations, which interact with other populations in communities, which in turn belong to ecosystems that have a particular environment, such as desert or rainforest.

Trophic energy levels show reduced biomass as you go up a food chain from producer, to consumer, to secondary consumer, and so on due to the loss of energy as heat. The hawks, as a secondary consumer, will have the smallest amount of proportional biomass compared to the other species.

Biological organization extends from the level of subatomic particles all the way up to the biosphere. Within the fields of molecular and cell biology, the atomic, molecular, and cellular levels of biology are most important. In the fields of physiology and anatomy, organs, organ systems, and organisms feature prominently.

Within ecology and population genetics, the higher levels of organization are most pertinent. Several organisms make up a population, which in turn makes up a community, and then an ecosystem. A group of ecosystems make up a biome, and the sum of all the biomes is a biosphere. 

Atmosphere and Earth are not considered levels of biological organization.

Global ecology refers to large-scale interactions between the earth’s ecosystems, atmosphere, landscapes, and seascapes. Landscape ecology refers to the spatial orientation and patterns within specific landscapes or seascapes. Ecosystem ecology observes the interactions, both biotic and abiotic, within a given landscape area. Community ecology is like ecosystem ecology, but applies to communities of organisms. It observes the spatial distribution, abundance, relationships, and interactions between organisms of different species in a given ecosystem. Population ecology refers to the spatial distribution, abundance, relationships, and interactions within the same species in a given community. Organismal ecology studies each organism’s behavior, anatomy, evolution, adaptation, and relative fitness in a given environment. 

Variable limiting refers to when an environmental variable that is lacking. If light is lacking, the algae will not grow and reproduce; the environmental variable, light, is limiting the algae’s success. The variable optimum is when the variables are perfectly balanced. Variable inhibiting refers to when when an environmental variable is in abundance, to the point where it is harmful. If there is too much light, the algae will no longer continue growing and reproducing, but will begin too die off.  In this situation, light is variable inhibiting. 

An ecological niche is the sum of a species’ use of its environment, including both biotic and abiotic factors. Resource partitioning is the differentiation of niches; it is impossible for two species to have the same niche and use the same resources. Resource partitioning allows for differentiation of niches between similar species so they can coexist. A fundamental niche is described in forest B, where moss 2 grows both above and below the shrubbery. It is the niche that could be potentially occupied by a species. The realized niche is the term that refers to the area of moss 2 in forest A. The realized niche is the portion of the fundamental niche that an organism actually occupies. We know that moss 2 can potentially occupy areas above and below shrubbery, but in forest A, it only occupies the area below the shrubbery (its realized niche). 

The term “abiotic” refers to the nonliving components of the environment; therefore, a rock would be characterized as an abiotic part of the environment.