Deck 4: Species Interactions and Community Ecology

Question 1

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question.
Ticks serve what role in this food web?

A)secondary consumers
B)top predators
C)primary consumers
D)autotrophs
E)parasites

Answer 1

parasites

Question 2

A climax community _______________.

A)is typical of the first stages of secondary succession
B)has the lowest biodiversity of all stages of succession
C)remains in place until a disturbance restarts succession
D)describes aquatic biomes
E)describes terrestrial biomes

Answer 2

remains in place until a disturbance restarts succession

Question 3

Competitive exclusion occurs as a result of _______________.

A)resource partitioning
B)intraspecific competition
C)parasitism
D)interspecific competition
E)predation

Answer 3

interspecific competition

Question 4

By definition,parasites _______________ their hosts

A)never kill
B)kill
C)are much smaller than their host.
D)get nourishment from and harm
E)live on the external surface of

Question 5

_______________ capture solar energy and use photosynthesis to produce sugars.

A)Detritivores
B)Heterotrophs
C)Secondary consumers
D)Primary consumers
E)Producers

Question 6

Grazing animals such as deer are _______________.

A)producers
B)detritivores
C)primary consumers
D)secondary consumers
E)parasites

Question 7

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question.
Which of the following is the most likely result of the American toad's becoming extirpated from this forest?

A)Rat snake populations would decline because rat snakes eat toads.
B)Earthworm populations would decline because of the lack of a food source.
C)Spiders are likely to experience a population increase because more insect prey would become available.
D)Red -bellied woodpecker numbers are likely to decline because of the resulting decrease in beetles and other insects.
E)Toadstools and other fungi would thrive because toads would no longer compete with them for space.

Question 8

Taiga and tundra both _______________.

A)have comparatively low temperatures throughout the year
B)have many burrowing rodents
C)lack many birds
D)lack trees
E)are found in the southeastern United States

Question 9

Character displacement can result from all of the following EXCEPT _______________.

A)intraspecific competition
B)natural selection
C)resource partitioning
D)interspecific competition
E)the use of limited resources by multiple species

Question 10

Temperature remains relatively stable through the year in what biome?

A)temperate grassland
B)temperate deciduous forest
C)boreal forest
D)tropical rainforest
E)chaparral

Question 11

Zebra mussels _______________.

A)were introduced into the United States in the early 1900s
B)are native to Canada
C)excrete waste that facilitates algae blooms and subsequent eutrophication of lakes
D)are an invasive exotic species that clogs water intake pipes at factories,power plants,and wastewater treatment facilities
E)are presently restricted to the Great Lakes and Hudson River,but they are expected to spread rapidly in the near future

Question 12

Because of the rainshadow effect, _______________.

A)a dry region occurs on the downwind side of a mountain
B)rainfall fluctuates,arriving in equal amounts on both sides
C)the wet region is determined by the location of jet stream
D)a dry region occurs on the windward side of a mountain
E)rainfall varies,but always falls in shadow areas

Question 13

Zooplankton populations in Lake Erie and the Hudson River have declined by up to 70% or more since the arrival of zebra mussels because _______________.

A)zebra mussels carry a parasite that kills zooplankton
B)zebra mussels prey on zooplankton
C)waste from zebra mussels promotes bacterial growth that kills zooplankton
D)zebra mussels feed on cyanobacteria,which zooplankton need as a food source
E)zebra mussels block sunlight penetration into lakes and thus prevent zooplankton from photosynthesizing

Question 14

Individuals of a single species fighting over access to a limiting resource would be an example of _______________.

A)interspecific competition
B)competitive exclusion
C)intraspecific competition
D)resource partitioning
E)symbiosis

Question 15

Which of the following is TRUE about top predators?

A)They are often keystone species.
B)Their removal increases biodiversity.
C)They are likely to be producers.
D)They include bacteria and fungi.
E)They are likely to be herbivores.

Question 16

Desert and tundra both _______________.

A)have relatively low precipitation
B)lack insects
C)lack shrubs
D)have rich soils,although the climate is such that very little grows
E)have permafrost deep underground

Question 17

Secondary succession _______________

A)requires primary succession to precede it
B)typically begins with lichen or moss colonizing rock
C)occurs after a fire or flood
D)is predictable because it always ends in the formation of a climax community
E)occurs after a volcano spreads lava across a landscape

Question 18

A species' realized niche _______________.

A)is never really realized because it isn't real
B)is the portion of a species' niche that is "taken over" by competing species
C)cannot be smaller than its fundamental niche
D)is the niche that a species realizes/experiences in the absence of competition
E)cannot be larger than its fundamental niche

Question 19

Fish that eat zooplankton are _______________.

A)primary consumers
B)detritivores
C)secondary consumers
D)producers
E)herbivores

Question 20

Which biome would be found primarily in the temperate zone?

A)boreal forest
B)tundra
C)deciduous forest
D)desert
E)savanna

Question 21

The energy content and biomass of ______________ is lowest in a terrestrial food web

A)top carnivores
B)primary consumers is lowest in a terrestrial food web.
C)small carnivores such as spiders and lizards
D)detritivores and decomposers
E)producers

Question 22

Discuss ways to control invasive species.

Question 23

The Everglades restoration project in Florida ______________

A)seeks to exterminate numerous invasive fish species and plants
B)is a short -term restoration project with a two -year implementation plan
C)will probably destroy much of the commercial fishing in the area
D)is restoring natural levels of water flow by undoing numerous channeling and drainage projects
E)will result in serious depletion of drinking water supplies for humans in south Florida

Question 24

What ecological traits do successful invasive species possess? How do these traits interact to make controlling them difficult?

Question 25

By definition,herbivores _______________

A)break down leaf litter
B)are photosynthetic
C)consume autotrophs
D)eat primary consumers
E)consume heterotrophs

Question 26

Which of the following biomes is experiencing the greatest temperature increases resulting from global climate change?

A)chaparral
B)tropical rainforest
C)Arctic tundra
D)temperature deciduous forest
E)temperate grassland

Question 27

Benthic organisms in the Great Lakes _______________.

A)include phytoplankton
B)live near the water's surface
C)are harmed by the presence of zebra mussels
D)benefit from the presence of zebra mussels
E)include zooplankton but not phytoplankton

Question 28

Detritivores include ______________.

A)species that can break down cellulose,bone,and other durable biopolymers
B)algae and photosynthetic bacteria
C)millipedes and soil insects
D)wolves and lions
E)oak and poplar trees

Question 29

A trophic cascade is the effect of the loss of ____________ on ____________.

A) detritivores; the abundance of decomposers
B) top consumers; the abundance of lower consumers and producers
C) producers; the abundance of primary consumers
D) top consumers; one another
E) flooding; terrestrial ecosystems

Question 30

Discuss the two factors that are most important in the distribution of biomes.Choose one biome and explain how these two factors impact the specific plants and animals found in this biome.

Question 31

This climate diagram depicts .

A)a biome with plentiful moisture
B)a very dry environment
C)a tropical biome
D)a biome whose plants experience freeze stress for several months of the year
E)a typical boreal forest biome

Question 32

List the three major trophic categories in a food web.What types of organisms are found in each level? Where are the autotrophs and heterotrophs found in a food web? Discuss the significance of each level for the integral functioning of the food web.

Question 33

Microbes in our digestive tract that help us digest food demonstrate a(n) _______________ association.

A)benthic
B)homeopathic
C)allelopathic
D)parasitic
E)symbiotic

Question 34

Define the term invasive species and give two examples from your textbook.

Question 35

Kelp _______________.

A)is eaten by sea otters
B)is pollinated by sea urchins
C)suffers intense herbivory from sea urchins
D)is eaten by orcas
E)suffers intense herbivory from zebra mussels

Question 36

Why do ecologists favor the term food web as opposed to food chain?

Question 37

A community may undergo a regime shift or a phase shift when _______________.

A)pollutants cause a rapid rise in mutations
B)it loses a keystone species or suffers a major climatic change
C)it has too many symbiotic relationships among species
D)it suffers a natural fire or flood
E)all invasive and exotic species are removed

Question 38

Give an example of how an invasive species can cause ecological or economic harm.

Question 39

Quagga mussels _____________

A)are native mussels being replaced in many areas by zebra mussels
B)were brought over from the Black Sea in an effort to eradicate zebra mussels
C)feed on bottom -feeding fish and cause declines in their populations
D)are invasive mussels that are replacing zebra mussels in many areas
E)cause a decline in aquatic plants in lakes that they have invaded

Question 40

Blight fungus kills U.S.chestnut trees because the trees ____________.

A)have not coevolved with the fungus
B)have not matured long enough to survive
C)are hosts to the vectors of the fungus
D)release the fungus in the leaves that fall to the ground and the fungus is absorbed in the soil
E)release the fungus into the soil and it is drawn up in the roots

Question 41

Briefly describe what is meant by the term pioneer species.Identify the general characteristics of pioneer species,and give an examples of pioneer species.

Question 42

Discuss the differences between intraspecific and interspecific competition.