Deck 24: Principles of Ecology

Question 1

Which of the following would be more likely to affect an animal's habitat than its niche?

A) rainfall
B) prey abundance
C) predators
D) defense mechanisms
E) species interactions

Answer 1

A

Question 2

All of the populations of different species that occupy and are adapted to a given area are referred to by which term?

A) biosphere
B) community
C) ecosystem
D) niche
E) habitat

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Secondary succession occurs

A) after a fire.
B) on a new sand dune.
C) on bare rock.
D) immediately after the formation of a man-made lake.
E) on a newly-formed volcanic island.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Secondary succession is likely to occur

A) in a deciduous forest.
B) on an eroded, bare hillside.
C) in an abandoned field.
D) in a deciduous forest and on an eroded, bare hillside.
E) in a deciduous forest, on an eroded, bare hillside, or in an abandoned field.

Question 5

Which of the following is a habitat?

A) predator
B) intestinal tract
C) parasite
D) producer
E) decomposer

Question 6

Farmland that is under regular and continued tillage will not

A) undergo succession.
B) produce a climax community.
C) experience competition.
D) suffer from the effects of disturbance.
E) develop species diversity.

Question 7

What term denotes the range of all factors that influence whether a species can obtain resources essential for survival and reproduction?

A) habitat
B) niche
C) carrying capacity
D) ecosystem
E) community

Question 8

Climate experts predict that in the mountains of western North America

A) average temperatures will rise.
B) there will be less snow.
C) there will be drier forests.
D) there will be more intense wildfires.
E) all of these.

Question 9

The climax community

A) is formed by species with the greatest range of environmental tolerance.
B) is the most common community found in an area.
C) changes over time.
D) is well adapted to the climate and persists until the climate changes.
E) is seasonal.

Question 10

The plants and animals now present on acreage from which the trees were removed ten years earlier represent

A) primary succession.
B) a climax forest.
C) pioneer species.
D) secondary succession.
E) species introductions.

Question 11

The summer of 2008 brought the worst fire season in 50 years to California. The reason for this was

A) very high temperatures.
B) an abnormally long summer season.
C) a series of dry winters.
D) a series of short winters.
E) a series of warm winters.

Question 12

Which of the following is usually a primary carnivore?

A) chicken
B) cow
C) rabbit
D) lion
E) squirrel

Question 13

The study of the interactions of organisms and their physical environment is

A) biology.
B) ecology.
C) geology.
D) paleontology.
E) physiology.

Question 14

When Shakespeare wrote about the world as a stage and each of us being players, he was unknowingly referring to the biological concept of

A) succession.
B) the niche.
C) different habitats.
D) feeding levels.
E) interspecific competition.

Question 15

A network of interactions that involve the cycling of materials and the flow of energy between a community and its physical environment is which of the following?

A) population
B) community
C) ecosystem
D) biosphere
E) species

Question 16

Deserts, rain forests, hardwood forests, and tundra are all examples of

A) habitats.
B) biomes.
C) ecosystems.
D) niches.
E) communities.

Question 17

A community differs from an ecosystem in that the former does NOT include

A) unicellular organisms.
B) decomposers.
C) abiotic (nonliving) factors.
D) unicellular organisms and decomposers.
E) unicellular organisms, decomposers, and abiotic (nonliving) factors.

Question 18

Climate shifts may lead to affects on human activities such as

A) where people choose to live.
B) the availability of reliable energy.
C) the availability of reliable water supplies.
D) the kinds of crops farmers grow.
E) all of these.

Question 19

When comparing specialist species with generalist species, it may be said that

A) generalist species will survive in fewer habitats than specialist species.
B) generalist species are at a disadvantage when comparing niches.
C) generalist species will most likely be at an advantage when it comes to adaptation in situations where the environment is changing.
D) specialist species have a more diverse nutritional source list.
E) specialist species exhibit a broad range of habitats.

Question 20

In a natural community, the primary consumers are

A) herbivores.
B) carnivores.
C) scavengers.
D) decomposers.
E) omnivores..

Question 21

The primary consumer is also

A) the second link in a food chain.
B) a herbivore.
C) an animal.
D) a herbivore and an animal.
E) the second link in a food chain as well as an herbivore and an animal.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT dependent on the others as a food source?

A) carnivores
B) herbivores
C) producers
D) detritivores
E) decomposers

Question 23

Which of the following are NOT heterotrophs?

A) primary carnivores
B) herbivores
C) secondary carnivores
D) decomposers
E) all of these are heterotrophs

Question 24

Which cannot be placed in a single trophic level?

A) an oak tree
B) a zebra
C) a mushroom
D) a rabbit
E) a lion

Question 25

Primary carnivores are

A) tertiary consumers in the third trophic level.
B) secondary consumers in the third trophic level.
C) secondary consumers in the second trophic level.
D) tertiary consumers in the fourth trophic level.
E) also primary producers.

Question 26

Most of the energy available to a primary consumer

A) will be used up in various biological activities.
B) will be converted into biomass.
C) is obtained directly from solar energy.
D) will be passed on to the animal that feeds upon it.
E) will remain with the consumer until death.

Question 27

Feeding levels in an ecosystem are also known as

A) nutritional levels.
B) nourishment levels.
C) trophic levels.
D) niche levels.
E) biome levels.

Question 28

A secondary consumer could eat

A) only herbivores.
B) only primary producers.
C) primary carnivores.
D) anything "below" it in the food web.
E) only green grass.

Question 29

The ultimate source of all energy in a terrestrial ecosystem is

A) the organic matter in all the organisms of the ecosystem.
B) water.
C) sunlight.
D) carbon dioxide.
E) ATP.

Question 30

Food chains rarely have more than three levels of consumers because

A) the animals are too large to search for prey.
B) the growing season of plants is not long enough.
C) pyramids do not go that high.
D) the amount of energy available is too small.
E) humans intervene.

Question 31

Herbivores represent the

A) primary consumers.
B) secondary consumers.
C) tertiary consumers.
D) primary producers.
E) secondary producers.

Question 32

Net primary productivity is the

A) rate of photosynthesis.
B) rate of energy flow.
C) amount of energy stored in the ecosystem.
D) amount of energy utilized.
E) amount of energy stored in the plant tissue in excess of that used by autotrophs in respiration.

Question 33

All living organisms are dependent upon plants because

A) plants produce carbon dioxide as a by-product of photosynthesis.
B) as producers, they form the base of food chains.
C) they function to prevent erosion and reduce desertification.
D) they remove oxygen from the atmosphere.
E) they contribute to the problems generated by the greenhouse effect.

Question 34

Which of the following combinations of organisms could be expected to survive in isolation from other forms of life available?

A) producers and decomposers
B) producers and carnivores
C) carnivores and decomposers
D) herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers
E) producers, herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers.

Question 35

After energy flows into a food web, it leaves mainly by

A) losses of metabolic heat.
B) evaporation.
C) conversion to chemical energy.
D) waste production.
E) convection.

Question 36

Wastes would accumulate and most nutrients would stop cycling if the ____ in the ecosystem died.

A) protozoans and protistans
B) bacteria and fungi
C) flatworms, roundworms, and earthworms
D) insects
E) top carnivores

Question 37

Which of the following is the correct word meaning "to nourish"?

A) tropic
B) trophic
C) topic
D) tophic
E) tropical

Question 38

Decomposers are

A) primary consumers.
B) plants.
C) carnivores.
D) producers.
E) bacteria and fungi.

Question 39

After a shipwreck you are alone on a deserted island with a pair of pigs and a large supply of corn. Your best strategy would be to

A) feed the corn to the pigs and feed upon their offspring.
B) kill the pigs immediately and then eat the corn.
C) share the corn with the pigs, and then eat the pigs when the corn is gone.
D) plant all the corn, and then feed it to the pigs.
E) eat the corn alternating with the pork.

Question 40

Which of the following is a primary consumer?

A) cow
B) dog
C) hawk
D) fox
E) snake

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT true of ecosystems?

A) Although they may include many different species, many features of ecosystem structure and function are alike.
B) Autotrophs secure energy and nutrients that are then used by heterotrophs.
C) Energy cycles and minerals flow through ecosystems.
D) Many different niches are represented in most ecosystems.
E) Ecosystems are characterized by relatively few trophic levels.

Question 42

Which of the following affects an ecosystem's nutrient reserves?

A) rainfall
B) snowfall
C) weathering of rocks
D) rainfall and snowfall only
E) rainfall, snowfall, and weathering of rocks

Question 43

Decomposers

A) are able to enter a food chain at any trophic level.
B) are the most numerous organisms in an ecosystem.
C) include bacteria and fungi.
D) can occupy numerous habitats.
E) all of these.

Question 44

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Ecologists use models to represent relationships between biogeochemical cycles and most ecosystems.
B) The physical environment has virtually no reservoir for most elements.
C) Inputs from the physical environment and recycling made possible by decomposers and detritivores maintain the nutrient reserves in an ecosystem.
D) In most major ecosystems, the amount of nutrients that is cycled within the ecosystem is greater than the amount entering or leaving the ecosystem in a given year.
E) Once elements are in the biological compartments of the biogeochemical cycles, they are unlikely to leave until the organism dies.

Question 45

The chemical elements that are available to producers are usually in what form?

A) ions
B) gases
C) solids
D) compounds
E) hydrocarbons

Question 46

The difference between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity is

A) the amount of sunlight reflected by plants.
B) the rate of photosynthesis of autotrophs.
C) determined by the amount of energy used for plant life processes.
D) the rate of herbivorous consumption of autotrophs.
E) negligible.

Question 47

Factors that affect the final amount of stored energy in an ecosystem include all of the following EXCEPT

A) the size of the producers.
B) the availability of mineral nutrients.
C) how much sunlight and rainfall are available during a growing season.
D) the temperature range.
E) the type of decomposers.

Question 48

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Heat loss represents a one-way loss of energy from an ecosystem.
B) Organisms in the food chain are able to utilize all the energy contained in the food that they eat.
C) In some ecosystems, the majority of the energy stored in plants does not become available until the plants die.
D) Heat and energy are lost by each organism in the ecosystem.
E) The two food webs are classified as grazing and detrital.

Question 49

Where is the biomass pyramid upside-down?

A) among birds
B) in forest habitats
C) in tundra habitats
D) in a pond or a sea
E) in prairie habitats

Question 50

Decomposers perform their recycling efforts on organisms

A) at the end of a food chain.
B) on the top of a pyramid.
C) that are producers.
D) that are consumers.
E) all of these.

Question 51

The simple food chain: grass >>> zebra >>> lion provides a good example of a pyramid of

A) energy.
B) height.
C) biomass.
D) energy and height.
E) energy and biomass.

Question 52

Most of the energy within an ecosystem is lost

A) when organisms disperse.
B) when organisms die.
C) as a result of metabolism.
D) by organisms at the top of the food web.
E) by organisms at the bottom of the food web.

Question 53

The pyramid of energy is

A) a demonstration of the first law of thermodynamics.
B) a result of the decline in the energy available as energy travels through the trophic levels.
C) fundamentally different from the pyramid of biomass and the pyramid of numbers.
D) just one of the manifestations of competition.
E) is a calculation of the energy gained at each level.

Question 54

Which of the following does NOT cycle through an ecosystem?

A) water
B) carbon
C) energy
D) phosphorus
E) nitrogen

Question 55

The movement of oxygen and hydrogen in the form of water takes place in which cycle?

A) global water cycle
B) atmospheric cycles
C) sedimentary cycles
D) solar-plant cycle
E) all of these

Question 56

At the bottom or base of a pyramid of energy are the

A) primary producers.
B) secondary producers.
C) primary consumers.
D) secondary consumers.
E) tertiary consumers.

Question 57

The biomass of a community is the weight of the

A) material decomposed in a year.
B) producers.
C) living organisms.
D) consumers.
E) decomposers.

Question 58

The movement of phosphorus and other non-gaseous chemicals takes place in which cycle?

A) global water cycle
B) atmospheric cycles
C) sedimentary cycles
D) solar-plant cycle
E) all of these

Question 59

Energy flow in an ecosystem is

A) cyclical.
B) one-way.
C) two-way.
D) reversible under different conditions.
E) dependent on the organisms in the ecosystem.

Question 60

At the top of a pyramid of biomass are the

A) primary producers.
B) secondary producers.
C) primary consumers.
D) secondary consumers.
E) tertiary consumers.

Question 61

Selecting the Exception Four of the five answers listed below are related by a common action that retains nitrogen in the biomass. Select the exception.

A) decomposition
B) ammonification
C) nitrification
D) nitrogen fixation
E) denitrification

Question 62

Carbon is stored in what form?

A) land biomass
B) sediments
C) rocks
D) the ocean
E) all of these

Question 63

Carbon is introduced into the atmosphere by all of the following means EXCEPT

A) cellular respiration.
B) volcanic eruptions.
C) burning of fossil fuels.
D) wind erosion.
E) fire.

Question 64

How does carbon buried in deep ocean sediments return back to the surface?

A) it floats to the surface
B) it is brought up by fish
C) storms stir up the ocean bottom
D) wave motion brings it up
E) uplifting of the sea floor

Question 66

Plant cells assimilate nitrogen in the form of

A) ammonia and N₂.
B) N₂ and nitrite.
C) nitrate and ammonia.
D) urea and nitrate.
E) uric acid.

Question 67

The movement of nutrient in the form of a gas takes place in which cycle?

A) global water cycle
B) atmospheric cycles
C) sedimentary cycles
D) solar-plant cycle
E) all of these

Question 68

Nitrifying bacteria convert

A) ammonia to nitrite and nitrate.
B) nitrate to nitrite to nitrogen gas.
C) nitrate to ammonia.
D) urea to ammonia.
E) ammonia to urea.

Question 69

Which plants are planted to increase the amount of nitrogen in the soil?

A) watermelon and cantaloupe vines
B) legumes
C) mints
D) grasses
E) heaths

Question 70

Selecting the Exception Four of the five answers listed below are heterotrophic. Select the exception.

A) consumers
B) carnivores
C) herbivores
D) parasites
E) producers

Question 71

The greatest concentration of nitrogen on the planet Earth is found in

A) living organisms, including bacteria.
B) the atmosphere.
C) soil minerals.
D) fossil fuels.
E) oceans.

Question 72

Selecting the Exception Four of the five answers listed below are related by a common action. Select the exception.

A) volcanic eruption
B) photosynthesis
C) respiration
D) fire
E) decomposition

Question 73

Most atmospheric carbon is in the form of

A) carbon dioxide.
B) carbon monoxide.
C) hydrocarbons.
D) carbon tetrachloride.
E) carbonic acid.

Question 74

Which is NOT part of the nitrogen cycle?

A) denitrification
B) deammonification
C) nitrogen fixation
D) ammonification
E) uptake by autotrophs

Question 75

Nitrogen is released into the atmosphere by

A) nitrogen fixation.
B) denitrification.
C) nitrification.
D) ammonification.
E) decomposition.

Question 76

Materials in sedimentary cycles

A) pass through both a solid and a gaseous phase.
B) are never present as gases in the ecosystem.
C) are present as liquids in the earth but as gases in the atmosphere.
D) pass through both a solid and a gaseous phase and are present as liquids in the earth but as gases in the atmosphere.
E) exist only in solid rocks.

Question 77

Most of the water vapor in the earth's atmosphere comes from evaporation from

A) lakes.
B) rivers.
C) land.
D) oceans.
E) plants.

Question 78

Most carbon dissolved in the ocean is in the form of

A) carbon dioxide.
B) carbon monoxide.
C) carbonic acid.
D) bicarbonate and carbonate.
E) carbon tetrachloride.

Question 79

A process in which nitrogenous waste products or organic remains of organisms are decomposed by soil bacteria and fungi that use the amino acids being released for their own growth and release the excess as NH₃ or NH₄ is

A) nitrification.
B) ammonification.
C) denitrification.
D) nitrogen fixation.
E) hydrogenation.

Question 80

Humans incorporate nitrogen into their bodies

A) by nitrification.
B) through ammonification.
C) by assimilation and biosynthesis.
D) via denitrification.
E) by the process of decomposition.