Deck 20: Ecosystems

Question 1

A type of ecosystem characterized by luminescent creatures eating debris can be found

A) in estuaries.
B) at the open ocean surface.
C) in shallow waters overlying the continental shelves.
D) in the deep sea waters,below the level of light penetration.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Herbivores are at what trophic level within an ecosystem?

A) Level 1
B) Level 2
C) Level 3
D) Level 4

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When the energy flow through an ecosystem is measured at each trophic level,__________ of the available energy passes from one level to the next.

A) 1% to 2%
B) 5% to 20%
C) 25% to 35%
D) 36% to 45%
E) 46% to 55%

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The British Isles experience warmer weather than other areas of the same latitude because of

A) the vast forests that shelter the islands from winds.
B) the warm,moist Gulf Stream.
C) mountain ranges protecting the islands.
D) industry causing a localized greenhouse effect.

Question 5

_______ bacteria convert nitrate into atmospheric nitrogen.

A) Nitrifying
B) Ammonifying
C) Dentrifying
D) Detritivorous

Question 6

Certain bacteria are capable of transforming atmospheric nitrogen into a form other organisms can use through a process known as

A) combustion.
B) nitrogen oxidation.
C) nitrogen fixation.
D) nitrogen reduction.

Question 7

A ___________ is a type of major land ecosystem determined mostly by the features of the climate in the area.Many are actually named for the dominant plants or lack of.

A) biome
B) community
C) biosphere
D) land formation

Question 8

Highly productive lakes with an abundance of organic material are called

A) oligotrophic lakes.
B) thermally stratified.
C) eutrophic lakes.
D) dimictic lakes.

Question 9

Plants obtain the carbon used in the manufacture of organic compounds from

A) organic compounds in the soil.
B) carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
C) fossil fuels.
D) carbon dioxide in the soil.

Question 10

The total amount of energy fixed by photosynthetic organisms minus the energy used in their own metabolic activities is

A) primary productivity.
B) secondary productivity.
C) net primary productivity.
D) net secondary productivity.

Question 11

The loss of _____ that occurs at each trophic level places a limit on how many top-level carnivores a community can support.

A) water
B) light
C) CO₂
D) energy
E) O₂

Question 12

Humans alter the nitrogen cycle by

A) disposing of human manure rather than allowing it to recycle.
B) manufacturing nitrogen compounds to apply to agricultural fields.
C) tying up nitrogen in human body mass because of overpopulation.
D) use of antibiotics that destroy important bacteria in the nitrogen cycle.

Question 13

Circling the globe at northern latitudes is ____________,with coniferous trees and long,cold winters.

A) tundra
B) taiga
C) temperate deciduous forests
D) chaparral

Question 14

In the annual cycle of a temperate lake,thermal stratification occurs when?

A) During spring overturn
B) During the summer
C) During fall overturn
D) During summer and winter

Question 15

In an inverted aquatic biomass pyramid,which organism is likely found at the bottom?

A) Sharks
B) Phytoplankton
C) Trout
D) Zooplankton
E) Smelts

Question 16

The type of ecosystem that can be found bordering the tropics worldwide that is characterized by huge herds of grazing animals is

A) temperate rain forest.
B) taiga.
C) prairie.
D) savanna.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a component of the physical habitat in which organisms live?

A) Rocks
B) Water
C) Wind
D) Bacteria

Question 18

Loss of water from the leaves of plants occurs mostly via a process known as

A) transpiration.
B) evaporation.
C) dehydration.
D) guttation.

Question 19

_______________ are found halfway between the equator and poles,cover the interiors of major continents,and have been largely converted to agricultural use.

A) Temperate rain forests
B) Taigas
C) Grasslands
D) Savannas

Question 20

Phosphorus is an essential element in all living things and is a component of

A) carbohydrates.
B) nearly all vitamins.
C) most amino acids.
D) ATP and DNA.

Question 21

Tundra tends to be more northern than taiga.

Question 22

When you eat fried chicken,you are the

A) decomposer.
B) producer.
C) primary consumer.
D) secondary consumer.
E) tertiary consumer.

Question 23

Which zone in a lake is open-water surface?

A) Profundal
B) Limnetic
C) Littoral
D) Fundal

Question 24

All of the following are examples of detritivores except

A) worms.
B) vulture.
C) fungi.
D) crabs.

Question 25

The community plus its habitat make up an ____________________.

Question 26

Which is incorrect about deep-sea organisms?

A) Some prokaryotes extract energy from hydrogen sulfide.
B) Some prokaryotes are photosynthetic in deep-sea waters.
C) Some heterotrophic organisms obtain energy from debris that falls from above.
D) Some prokaryotes live symbiotically within the tissues of heterotrophs that live near hydrothermal vents.

Question 27

A _________________ in a community is made up of the organisms feeding at the same number of steps away from the sun.

Question 28

When you eat corn on the cob,you are eating at which trophic level?

A) Level 1
B) Level 2
C) Level 3
D) Level 4

Question 29

All the great deserts of the world occur at 65^° latitude.

Question 30

All of the following are correct about oligotrophic lakes except

A) they have an abundance of minerals and organic material.
B) they are often deeper than eutrophic lakes.
C) their deep water is rich in oxygen.
D) they are highly susceptible to pollution from fertilizer runoff.
E) they are highly susceptible to detergent and sewage contamination.

Question 31

The earth completes one rotation about its axis every

A) 12 hours.
B) day.
C) month.
D) year.

Question 32

Life exists on Earth because of the constant flow of light energy from the sun that is transformed into chemical energy.

Question 33

The moisture that travels up from the plants and into the atmosphere falls back to the earth as rain.

Question 34

The ___________________ region is the part of an ocean's shallow water zone that is exposed to air whenever the tide recedes.

Question 35

The tropics are warmer than the temperate regions because

A) there is less wind there to cool it.
B) they are at a higher altitude and closer to the sun.
C) the sun's rays strike at a direct angle.
D) they are closer to the moon.
E) the sun's rays strike at an oblique angle.

Question 36

It takes the earth _______ to orbit around the sun.

A) 12 hours
B) 1 day
C) 1 month
D) 1 year

Question 37

Which part of the lake contains numerous bacteria and wormlike organisms that consume dead debris?

A) Profundal zone
B) Limnetic zone
C) Littoral zone
D) Fundal zone

Question 38

Which of the following is a decomposer?

A) Worms
B) Vulture
C) Fungi
D) Crabs

Question 39

Characterized by permafrost and low,shrubby plants,_______ can be found nearest the poles.

A) tundra
B) taiga
C) temperate deciduous forests
D) chaparral

Question 40

A rain shadow lies on the leeward side of a mountain.

Question 41

Why do food chains rarely have more than three or four steps,or links?

Question 42

Deserts that occur on the back sides of mountain ranges are due to an effect called a __________________.

Question 43

Uncontrolled growth of algae in an aquatic ecosystem is due to a process known as ________________ caused by excessive inputs of nutrients.

Question 44

Why would few reptiles be found in the tundra?

Question 45

The flow of energy is one way,but nutrients in ecosystems _____________.

Question 46

____________ is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific.

Question 47

Several food chains woven together comprise a ______________.

Question 48

Partly enclosed bodies of water where the salinity is intermediate between that of seawater and freshwater are called ___________________.

Question 49

Plants are the ____________ in the food chain in an ecosystem.

Question 50

Describe the environmental water cycle.

Question 51

Devise an example of a food chain with four links.

Question 52

How have humans intruded into the global water cycle?