Question 1

In an ecosystem, the amount of organic matter produced in a given time that is available for heterotrophs is known as

Accepted Answer

A) daily yield. 
B)  gross primary productivity. 
C) net primary productivity. 
D) effective vitality.

Question 2

The net weight of all of the organisms living in an ecosystem is its

Accepted Answer

A) productivity. 
B) biomass. 
C) vital force. 
D) photosynthesis minus metabolism.

Question 3

Which of the following groups do not contain any species that are autotrophs?

Accepted Answer

A) Bacteria 
B) Protista 
C) Plants 
D) Archaea 
E) Fungi

Question 4

Which of the following biogeochemical cycles contain a mineral component?

Accepted Answer

A) phosphorus 
B) carbon 
C) nitrogen 
D) oxygen

Question 5

The scarcity of which two elements limits plant growth?

Accepted Answer

A) oxygen, nitrogen 
B) nitrogen, phosphorus 
C) oxygen, phosphorus 
D) carbon, nitrogen

Question 6

A good average value for the amount of energy that reaches the next trophic level is about

Accepted Answer

A) 20%. 
B) 10%. 
C) 5%. 
D) 2%.

Question 7

Solar energy is the same thing as heat energy.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

In the food chain below, what does the blue jay represent? crabgrass-cricket-garden spider-blue jay-red-tailed hawk

Accepted Answer

A) herbivore 
B) primary producer 
C) primary carnivore 
D) secondary carnivore

Question 9

In the carbon cycle, ______ from the atmosphere is used in photosynthesis to synthesize carbon-containing organic molecules in a process called ______.

Accepted Answer

A) carbon dioxide; combustion 
B) carbon dioxide; carbon fixation 
C) hydrocarbons; oxidation 
D) hydrocarbons; cellular respiration

Question 10

According to MacArthur and Wilson's island biogeography theory, which of the following would be expected to have the smallest species richness?

Accepted Answer

A) the mainland 
B) a large island near the mainland 
C) a large island far from the mainland 
D) a small island near the mainland 
E) a small island far from the mainland

Question 11

The following figure shows studies in a stream where enclosures were set up either with trout or with no trout.Which statement is a correct interpretation of the graph about trout, invertebrates, and algae?

Accepted Answer

A) If trout are present in a system, algae production is low and invertebrate population levels are also low. 
B) If trout are present in a system, algae production is high and invertebrate population levels are also high. 
C) If trout are present in a system, algae production is high and invertebrate population levels are low. 
D) Trout do not seem to affect the algae production; only the invertebrate populations are affected.

Question 12

With almost no exceptions, the nitrogen fixers are

Accepted Answer

A) beans. 
B) green plants. 
C) insects. 
D) mammals. 
E) prokaryotes.

Question 13

NPP is the difference between plant photosynthesis and respiration.Therefore, NPP quantifies the net absorption of what element(s) by living plants?

Accepted Answer

A) carbon 
B) phosphorus 
C) nitrogen 
D) oxygen

Question 14

In a food chain with four trophic levels, what would be the energy in the top trophic level if the energy contained in the primary producer level is 40,000 kcal/m2/yr? Assume a trophic level transfer efficiency of 10%.

Accepted Answer

A) 4,000 kcal/m2/yr 
B) 400 kcal/m2/yr 
C) 40 kcal/m2/yr 
D) 4 kcal/m2/yr

Question 15

Which one of the following ecosystems is most likely to show an inverted biomass pyramid but a normal energy pyramid?

Accepted Answer

A) grassland 
B) open ocean 
C) intertidal 
D) tropical forest

Question 16

Addition of a primary carnivore to an ecosystem can sometimes influence the whole ecosystem.This process is called

Accepted Answer

A) ecosystem stabilization. 
B) a bottom-up effect. 
C) species turnover. 
D) disruption. 
E) a trophic cascade.

Question 17

What feature do the carbon and nitrogen cycles have in common?

Accepted Answer

A) a large atmospheric component 
B) involvement in global climate change 
C) often a limiting nutrient 
D) mostly local cycling

Question 18

In the food chain below, what does the garden spider represent? crabgrass-cricket-garden spider-blue jay-red-tailed hawk

Accepted Answer

A) herbivore 
B) primary producer 
C) primary carnivore 
D) secondary carnivore

Question 19

Which one of the following quantities best represents the respiratory heat lost by plants in an ecosystem?

Accepted Answer

A) gross primary productivity 
B) net primary productivity 
C) gross primary productivity - net primary productivity 
D) gross primary productivity - standing crop biomass

Question 20

Even though nitrogen constitutes 78% of Earth's atmosphere, the amount available for living things nearly all comes from

Accepted Answer

A) a few groups of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 
B) the breakdown of minerals. 
C) a few genera of detritivores. 
D) the breakdown of dead plants.

Exam 57: Dynamics of Ecosystems

In an ecosystem, the amount of organic matter produced in a given time that is available for heterotrophs is known as

The net weight of all of the organisms living in an ecosystem is its

Which of the following groups do not contain any species that are autotrophs?

Which of the following biogeochemical cycles contain a mineral component?

The scarcity of which two elements limits plant growth?

A good average value for the amount of energy that reaches the next trophic level is about

Solar energy is the same thing as heat energy.

In the food chain below, what does the blue jay represent? crabgrass-cricket-garden spider-blue jay-red-tailed hawk

In the carbon cycle, from the atmosphere is used in photosynthesis to synthesize carbon-containing organic molecules in a process called .

According to MacArthur and Wilson's island biogeography theory, which of the following would be expected to have the smallest species richness?

The following figure shows studies in a stream where enclosures were set up either with trout or with no trout.Which statement is a correct interpretation of the graph about trout, invertebrates, and algae?

With almost no exceptions, the nitrogen fixers are

NPP is the difference between plant photosynthesis and respiration.Therefore, NPP quantifies the net absorption of what element(s) by living plants?

In a food chain with four trophic levels, what would be the energy in the top trophic level if the energy contained in the primary producer level is 40,000 kcal/m²/yr? Assume a trophic level transfer efficiency of 10%.

Which one of the following ecosystems is most likely to show an inverted biomass pyramid but a normal energy pyramid?

Addition of a primary carnivore to an ecosystem can sometimes influence the whole ecosystem.This process is called

What feature do the carbon and nitrogen cycles have in common?

In the food chain below, what does the garden spider represent? crabgrass-cricket-garden spider-blue jay-red-tailed hawk

Which one of the following quantities best represents the respiratory heat lost by plants in an ecosystem?

Even though nitrogen constitutes 78% of Earth's atmosphere, the amount available for living things nearly all comes from