Answers: Ecology Quiz
Organize the following terms in order from simplest to most complex.
The correct answer is population, community, ecosystem, biome
a population is a group of organisms that belong to one species.
a community is all the populations that live in an area. an ecosystem is a collection of the communities in an area. a biome is all the ecosystems in a region.
What are photosynthetic, autotrophic organisms?
The correct answer is producers
producers make their own food using photosynthesis
What is the physical location of a community?
The correct answer is habitat
a habitat is the place where an organism lives
What is a group of organisms whose energy sources who are the same number of steps away from the sun?
The correct answer is trophic level
trophic levels are energy levels in a food web. examples: producers, first order consumers, second order consumers, third order consumers….
What is the general term for any long term relationship between two organisms?
The correct answer is symbiosis
there are several types of symbiotic relationships, such as predation and mutualism.
Small fish clean the teeth of sharks. This is an example of what kind of relationship?
The correct answer is mutualism
small fish clean bacteria and other organisms from the teeth of the sharks, which provides food for the small fish and protects the teeth of the sharks.
What are the major factors that determine the type of biome?
The correct answer is temperature and rainfall
temperature and rainfall determine the type of plants that will grow in a region, which determines the type of animals that can live there.
What are special consumers that are found in every ecosystem? (they consume organic wastes and dead bodies).
The correct answer is detritivores
decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi, are called detritivores.
In a pyramid of energy, there will always be which of the following?
The correct answer is fewer 2nd order consumers than 1st order consumers
there are fewer organisms on each higher level of a pyramid of energy. energy is lost as it moves through the pyramid.
How many kilograms of energy would a 2nd order consumer be able to store if the producer in its food chain stored 700 kg?
The correct answer is 7 kg
10% rule. 10% of the energy available at one level can move to the next level of a food chain or web
What is a natural unit in which living and nonliving components interact?
The correct answer is ecosystem
an ecosystem includes all the biotic and abiotic factors
How does secondary succession occur?
The correct answer is after destruction of a climax community
secondary succession occurs when a climax community is disturbed, but the soil has not been stripped. primary succession occurs when there is no soil, only bare rock.
What is an organism that feeds only on consumers?
The correct answer is carnivore
a carnivore feeds only on other animals. herbivores feed on plants. omnivores eat both plants and animals.
With what does primary succession begin?
The correct answer is bare rock
primary succession begins when there is no soil. pioneer species, such as lichen, break rock into soil, allowing plants to root
What are animals, such as buzzards, that feed on dead animals called?
The correct answer is scavengers
scavengers are special consumers that feed on organisms that are already dead. they are NOT predators.
Which of the following provide energy for decomposers?
The correct answer is both consumers and producers
decomposers feed on every kind of organism
When might secondary succession occur?
The correct answer is after any of these
secondary succession occurs when the climax community is disturbed, such as after a natural disaster, but the soil has not been stripped away.
Which of the following characterizes the tundra?
The correct answer is low rainfall and low temperature
the tundra is a cold desert (a desert receives little rainfall)
Two organisms attempt to use the same resource. Only one organism will be successful. Which term describes this relationship?
The correct answer is competition
competition can occur between members of the same species or members of different species. the one that doesn't succeed will die or move on
A small fish feeds on tiny parasites that cling to and feed on a much larger fish. Which term describes this relationship?
The correct answer is mutualism
the small fish get food from the parasites and the large fish do not suffer from the parasites.
Malaria is caused by a protozoan injected into a person's bloodstream. What kind of relationship is this?
The correct answer is parasitism
parasitism is a special kind of predation; the parasite is usually smaller than its host and doesn't usually kill the host.
Barnacles ride on the backs of whales that take them to new sources of food. The whales, apparently, are neither benefited nor harmed by these riders. What kind of relationship is this?
The correct answer is commensalism
commensalism is a relationship in which on member is benefited and the other is neither benefited nor harmed.
What kind of relationship do insects have with plants?
The correct answer is mutualism
the insects get food from the plants, the plants receive pollen from other plants.
What happens to the growth rate in the exponential model of population growth?
The correct answer is it remains constant.
growth remains constant and does not level off, resulting in a J-shaped curve
What kind of organism performs forty percent of all photosynthesis on earth?
The correct answer is plankton
plankton are photosynthetic algae (usually golden-brown algae)
What two biomes have similar amounts of rainfall?
The correct answer is tundra and desert
the tundra is a cold desert, the (tropical) desert is a hot desert.
What is biodiversity?
The correct answer is the number of species within an ecosystem
increased biodiversity improves stability of an ecosystem
An island is formed by a volcano. Plants begin to grow on the island. What kind of progression is this?
The correct answer is primary succession
begins with bare rock; no previous soil or vegetation was there.
Use the following food chain: algae -> krill (shrimp) -> cod -> leopard seal -> killer whale. What are the algae?
The correct answer is producers
producers are at the base of any food chain. they are photosynthetic
Use the following food chain: algae -> krill (shrimp) -> cod -> leopard seal -> killer whale. What are the krill?
The correct answer is primary consumers
primary consumers are herbivores; they feed on producers.
Use the following food chain: algae -> krill (shrimp) -> cod -> leopard seal -> killer whale. What is the most likely reason that the food chain has only five levels?
The correct answer is too much energy is lost at each level to permit more levels.
only 10% of the energy at a trophic level is available to move to the next level.
What is the process of combining nitrogen gas with hydrogen to form ammonia?
The correct answer is nitrogen fixation
nitrogen is converted to ammonia, then nitrite, then nitrate to be used by plants
What is the production of ammonia by bacteria from the decay of nitrogen-containing urea called?
The correct answer is ammonification
urea is broken down into ammonia, which prevents the nitrogen from being lost to the ecosystem
Approximately how much energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
The correct answer is 10%
10% rule
Which of the following is not able to be recycled in ecosystems?
The correct answer is energy
energy can be used only once; it can be transferred or lost, but not recycled.
What is created when sulfur in the atmosphere combines with water vapor?
The correct answer is acid rain
sulfur and water for sulfuric acid
In what biome would one expect to find caribou, insects, lichen, and stunted trees?
The correct answer is tundra
little water and harsh weather prevent the trees from growing; insects are common in the summer when ice thaws
In what biome would moose and spruce be found?
The correct answer is taiga
the taiga is the coniferous forest
What biome has the richest soil?
The correct answer is grasslands
grasslands do not receive enough rainfall to leach the soil's nutrients
In what biome is precipitation distributed throughout the year and large evergreen plants grow?
The correct answer is rain forest
temperatures stay warm and lots of water is available to allow organisms to grow large
In the carbon cycle, in what form are carbon atoms generally returned to the atmosphere?
The correct answer is carbon dioxide
carbon dioxide is released from living organisms as a result of cellular respiration
Which of the following does NOT allow plants to obtain atmospheric nitrogen in a more usable form?
The correct answer is photosynthesis
photosynthesis does not use nitrogen
In the water cycle, how does the amount of water on earth change?
The correct answer is it stays the same
evaporation and condensation keep water in the biosphere
Which of the following is a limiting factor?
The correct answer is all of these
limiting factors inhibit population growth
A new species of mice is introduced to an environment. The mice reproduce and the population increases. As the population grows, what happens?
The correct answer is the food supply decreases because there are more mice consuming it.
food supply is a limiting factor
As the number of organisms in an environment decrease and level off after a population explosion, the number of deaths will equal the number of births. What is this called?
The correct answer is carrying capacity
the carrying capacity is the number of organisms a habitat can support
Which of these factors is not a density-dependent limiting factor?
The correct answer is drought
drought will affect the population whether it is large or small
What organisms are part of EVERY food chain?
The correct answer is bacteria
DECOMPOSERS!!
Evaporation and condensation are part of what cycle?
The correct answer is water
of those listed, only water evaporates and condenses
What limiting factor has an increasing effect on populations as their sizes increase?
The correct answer is competition
competition is a density-dependent factor