Deck 46: Ecosystems

Question 1

Which of the following animals in an arctic ecosystem is considered a carnivore?  

A) Arctic hare
B) Vole
C) Snowy owl
D) Insects
E) Bacteria

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following represents energy flow in a grazing food web?  

A) Producers $\rightarrow$ detritivores $\rightarrow$ decomposers
B) Producers $\rightarrow$ decomposers $\rightarrow$ detritivores
C) Producers $\rightarrow$ herbivores $\rightarrow$ decomposers $\rightarrow$ carnivores
D) Producers $\rightarrow$ herbivores $\rightarrow$ carnivores $\rightarrow$ decomposers
E) Producers $\rightarrow$ herbivores $\rightarrow$ detritivores $\rightarrow$ carnivores

Answer 2

Producers $\rightarrow$ herbivores $\rightarrow$ carnivores $\rightarrow$ decomposers

Question 3

Organisms such as earthworms and crabs,which dine on small particles of organic matter,are called ____.  

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

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Although Earth's ecosystems are remarkably diverse in their characteristics,they all run on energy captured by ____.  

A) autotrophs
B) heterotrophs
C) consumers
D) decomposers
E) detritivores

Question 5

Which of the following is true about the length of food chains? 

A) Food chains can support up to 10 trophic levels.
B) An ecosystem with a high-enough number of species will feature a limitless length of food chain.
C) Energy lost as heat at each trophic level limits the length of food chains.
D) The extinction of a species in a food chain will affect only the species directly preying upon it.
E) Food chains are shorter in stable habitats.

Question 6

The ultimate factor affecting primary productivity is ____.  

A) the organic matter in all the organisms of the ecosystem
B) the availability of water
C) the rate of photosynthesis
D) the availability of ATP
E) the amount of inorganic mineral ions in the soil

Question 7

Figure 46.2
The following question refers to the accompanying figure illustrating a tallgrass prairie food chain.
The letter B indicates a(n)____.  

A) producer
B) herbivore
C) detritivore
D) carnivore
E) decomposer

Question 8

Figure 46.2
The following question refers to the accompanying figure illustrating a tallgrass prairie food chain.
The letter C indicates a ____.  

A) primary producer
B) primary consumer
C) second-level consumer
D) third-level consumer
E) fourth-level consumer

Question 9

Heterotrophs that obtain energy and carbon by feeding on both animal and plant materials are called ____.  

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

Question 10

What organism is at the first trophic level in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem?  

A) Birds
B) Grasshoppers
C) Grasses
D) Decomposers
E) Parasites

Question 11

In a majority of land ecosystems,most energy in producers flows directly to ____.  

A) decomposers
B) other plants
C) detritivores
D) herbivores
E) carnivores

Question 12

What is an array of organisms and their physical environment,all interacting through a one-way flow of energy and a cycling of nutrients?  

A) Ecosystem
B) Food web
C) Biomass pyramid
D) Biogeochemical cycle
E) Food chain

Question 13

Which of the following are in order from primary producer to fourth trophic level?  

A) Grass $\rightarrow$ coyote $\rightarrow$ bird $\rightarrow$ grasshopper
B) Coyote $\rightarrow$ bird $\rightarrow$ grasshopper $\rightarrow$ grass
C) Bird $\rightarrow$ grasshopper $\rightarrow$ grass $\rightarrow$ coyote
D) Grass $\rightarrow$ grasshopper $\rightarrow$ bird $\rightarrow$ coyote
E) Grasshopper $\rightarrow$ grass $\rightarrow$ bird $\rightarrow$ coyote

Question 14

Figure 46.2
The following question refers to the accompanying figure illustrating a tallgrass prairie food chain.
The letter D indicates the ____.  

A) first trophic level
B) second trophic level
C) third trophic level
D) fourth trophic level
E) fifth trophic level

Question 15

What is not consequence of the rise in the average global temperature?  

A) Extreme rainfall patterns
B) Increased rate of glacial melting
C) Flooding of coastal areas
D) Decrease in atmospheric oxygen
E) Stronger hurricanes

Question 16

A network of interactions that involves the cycling of materials and the flow of energy among organisms and their physical environment is ____.  

A) a population
B) a community
C) an ecosystem
D) the biosphere
E) the habitat

Question 17

Gross primary productivity refers to the total ____.  

A) quantity of solar energy available to the ecosystem in a given period of time
B) quantity of solar energy reaching a given area of the ecosystem
C) energy captured initially by the producers
D) energy used by the heterotrophs of the ecosystem in a given period of time
E) energy used by the producers for their growth and reproduction

Question 18

Energy ____ in an ecosystem and nutrients ____.  

A) is cycled continuously; flow one way
B) flows in all directions; flow one way
C) flows two ways; flow one way
D) is cycled continuously; are cycled continuously
E) flows one way; are cycled continuously

Question 19

Which of the following feed on organic wastes and remains and break them down into inorganic building blocks?  

A) Detritivores
B) Consumers
C) Food chain
D) Decomposers
E) Ecosystem

Question 20

____ food chains tend to predominate in aquatic ecosystems.  

A) Higher trophic level
B) Primary consumer
C) Decomposing
D) Grazing
E) Detrital

Question 21

Nitrification ____.  

A) converts ammonium into nitrates
B) reduces nitrates to nitrites
C) converts nitrogenous compounds into free nitrogen
D) converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia
E) reduces ammonia to ammonium

Question 22

The largest annual movement of carbon between reservoirs occurs ____.  

A) from plants to atmosphere
B) from soil to atmosphere
C) from atmosphere to ocean
D) from atmosphere to plants
E) from ocean to atmosphere

Question 23

Choose the one most appropriate answer for each.
a.Rate at which energy becomes stored in organic compounds through photosynthesis
b.Main form of carbon storage in sea water; taken up by marine producers and converted to carbon dioxide
c.A straight-line sequence of steps by which chemical bond energy moves to higher trophic levels
d.The amount of energy from autotrophs that is available to first-level consumers
e.The movement of a nutrient among environmental reservoirs and into and out of food webs
f.Particles of organic waste products; dead, or partly decomposed tissues
Biogeochemical cycles

Question 24

Choose the one most appropriate answer for each.
a.Rate at which energy becomes stored in organic compounds through photosynthesis
b.Main form of carbon storage in sea water; taken up by marine producers and converted to carbon dioxide
c.A straight-line sequence of steps by which chemical bond energy moves to higher trophic levels
d.The amount of energy from autotrophs that is available to first-level consumers
e.The movement of a nutrient among environmental reservoirs and into and out of food webs
f.Particles of organic waste products; dead, or partly decomposed tissues
Net primary production

Question 25

Which reservoir holds the largest volume of Earth's freshwater?  

A) Groundwater
B) Rivers
C) Lakes
D) Atmosphere
E) Polar ice

Question 26

Land plants take up phosphates from ____.  

A) rainfall
B) seawater
C) soil water
D) the atmosphere
E) animal waste

Question 27

The major reservoir of phosphorus is ____.  

A) sedimentary rock
B) plant material
C) groundwater
D) the atmosphere
E) ocean water

Question 28

Denitrification ____.  

A) converts ammonium to nitrates
B) reduces nitrates to nitrites
C) reduces ammonia to ammonium
D) converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia
E) converts nitrates to nitrogen gas

Question 29

Which of the following reservoirs holds the most carbon?  

A) Marine sediments
B) Ocean water
C) Plant biomass
D) The atmosphere
E) Fossil fuel

Question 30

When all the precipitation in a small valley feeds a particular stream,the valley is referred to as ____.  

A) a basin
B) a waterway
C) an ecosystem
D) an aquifer
E) a watershed

Question 31

Approximately what percent of the energy that enters a trophic level becomes available to the next trophic level?  

A) 2 to 12
B) 3 to 13
C) 4 to 14
D) 5 to 15
E) 5 to 30

Question 32

The process carried out by prokaryotes that converts N2 to ammonia is called ____.  

A) ammonia-oxidation
B) ammonification
C) nitrogen fixation
D) nitrification
E) denitrification

Question 33

Most rainfall returns water directly to ____.  

A) lakes
B) rivers
C) groundwater
D) oceans
E) plants

Question 34

Over hundreds of millions of years,high pressure and temperature transformed ____ into deposits of oil and natural gas.  

A) coal
B) land animal remains
C) land plant remains
D) plankton remains
E) sedimentary rock

Question 35

Ecological efficiency is usually higher in aquatic ecosystems than on land,in part because photosynthetic protists do not make ____,as most land plants do.  

A) chlorophyll
B) ATP
C) lignin
D) cellulose
E) organic material

Question 36

Which gas is increasing the most in the atmosphere,thereby intensifying the greenhouse effect?  

A) Carbon dioxide
B) Carbon monoxide
C) Ozone
D) Nitrogen
E) Oxygen

Question 37

Choose the one most appropriate answer for each.
a.Rate at which energy becomes stored in organic compounds through photosynthesis
b.Main form of carbon storage in sea water; taken up by marine producers and converted to carbon dioxide
c.A straight-line sequence of steps by which chemical bond energy moves to higher trophic levels
d.The amount of energy from autotrophs that is available to first-level consumers
e.The movement of a nutrient among environmental reservoirs and into and out of food webs
f.Particles of organic waste products; dead, or partly decomposed tissues
Primary productivity

Question 38

An energy pyramid illustrates ____.  

A) the first law of thermodynamics
B) the diminishing of usable energy as it is transferred through an ecosystem
C) that energy can be recycled
D) the biological magnification of materials in an ecosystem
E) the diminishing number of organisms at each trophic level

Question 39

A biomass pyramid illustrates the ____ of all organisms at each trophic level.  

A) size
B) number
C) dry weight
D) total weight
E) total utilization of materials

Question 40

Choose the one most appropriate answer for each.
a.Rate at which energy becomes stored in organic compounds through photosynthesis
b.Main form of carbon storage in sea water; taken up by marine producers and converted to carbon dioxide
c.A straight-line sequence of steps by which chemical bond energy moves to higher trophic levels
d.The amount of energy from autotrophs that is available to first-level consumers
e.The movement of a nutrient among environmental reservoirs and into and out of food webs
f.Particles of organic waste products; dead, or partly decomposed tissues
Detritus

Question 41

__________ food webs tend to predominate in most land ecosystems.

Question 42

Respond to the following statements with reference to the five trophic categories listed below.
a.Producer
b.Primary consumer
c.Secondary consumer
d.Tertiary consumer
e.Decomposer
A herbivore is this.

Question 43

Respond to the following statements with reference to the four steps of the nitrogen cycles listed below.
a.Nitrogen fixation
b.Nitrification
c.Denitrification
d.Ammonification
Nitrates from sewage wastewater must be converted to gaseous nitrogen by bacteria using this process.

Question 44

Respond to the following statements with reference to the five trophic categories listed below.
a.Producer
b.Primary consumer
c.Secondary consumer
d.Tertiary consumer
e.Decomposer
A bear feeding on an adult salmon (which eats other fish,squid,and shrimp)is functioning as this.

Question 45

Respond to the following statements with reference to the five trophic categories listed below.
a.Producer
b.Primary consumer
c.Secondary consumer
d.Tertiary consumer
e.Decomposer
A Venus flytrap devouring an insect to obtain nitrogen functions as this.

Question 46

Primary producers obtain energy from a(n)__________ source and use it to build organic compounds from inorganic starting materials.

Question 47

A(n)__________ is an area where all precipitation drains into a specific waterway,then on to groundwater,which becomes a source of water for plants.

Question 48

Respond to the following statements with reference to the four steps of the nitrogen cycles listed below.
a.Nitrogen fixation
b.Nitrification
c.Denitrification
d.Ammonification
The conversion of gaseous nitrogen first to ammonia and then to other nitrogenous compounds involves this first step.

Question 49

__________ soils hold the most amount of water.

Question 50

Respond to the following statements with reference to the five trophic categories listed below.
a.Producer
b.Primary consumer
c.Secondary consumer
d.Tertiary consumer
e.Decomposer
Most fungi function as this.

Question 51

Respond to the following statements with reference to the four steps of the nitrogen cycles listed below.
a.Nitrogen fixation
b.Nitrification
c.Denitrification
d.Ammonification
The process whereby nitrite is converted to nitrate is an important part of this process.

Question 52

Choose the one most appropriate answer for each.
a.Rate at which energy becomes stored in organic compounds through photosynthesis
b.Main form of carbon storage in sea water; taken up by marine producers and converted to carbon dioxide
c.A straight-line sequence of steps by which chemical bond energy moves to higher trophic levels
d.The amount of energy from autotrophs that is available to first-level consumers
e.The movement of a nutrient among environmental reservoirs and into and out of food webs
f.Particles of organic waste products; dead, or partly decomposed tissues
Food chain

Question 53

In __________ food webs,most primary producers are eaten by primary consumers.

Question 54

In a ____________food web,most energy is transferred from producers to grazers.

Question 55

Choose the one most appropriate answer for each.
a.Rate at which energy becomes stored in organic compounds through photosynthesis
b.Main form of carbon storage in sea water; taken up by marine producers and converted to carbon dioxide
c.A straight-line sequence of steps by which chemical bond energy moves to higher trophic levels
d.The amount of energy from autotrophs that is available to first-level consumers
e.The movement of a nutrient among environmental reservoirs and into and out of food webs
f.Particles of organic waste products; dead, or partly decomposed tissues
Bicarbonate

Question 56

Respond to the following statements with reference to the five trophic categories listed below.
a.Producer
b.Primary consumer
c.Secondary consumer
d.Tertiary consumer
e.Decomposer
A bear eating blueberries is functioning as this.

Question 57

Respond to the following statements with reference to the four steps of the nitrogen cycles listed below.
a.Nitrogen fixation
b.Nitrification
c.Denitrification
d.Ammonification
The action of bacteria on nitrogen-containing animal wastes involves this process.

Question 58

Natural underground reservoirs consisting of layers of sand or porous rock that can hold water are called _______________________.

Question 59

In a __________,water,nitrogen,or carbon moves from the air,through organisms,then back to the environment.

Question 60

Respond to the following statements with reference to the four steps of the nitrogen cycles listed below.
a.Nitrogen fixation
b.Nitrification
c.Denitrification
d.Ammonification
The action of bacteria on ammonia in sewage treatment plants,ultimately converting it to nitrate,involves this process.

Question 61

Overdrawing of river water for human uses results in _____.  

A) lowered water table
B) reduced nutrients in river deltas
C) dried-up wells
D) saltwater contamination
E) runoff

Question 62

The __________ is a sedimentary cycle; Earth's crust is the largest reservoir,and there is no major gaseous form.

Question 63

Which of the following tends to predominate in land ecosystems?  

A) Grazing food web
B) Primary production
C) Food web
D) Detrital food webs
E) Biomass pyramid

Question 64

What is the rate at which an ecosystem's producers capture and store energy?  

A) Primary production
B) Secondary production
C) Autotrophic output
D) Biomass
E) Primary consumption