Deck 59: Ecosystems Ecology

Question 1

Which of these is a heterotroph?

A) a phytoplanktonic diatom
B) a moss plant
C) an oak tree
D) a corn plant
E) a fish

Answer 1

a fish

Question 2

How does energy enter a food chain through primary producers?

A) The energy comes from detriivores.
B) The energy enters through photosynthesis.
C) Primary producers receive energy from secondary consumers.
D) The energy is made available through heterotrophs.
E) Primary producers can make the energy.

Answer 2

The energy enters through photosynthesis.

Question 3

In most food webs, chain lengths are

A) complex.
B) long.
C) short.
D) sixteen.
E) two.

Answer 3

short.

Question 4

What is production efficiency?

A) The rate of photosynthetic fixation as a function of temperature.
B) The percentage of energy assimilated by an organism that becomes new biomass.
C) The amount of energy used by organisms at every node of a food web.
D) Consumption of primary production by the second and third levels of a food web.
E) The net gain to an ecosystem based on photosynthetic production.

Question 5

Production efficiency is _______ in ectotherms than in endotherms.

A) higher
B) lower
C) the same
D) more often zero
E) fine

Question 6

Deforestation in areas like Madagascar can significantly affect the water cycle. Why is this?

A) Less moisture is transpired into the atmosphere.
B) It is more difficult for soil nutrients to leech into streams.
C) Weathering of rocks and soil does not release nutrients to bind to water.
D) The rate of evapotranspiration increases dramatically.
E) Cloud cover will increase.

Question 7

An oak tree can support hundreds of beetles, caterpillars and other primary consumers. This is an example of

A) a pyramid of biomass.
B) excessive levels of primary production.
C) an unusually diverse group of primary consumers.
D) primary parasitism.
E) an inverted pyramid.

Question 8

Ecosystem ecology is primarily concerned with

A) ecosystem stability.
B) interactions among species.
C) the synthesis of new forms of nutrients.
D) patterns of species diversity.
E) movement of energy and materials through organisms and their communities.

Question 9

Gross Primary Production =

A) Net Primary Production
B) Total Ecosystem Energy
C) Respiration
D) 1/Net Primary Production
E) Net Primary Production + Cellular Respiration

Question 10

In subarctic saltmarshes, the addition of phosphorus has no effect on productivity but additional nitrogen will increase productivity. In this example, nitrogen is a

A) stimulant of evapotranspiration.
B) precursor to phosphorus.
C) biomagnifying factor.
D) limiting factor.
E) lipid solvent.

Question 11

The total biomass in an ecosystem at any one point in time is the

A) standing crop.
B) gross primary production.
C) net primary production.
D) None of these choices are correct.
E) pyramid of energy.

Question 12

Primary production is generally highest in

A) taiga.
B) temperate rain forests.
C) temperate oceans.
D) tropical rain forests.
E) tropical oceans.

Question 13

In which of the following is primary productivity highest?

A) tropical forests
B) prairies
C) cool deserts
D) hot deserts
E) the Arctic

Question 14

What are the two most important nutrients affecting production in aquatic ecosystems?

A) oxygen and hydrogen
B) carbon and oxygen
C) carbon and iron
D) nitrogen and phosphorus
E) carbon and calcium

Question 15

Annual net primary productivity

A) is equal on all continents.
B) generally increases from the equator to the poles.
C) is greatest in the open ocean.
D) is usually higher in warm areas.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 16

Net productivity can be measured as

A) numbers of herbivores.
B) biomass of detritivores.
C) energy stored in biomass.
D) sunlight striking an area of the planet.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 17

The giant interconnected global ecosystem is called the

A) community.
B) biosphere.
C) panspermic possibility.
D) ecosphere.
E) trophic web.

Question 18

What is the current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

A) 100 parts per million
B) 140 parts per million
C) 42 parts per thousand
D) 380 parts per million
E) 1150 parts per million

Question 19

Stilling and Drake have conducted experiments about what, if any, effects that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide might have on insect herbivory of plants. What did they find?

A) elevated plant growth but no change in insect herbivory
B) no change in plant growth but elevated insect herbivory
C) elevated plant growth but reduced insect herbivory
D) elevated release of carbon dioxide by plants subject to insect herbivory
E) no change in both plant growth and insect herbivory

Question 20

What organisms are important nitrogen fixers in aquatic ecosystems?

A) diatoms
B) cyanobacteria
C) algae
D) rhizobial fungi
E) symbiotic coral animals

Question 21

If a forested area surrounding a stream is cleared of trees, what has been found to happen to the stream?

A) export of nutrients from the soil
B) greater rates of soil and rock weathering
C) increased run-off of water from the soil to the stream
D) greater rates of chemical leaching from the soil to the water
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 22

Which global elemental cycle is most heavily influenced by human activities?

A) carbon
B) water
C) sulfur
D) phosphorus
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 23

What is a major source of naturally produced sulfur in the atmosphere?

A) burning of fossil fuels
B) volcanic eruptions
C) denitrification
D) primary production
E) the upwelling of deep ocean water

Question 24

Most evapotranspiration occurs from the sea.

Question 25

Grasslands have a lower herbivore biomass than deserts.

Question 26

Phytoplankton consume zooplankton.

Question 27

Biomass is always highest at the lower trophic levels.

Question 28

Air pollutants can increase heritable mutations.

Question 29

Biomagnification of chemicals such as DDT results in lower trophic levels becoming enriched in these chemicals.