Deck 10: An Introduction to Marine Ecology

Question 1

One of these is an example of coevolution:

A)A seaweed evolving better ways to capture sunlight energy.
B)A seaweed evolving a mechanism allowing it to take in a particular nutrient.
C)A limpet getting adapted to live along coasts exposed to heavier wave action.
D)A limpet evolving a behavior that allows it to escape from a seastar predator.
E)A seastar becoming adapted to move higher up along rocky shores during low tides.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

All of the following are examples of abiotic factors except:

A)Salinity.
B)Predation.
C)Substrate.
D)Temperature.
E)Light.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The pyramid of biomass shows the:

A)Transfer of energy between each trophic level
B)Energy in each trophic level
C)Weight of organisms in an trophic level
D)Weight of organisms in entire food web
E)Number of individuals in each trophic level

Answer 3

E

Question 4

The detritus in the water includes:

A)Dead organic matter
B)Waste products dissolved in water
C)All of the plankton
D)Smallest plankton-feeding fishes
E)Smallest algae

Question 5

The following is a synonym of autotrophs:

A)Consumer.
B)Primary producer.
C)Heterotroph.
D)Animal.
E)Predator.

Question 6

Net primary productivity is best defined as:

A)The total amount of biomass created by producers.
B)The total amount of biomass created by producers after energy loss to metabolism is factored.
C)The total biomass of producers in the water in a given habitat.
D)The total biomass of producers in the ocean.
E)None of the choices are correct.

Question 7

On the average,what percentage of energy in a particular trophic level is passed on to the next trophic level?

A)1%
B)2%
C)5%
D)10%
E)15%

Question 8

Exponential growth in a population may be slowed as a result of:

A)Reduction in light.
B)Reduction of nutrients.
C)Increase of predators.
D)Reduction in light and Reduction of nutrients only.
E)Reduction of nutrients and Increase of predators only.

Question 9

Cleaning symbiosis is an example of symbiosis because the partners involved in the association:

A)Are not harmed.
B)Are both harmed if we closely study their association.
C)Both have coevolved into a close association.
D)One is harmed while the other is not.
E)One species benefits while the other is unaffected.

Question 10

Predation can be best defined as:

A)A plant taking in nutrients.
B)An animal eating scavenged decayed material.
C)An animal eating a plant.
D)An animal eating any other organism.
E)A plant carrying out photosynthesis.

Question 11

In the dark-light bottle experiment,one of the following is measured in the dark bottle:

A)Photosynthesis.
B)Respiration.
C)Decomposition.
D)Photosynthesis plus respiration.
E)Chlorophyll concentration.

Question 12

The ecological niche of a species refers to:

A)Its habitat and range.
B)Position of the organism in the food web.
C)Role in the community and all associated biotic and abiotic factors.
D)Mode of reproduction and food habits.
E)Behavior in relation to other species in the community.

Question 13

Competitive exclusion can be best defined as:

A)When one species overcompetes and eliminates another.
B)The creation of a separate ecological niche by a new species.
C)The division of resources.
D)When one species shares limiting resources with another.
E)When competition results in the elimination of particular limiting resources.

Question 14

Zooxanthellae live within the tissues of corals and both organisms benefit from the association.This is known as:

A)Mutualism.
B)Predation.
C)Commensalism.
D)Parasitism.
E)Cleaning symbiosis.

Question 15

An example of a community is:

A)One giant kelp individual.
B)A kelp forest plus all of the physical factors affecting it.
C)All physical factors affecting a kelp forest.
D)A kelp forest plus all organisms living in it.
E)Several giant kelp individuals living in one particular area.

Question 16

The difference between food webs and food chains is that food webs:

A)Consist of only one trophic level.
B)Include primary producers as well as consumers.
C)Do not take into account predators.
D)Only outline feeding relationships among consumers.
E)Are more complex.

Question 17

Which of the following could be a tertiary consumer?

A)A seaweed
B)A grazer
C)A carnivore
D)An autotroph
E)A herbivore

Question 18

A fundamental role of decomposers:

A)Releasing nutrients to be used by autotrophs.
B)Causing diseases.
C)Providing food for carnivores.
D)Releasing oxygen.
E)Providing energy for autotrophs.

Question 19

The level in a food web above the primary producers would be the:

A)Top predators.
B)Secondary consumers.
C)Carnivores.
D)Primary consumers.
E)Parasites.

Question 20

The type of interaction that results when a resource is in short supply and one organism uses the resource at the expense of the other is called:

A)Population explosion.
B)Predation.
C)Resource partitioning.
D)Self-regulation.
E)Competition.

Question 21

The term trophic refers to:

A)Competition.
B)Feeding.
C)Symbiosis.
D)Reproduction.
E)Habitat.

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of intraspecific competition?

A)Two species of barnacles competing for space on a rocky shoreline
B)Two species of dolphins feeding on the same population of fish
C)Two individuals in a population of clownfish attempt to use the same anemone as habitat
D)Two species of fish attempt to use the same rocky ledge as habitat
E)Two species of seals fight over space on a beach to rear their young

Question 23

The subtidal zone is the area:

A)Between low and high tide.
B)Beyond the continental shelf.
C)Between the intertidal zone and the edge of the continental shelf.
D)Where pelagic organisms live.
E)Above the highest tide.

Question 24

Self-regulating of population numbers acts only when the population is:

A)Large.
B)Small.
C)Stable.
D)Threatened.
E)Declining.

Question 25

Nitrogen fixation is performed at sea by:

A)Seaweeds.
B)Cyanobacteria.
C)Phytoplankton.
D)Zooplankton.
E)All answers are correct.

Question 26

Besides fixation by photosynthesis a large amount of carbon dioxide may be deposited in the oceans in the chemical form of:

A)Nucleic acids.
B)Calcium carbonate.
C)Lipids.
D)Carbonic acid.

Question 27

In competitive exclusion,which of the following is true?

A)Two species cannot coexist in a habitat
B)One species is a better competitor for resources
C)Leads to intraspecific competition
D)Results from intraspecific completion
E)Leads to population growth for both competitors

Question 28

An algae begins to produce chemical defenses after it has been grazed upon by a herbivore.This is an example of:

A)inducible defense.
B)Dependent defense.
C)Reactive defense.
D)deliberate defense.
E)Designed defense.

Question 29

Sessile organisms are part of the:

A)Benthos.
B)Nekton.
C)Plankton.
D)Pelagic type of organisms.
E)Zooplankton only.

Question 30

In a salt marsh,a fish eats decaying material from around the base of Spartina grass plants.A snail scrapes algae from the stalks of the Spartina grass.These species can coexist in the same area because they have:

A)The same niche,but different habitat.
B)The same habitat and the same niche.
C)The same habitat,but different niche.
D)Different habitats and different niches.
E)None of the choices are correct.

Question 31

Organisms that are classified as benthic would most likely be found in the:

A)Neritic zone.
B)Pelagic zone.
C)Oceanic zone.
D)Abyssal zone.
E)Epipelagic zone.

Question 32

In the carbon cycle,seaweeds and plants play a fundamental role by:

A)Increasing the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide as a result of decomposition.
B)Decreasing the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide as a result of respiration.
C)Increasing the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide as a result of photosynthesis.
D)Decreasing the amount of detritus.
E)Decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide as a result of photosynthesis.

Question 33

The amount of chlorophyll in the water is a direct estimate of:

A)Primary production.
B)Respiration.
C)Standing stock of phytoplankton.
D)Oxygen utilization.
E)Release of nutrients.

Question 34

Competive exclusion may be affected by:

A)Abundance of a resource.
B)Disturbances to habitat.
C)Temperature changes.
D)All answers are correct.
E)Disturbances to habitat and Temperature changes only.

Question 35

A population's carrying capacity is:

A)Affected by the growth rate of the population.
B)The number of individuals a habitat can support with available resources.
C)A constant that has been predetermined for all habitats.
D)The number of individuals in a habitat.
E)Determined by comparing birth rate and death rate in a population.

Question 36

A chiton increases the abundance of its prey,a corraline algae,by feeding on the algae which stimulates growth of that algae.This is an example of:

A)Directional selection.
B)Stabilizing selection.
C)Competitive exclusion.
D)Trophic cascade.
E)Indirect interaction.

Question 37

A disadvantage of resource partitioning is:

A)Size of competing populations increase exponentially and consume all resources.
B)Size of competing populations may decrease.
C)Resources become more plentiful.
D)Competing populations coexist without affecting each other.
E)No disadvantages exist.