Deck 39: Community and Ecosystem Ecology

Question 1

Interaction between two species as both attempt to use the same environmental resources is:

A)Competition
B)A community
C)Symbiosis
D)Predation
E)An ecosystem

Answer 1

A
Explanation: Competition is rivalry between populations for the same resources,such as light,space,nutrients,or mates.

Question 2

Which statement is not true about parasitism?

A)The host is generally larger than the parasite
B)Parasites are always severe and usually kill their host
C)Smaller parasites often live as endoparasites within the body of the host
D)Ectoparasites are attached to the outside of the host's body
E)Some parasites and all viruses are obligate parasites and must live inside the host

Answer 2

B
Explanation: Parasitism is similar to predation in that an organism,called the parasite,derives nourishment from another,called the host.

Question 3

Mimics that share the same protective defense are called:

A)Camouflage mimics
B)Mullerian mimics
C)Warning mimics
D)Batesian mimics
E)Cryptic mimics

Answer 3

B
Explanation: Mimics that share the same protective defense are called Müllerian mimics.

Question 4

What type of prey defense warns a predator that the prey is potentially dangerous?

A)Cryptic coloration
B)Warning coloration
C)Dark coloration
D)Camouflage coloration
E)Mimic coloration

Question 5

The ability of some animals to blend into the background is known as camouflage.

Question 6

Which is not a mutualistic relationship?

A)Termites with protozoa and bacteria that digest cellulose
B)Pseudomyrmex ants living on the bullhorn acacia tree
C)Mycorrhizal fungal filaments in the roots of plants
D)Snowshoe hare and the Canadian lynx
E)Flowering plants and their insect pollinators

Question 7

The harmless orange and black viceroy butterfly closely resembles the toxic orange and black monarch butterfly.This is an example of:

A)Batesian mimicry
B)Both Mullerian mimicry and Batesian mimicry
C)Resource partitioning
D)Competitive exclusion
E)Mullerian mimicry

Question 8

Which of the following is correct in a predator-prey cycle?

A)Predators will always cause the prey to go extinct
B)A decline in the number of prey causes a decline in the number of predators
C)A decline in the number of predators causes a decline in the number of prey
D)An increase in the number of predators triggers an increase in the number of prey
E)Generally prey are unaffected by predators

Question 9

A frog is found along the edge of a pond feeding upon mayflies.This would be the frog's:

A)Ecological niche
B)Ecosystem
C)Abiotic component
D)Ecology
E)Biotic component

Question 10

Which term describes the concept that no two species can have the same specific role in the community at the same time?

A)Mimicry
B)Niche
C)Habitat
D)Competitive exclusion
E)Symbiosis

Question 11

Two similar species of finches have the different sized beaks,when they live on the same Galapagos island and eat different types of seeds.But their beak sizes are the same when these two species live on different islands and eat the same type of food.This describes the concept of

A)Competitive exclusion
B)Character displacement
C)Extinction of one species
D)Mimicry
E)Hybridization

Question 12

What is the symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from their close interactions?

A)Mutualism
B)Parasitism
C)Commensalism
D)Competition
E)Predation

Question 13

Which organisms feed on the remains of dead animals (that they did not kill)?

A)Decomposers
B)Autotrophs
C)Secondary producers
D)Scavengers
E)Primary producers

Question 14

In large natural ecosystems,competition between two species over time will usually result in:

A)Resource partitioning with each species occupying a slightly different niche
B)Death of all members of one species within a short time
C)Death of both species
D)Equal numbers of each species persisting for a long time
E)Hybridization between the two species

Question 15

A form of symbiosis in which one participant benefits and the other apparently is not benefited nor harmed is:

A)Predation
B)Commensalism
C)Mutualism
D)Parasitism
E)Competition

Question 16

What is the symbiotic relationship where one species benefits and the other species is injured but not killed?

A)Commensalism
B)Predation
C)Parasitism
D)Competition
E)Mutualism

Question 17

An example of commensalism is:

A)Termites with protozoa in their digestive tracts
B)Clown fishes in sea anemones
C)Mycorrhizal fungal filaments on the roots of plants
D)Ants living on the bullhorn acacia tree
E)Flowering plants and their pollinators

Question 18

Which of these resources is the least likely to generate competition between two different species living in the same area?

A)Mates
B)Sunlight
C)Minerals
D)Space
E)Food

Question 19

Which interaction between two species involves one species feeding on the other species?

A)Competitive exclusion
B)Predation
C)Resource partitioning
D)Commensalism
E)Competition

Question 20

Organisms that recycle nutrients within ecosystems are primarily known as:

A)Consumers
B)Autotrophs
C)Scavengers
D)Decomposers
E)Producers

Question 21

Secondary succession occurs in an area where no soil is present.

Question 22

Which of the following places would not exhibit secondary succession?

A)A field after a flood
B)An abandoned farm
C)A field after a tornado
D)A field after a fire
E)A field after a glacier retreats

Question 23

Organisms which feed exclusively on plants are referred to as:

A)Carnivores
B)Detritivores
C)Scavengers
D)Decomposers
E)Herbivores

Question 24

Which organisms make their own food?

A)Producers
B)Heterotrophs
C)Omnivores
D)Consumers
E)Decomposers

Question 25

The theory that plants cannot grow on a particular area until the soil has been fully developed enough is the:

A)Climax-pattern model
B)Inhibition model
C)Soil tolerance model
D)Facilitation model
E)Tolerance model

Question 26

Figure:
This figure shows energy flow and chemical cycling in an ecosystem.What does "b" represent?

A)Solar energy
B)Producers
C)Inorganic nutrients
D)Decomposers
E)Consumers

Question 27

Which would be the climax community in a biome that receives a large amount of rainfall?

A)Large plants such as shrubs and trees
B)Small native plants of the area such as grasses and herbs
C)Plants with high tolerance to full sun,limited water,limited nutrients
D)The pioneer community
E)Lichens,mosses,and ferns

Question 28

Primary succession takes much longer than secondary succession because it involves:

A)Colonization of more K-selected species
B)Time for weathering of rock and development of soil
C)More time for the development of a seed bank
D)Redevelopment of the atmospheric gases
E)Colonization of organisms that are farther away

Question 29

A small marine amphipod has recently been discovered that carries another bad tasting organism on its back against its normal behavior.The "backpack" organism tastes bad.If a fish ingests the pair,it immediately spits them back out.If the amphipod is alone,however,the amphipod is readily eaten and swallowed.There is no apparent benefit in this relationship for the "backpack" organism which appears to be neither helped nor harmed.This is therefore a case of

A)commensalism.
B)competitive exclusion.
C)predation.
D)parasitism.
E)mutualism.

Question 30

Figure:
This figure shows energy flow and chemical cycling in an ecosystem.What does "a" represent?

A)Inorganic nutrients
B)Solar energy
C)Producers
D)Consumers
E)Decomposers

Question 31

You are on vacation in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and you observe that a massive forest fire has burned all the trees off the side of the mountain and sterilized the soil,leaving no topsoil.The type of succession that occurs following this type of fire is

A)facilitated succession.
B)primary soil leaching.
C)primary succession.
D)pioneer species growth.
E)secondary succession.

Question 32

Figure:
This figure shows energy flow and chemical cycling in an ecosystem.What does "c" represent?

A)Inorganic nutrients
B)Producers
C)Decomposers
D)Consumers
E)Solar energy

Question 33

In a grazing food chain:

A)Secondary consumers eat detritus
B)Secondary consumers will only eat photosynthetic organisms
C)Primary consumers eat detritus
D)Primary consumers eat photosynthetic organisms
E)All the consumers are primary consumers

Question 34

Which of the following is a plausible successional sequence?

A)Trees,tall shrubs,low shrubs,grass
B)Grass,tall shrubs,low shrubs,trees
C)Grass,low shrubs,tall shrubs,trees
D)Low shrubs,grass,tall shrubs,trees
E)Low shrubs,tall shrubs,grass,trees

Question 35

Another name for heterotrophs is consumer.

Question 36

Which trophic level is at the base of an ecological pyramid?

A)The primary consumer trophic level
B)The top predator trophic level
C)The producer trophic level
D)The decomposer trophic level
E)The secondary consumer trophic level

Question 37

Which of the following is not a type of heterotroph?

A)Scavengers
B)Decomposers
C)Herbivores
D)Consumers
E)Producers

Question 38

Fungi and bacteria are detritus-feeders,also known as:

A)Autotrophs
B)Carnivores
C)Decomposers
D)Omnivores
E)Herbivores

Question 39

In a pine forest few other species of plants grow under the pines because the needles of pine trees are acidic and make the soil more acidic.This is an example of

A)The tolerance model
B)The facilitation model
C)The climax model
D)An opportunistic model
E)The inhibition model

Question 40

Which of the following is not true about a food web?

A)It contains several trophic levels
B)It contains many food chains
C)It interacts with the physical environment
D)It uses only the carbon cycle
E)It is usually stable

Question 41

Given that most nutrients can dissolve into water which of the following statements is false?

A)N₂ dissolves into water droplets and is carried to the earth to be used by producers
B)Water can leach nutrients out of the soil and carry it away from an ecosystem
C)Carbon dioxide dissolves into water and is then available to aquatic producers
D)Water can carry nutrients into the soil where they are available to plants through their roots
E)Runoff water can pollute a pond,stream,or lake if excess nutrients are carried in the water

Question 42

Which of these is NOT a requirement or influence on chemical cycling of inorganic nutrients in a natural ecosystem?

A)The input of geothermal energy
B)An exchange pool from which producers draw their nutrients
C)The biotic community and its food chains
D)Human activities
E)A reservoir for the elements in the Earth

Question 43

Which is not true about a complex food web?

A)It generally remains stable
B)Inputs are relatively constant and outputs are minimal except for heat
C)Populations tend to remain about the same size
D)Most of the energy entering the system maintains the whole community
E)Energy levels remain about the same for all trophic levels

Question 44

What happens to the amount of energy while going up a ecological pyramid?

A)The amount of energy stays the same
B)The amount of energy decreases
C)The amount of energy first increases and then stays the same
D)The amount of energy first decreases and then finally increases
E)The amount of energy increases

Question 45

What human activities have affected the phosphorus cycle and led to eutrophication of the waterways?

A)Destroying tropical rain forests by "slash and burn"
B)Driving numerous fuel-guzzling automobiles
C)Producing increased PO₄ gases,leading to greenhouse effect
D)Relying on solar and wind energy sources
E)Using fertilizer and detergents containing phosphates

Question 46

During mutualism one species benefits while the other is harmed.

Question 47

The three locations where a nutrient may be found in an ecosystem are

A)An exchange pool where the nutrient is readily available to producers;reservoirs that serve as long term storage and living organisms that act as short term storage
B)An exchange pool that serves as long term storage;reservoirs where the nutrient is readily available to producers and living organisms that act as short term storage
C)An exchange pool that serves as short term storage;reservoirs where the nutrient is readily available to producers and living organisms that act as long term storage
D)An exchange pool that acts as short term storage;reservoirs that act as long term storage and living organisms where the nutrient is readily available to producers
E)An exchange pool that serves as long term storage;reservoirs that act as short term storage and living organisms where the nutrient is readily available to producers

Question 48

The greenhouse effect is:

A)caused by increased plant life and photosynthesis
B)caused by an increase in biodiversity in recent years
C)due to carbon dioxide and methane gases preventing heat from escaping back into space
D)due to decreased levels of carbon dioxide and ozone in the atmosphere
E)due to increased sunlight in recent years

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT required in robust chemical cycling of inorganic nutrients in a natural ecosystem?

A)plants and animals
B)weather
C)an exchange pool from which producers draw nutrients
D)the biotic community and its food chains
E)a reservoir for the element in the earth

Question 50

Which of the following is not a method in which phosphorus gets added to the soil?

A)Geological uplift
B)Weathering of rocks
C)Fertilizer
D)Sewage treatment plants
E)Mining

Question 51

Which sequence correctly illustrates the most plausible food chain?

A)algae,insect larvae,fish,humans
B)algae,fish,insect larvae,humans
C)insect larvae,algae,fish,humans
D)fish,insect larvae,algae,humans
E)humans,fish,insect larvae,algae

Question 52

The theory that plants cannot grow on a particular area until the soil has been developed enough by an earlier community is the

A)facilitation model.
B)climax-pattern model.
C)inhibition model.
D)tolerance model.
E)soil development model.

Question 53

A carbon atom cycles between an organism and the atmosphere where it is then taken up by a producer and is then eventually eaten by an herbivore and passed back into the atmosphere through respiration.The carbon atom has passed through which portions of a nutrient cycle?

A)Exchange pool to reservoir to exchange pool to reservoir
B)Living organism to long term storage to living organism to long term storage
C)Living organism to exchange pool to living organism to exchange pool
D)Living organism to exchange pool to living organism to reservoir
E)Living organism to exchange pool to living organism to exchange pool

Question 54

Nitrification refers to the production of:

A)Nitrogen gas
B)Nitrate
C)Ammonia
D)Nitrite
E)Ammonium

Question 55

A detritus food chain begins:

A)Always in the ocean
B)With producers
C)With primary consumers
D)With decaying matter
E)With secondary consumers

Question 56

Which of the following is not a carbon reservoir?

A)Living organisms
B)Inorganic carbonate in limestone shells
C)Dead organisms
D)Ammonium and nitrates
E)Coal

Question 57

Which of the following is not true about the phosphorus cycle?

A)Geologic upheavals move phosphorus from ocean to land
B)Phosphorus is often a limiting nutrient in many ecosystems
C)The slow weathering of rocks returns phosphorus to the soil
D)Phosphorus in the ecosystem is a major contributor to global warming
E)Phosphorus never enters the atmosphere

Question 58

In an experiment carried out to study the energy flow through an ecosystem scientists measure the total solar energy captured by plants to be 10,000 kilocalories.The portion of this available to the next trophic level will be

A)1,000 kilocalories
B)10,000 kilocalories
C)100 kilocalories
D)10 kilocalories
E)1 kilocalories

Question 59

If you were studying the nitrogen cycle you would know that all of the following are true except:

A)Nitrite is converted to nitrate by bacteria
B)Plants can take in and use nitrogen from the air by using their leaves
C)It requires a number of different types of bacteria
D)Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere
E)Bacteria convert ammonium in the soil to nitrite