Deck 33: Ecology, the Environment, and Us

Question 1

American bison consume only plants, so we would say they are ________.

A) carnivores
B) herbivores
C) omnivores
D) producers

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The interactions and exchange of energy between all feeding levels is known as a ________.

A) food web
B) feeding frenzy
C) trophic level
D) food succession

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which cycle involves materials moving through a series of transfers from living to nonliving systems and then back again?

A) biogeochemical
B) geological
C) uranium-lead
D) continental

Answer 3

A

Question 4

An area had no previous community and had no existing soil at first, but then living things started occupying the area. This situation would be called ________.

A) biological magnification
B) primary succession
C) climax community
D) secondary replacement

Question 5

The volcanic island Selkirk arose from the North Atlantic off Iceland in 1948. The first organisms to start living there are said to be ________.

A) central species
B) climax species
C) pioneer species
D) rogue organisms

Question 6

It is important for cattle to add proteins to their body, so which plant would be best for them to eat?

A) alfalfa
B) oats
C) corn
D) barley

Question 7

A certain species of tiny wasp lays its eggs within the bodies of caterpillars, whereupon the larvae of the wasp consume the 10-g caterpillar. Assuming that the entire victim was consumed, what would be the total mass of the eventual adult wasps that emerge from the caterpillar?

A) 10 g
B) 1 g
C) 100 g
D) 2 g

Question 8

The saguaro is a giant cactus that is found in desert regions of Arizona. This is information about the cacti's ________.

A) habitat
B) niche
C) biosphere
D) succession

Question 9

Which of the following contains the most species of living things?

A) biosphere
B) niche
C) ecosystem
D) community

Question 10

Alfalfa plants occur symbiotically with bacteria that can convert nitrogen gas to ammonium in a process called ________.

A) nitrogen fixation
B) fertilizers
C) nitrification
D) nitroprocessing

Question 11

If a plant could not get enough phosphorus, then it could not make ________.

A) fat
B) vitamin A
C) ATP
D) carbohydrates

Question 12

Red foxes eat a wide variety of plants and animals, so we would say they are ________.

A) carnivores
B) omnivores
C) parasites
D) producers

Question 13

Ammonium is converted to nitrates (NO3-) by this process.

A) nitrification
B) nitrogen fixation
C) nitrofaction
D) calcification

Question 14

What is mainly responsible for the loss of biodiversity globally?

A) poaching
B) introduced species
C) pet trade
D) habitat destruction

Question 15

A small wooded area was cleared for a new building, but then the builders went bankrupt. Over the ensuing years, plants and animals moved back into the plot in a process called ________.

A) climax community
B) biological magnification
C) secondary succession
D) primary succession

Question 16

The sequence of changes in the species that make up a community is called ________.

A) ecological succession
B) pioneer progression
C) climax community
D) progressive adaptation

Question 17

The total physical, chemical, and biological requirements of a species are said to be its ________.

A) community
B) population
C) niche
D) biosphere

Question 18

Mot-mots are snake-eating birds of the American tropics. If a mot-mot killed and consumed a rattlesnake and that snake fed upon grain-eating rodents, then how many kilograms of grain would normally be required to end up with 1 kg of mot-mot?

A) 10
B) 100
C) 1000
D) 10,000

Question 19

A coyote eats a variety of animals and even consumes a little plant matter, so it would be best characterized as ________.

A) autotrophic
B) photosynthetic
C) a producer
D) a consumer

Question 20

A parasitic tapeworm living inside the intestines of a plant-eating porcupine would be at what trophic level?

A) producer
B) primary consumer
C) decomposer
D) secondary consumer

Question 21

The element molybdenum is vital in the process of nitrogen fixation. For which crop would molybdenum be most critical to ensure success?

A) alfalfa
B) wheat
C) cauliflower
D) apples

Question 22

The fly agaric, a giant toadstool, consumes dead organic material, so it is said to be a(n) ________.

Question 23

Park officials needed to repair the old mill dam in a state park and so had to drain the pond behind it, killing all the animals and many of the plants in the water. After the pond reformed and many years passed, a certain species of fish established itself in the pond and remained there for more than 400 years. Which most directly describes the role of that type of fish?

A) climax species
B) pioneer
C) producers
D) invaders

Question 24

A certain species of flea drinks only the blood of elephants. How would you best describe this flea's trophic level?

A) producer
B) primary consumer
C) secondary consumer
D) decomposer

Question 25

All the potentially interacting species in an ecosystem are said to make up a(n) ________.

Question 26

________ is an important component of many biological molecules, including the genetic material DNA and energy transfer molecules such as ATP.

Question 27

The Humboldt Current, a river of cold water running deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, sweeps eastward toward the South American coast until it hits the coastline, where it is forced upward near the surface. Deep sediments come up along with the cold water. Predict what you would find along that coast.

A) tremendous biomass
B) very few sea birds
C) lots of rain
D) limited algae

Question 28

Dieldrin was a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide that was remarkably useful against termites because it did not seem to degrade when applied to wood. What issue would you expect with its use?

A) biological magnification
B) expressive toxicity
C) chlorination
D) decomposition

Question 29

Which of these options would be the most efficient human food source?

A) beef
B) soybeans
C) swordfish
D) chicken

Question 30

Predict the result when a phosphate-containing chemical is released by a factory into a pond.

A) All living things will always die in such cases.
B) Eutrophication will occur.
C) Climax species will invade.
D) Predatory fish will increase in population faster than other living things.

Question 31

Crop rotation occurs where different types of plants are grown on the land each season. If you had no access to chemical fertilizers, which of the following would be best to include in your rotation cycle?

A) corn
B) tobacco
C) cotton
D) beans

Question 32

The progression of species that would take place in an abandoned field is called ________.

Question 33

The recent increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has produced ________, according to the textbook and most scientists.

Question 34

A plot of water-soaked soil will have less of the form of nitrogen known as ________ than dry soil.

Question 35

________ describes the number of individuals at each trophic level multiplied by their dry weight.

Question 36

A(n) ________ is a diagram in which blocks represent each trophic level.

Question 37

The biosphere consists of many ________, each consisting of the organisms in a specific geographic area and their physical environment.

Question 38

The shaggy-mane mushroom lives beneath broadleaf forest trees and aids in decomposition of forest litter. You have just learned something about what specific type of ecological information concerning this fungus?

A) the biosphere
B) the population dynamics
C) the niche
D) the phosphorus cycle

Question 39

If you were raising frying chickens, how much meat could you produce given a metric ton (1000 kg, or 2200 lb) of feed?

A) 200 kg
B) 100 kg
C) 800 kg
D) 1000 kg

Question 40

The study of the interactions among organisms and between organisms and the environment is called ________.

Question 41

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
Diatoms perform photosynthesis, so they fill this role in the community.

Question 42

A(n) ________ includes all the individuals of the same species that can potentially interact.

Question 43

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
Water evaporation from leaves is called this.

Question 44

The sedimentary rock known as ________ stores carbon deposited by the shells of ocean animals.

Question 45

What are the differences between primary and secondary succession?

Question 46

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
The study of the relationships between organisms and their environment.

Question 47

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
These are organisms that consume both live plants and animals to fulfill their metabolic requirements in an ecosystem.

Question 48

Hoda, now pregnant, barbecued a shark that her uncle caught in a bay. Upstream from that bay was an old coal mine that was draining into the local river. What should you warn Hoda about?

Question 49

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
The animals that eat plants exclusively as their main energy source.

Question 50

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
A lion feeds only on mammals, so it would be said to be this.

Question 51

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
Yeasts consume garbage and other dead organic matter, so they are called this.

Question 52

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
The animals that consume the producers for their metabolic requirements.

Question 53

On average, about ________% of the energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next.

Question 54

The process by which light energy is used by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria to form sugar is called ________.

Question 55

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
Most of the noncycling carbon is in this form.

Question 56

The ________ cycle normally has no atmospheric component.

Question 57

Match each definition in the first column to the correct term in the second column.

A) Carnivore
B) Primary consumers
C) Ecology
D) Producers
E) Decomposers
F) Carbon dioxide
G) Omnivores
H) Transpiration
I) Limestone
J) Herbivores
This form of carbon results from cell respiration.

Question 58

Why is it wiser (ecologically and economically) to eat a diet with more plants in it than one with more meat?

Question 59

How has human activity added to eutrophication of freshwater lakes?

Question 60

Two human activities, burning fossil fuels and ________, are important causes of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Question 61

A developer plans to chop down several healthy trees on her property, burn them, and put a huge concrete pad in their place. Why are these activities environmentally unwise?

Question 62

PCBs were frequently used in electrical transformers. A young man digs in an abandoned industrial site, finding old transformers, and sells the copper wire from them to a scrap yard. What health problems might the young man have in the future?

Question 63

A visitor to an American tropical forest will probably never get to see a jaguar, the largest native cat species in the Americas, but will see many plant-eating monkeys. Use your knowledge of energy pyramids to explain the rarity of the predatory cats.

Question 64

While a backhoe operator is helping to clear land that will be used for a poultry farm, the equipment opens up a hidden chamber in which old electrical transformers have been buried. The operator knows that transformers contain PCBs. Why should this person warn the owners of the land?

Question 65

What are the benefits of maintaining biodiversity?

Question 66

Why is the total biomass of secondary consumers normally less than that of primary consumers?