Question 1

A species of bat is removed from a community when it is hunted to extinction.Within two years scientists notice seeds from several plants are no longer germinating.The bat was a

Accepted Answer

Keystone species have a significant impact on their community/ecosystem that is disproportionate to their biomass or abundance. The disappearance of the bat has negatively affected the plants that relied on it for pollination and seed dispersal, making it a keystone species. The other options do not fit this scenario.

Question 2

In comparing the two communities shown,

Accepted Answer

In community A, the largest circle represents a high abundance of one species, while the remaining circles represent a more even distribution of several other species. In community B, the circles are more similar in size, indicating a more even distribution of species abundance. Therefore, community A has a higher relative species abundance.

Question 3

Into which category would a human be assigned when eating pepperoni pizza?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 4

Which of the following could represent the linear flow of energy within a food web?

Accepted Answer

This choice represents a linear flow of energy because the lettuce is eaten by the rabbits, who are then eaten by the foxes. This represents a clear direction of energy transfer from one trophic level to another. The other choices do not represent a clear linear flow of energy.

Question 5

Which of the following would probably NOT occur if a single species was removed from an ecological community?

Accepted Answer

While the removal of a single species may have some impact on the ecological community, it is unlikely to cause the community to cease to exist entirely. The remaining species would adjust and fill the vacancy left by the missing species, though the community's species richness, relative species abundance, and diversity may be affected.

Question 6

If a disease quickly spreads through a desert and kills moths that are the sole pollinators of long-lived yucca plants,the most likely outcome would be

Accepted Answer

If the moths that pollinate yucca plants go extinct, there would be no other pollinators to take their place, as they have a specialized relationship. Yucca plants rely solely on yucca moths for pollination, and without them, the plants would not produce seeds and eventually die out. Therefore, option D would be the most likely outcome as there would be no pollination, and extinction would follow.

Question 7

How do ecological communities change over time?

Accepted Answer

Interactions among species, such as competition for resources or predation, can cause changes in ecological communities over time. For example, the introduction of a new species into an ecosystem or changes in environmental conditions can alter the balance of species interactions and lead to changes in community composition.

Question 8

The removal of a keystone species from a community usually results in

Accepted Answer

Keystone species are those species that have a significant impact on the community structure despite their low abundance. The removal of such a species can result in substantial changes in the abundance of many other species in the community as their role in maintaining the community structure is disrupted. Other species may either overpopulate or be outcompeted, leading to a shift in community composition. However, the removal of a keystone species does not necessarily result in the death of all other community members or the disappearance of the community entirely. Therefore, option C is the best choice.

Question 9

Can a human being be considered an ecological community?

Accepted Answer

It is true that humans host a community of microorganisms within their digestive system, which can be considered an ecological community. While B is also true, it does not fully capture the idea of an ecological community, as it mainly focuses on human actions and not natural ecological relationships. C and D are both incorrect, as populations can be made up of a single species (such as the human population), and human populations are still subject to ecological principles and relationships.

Question 10

Which of the following best explains why a grass species might disappear when a meat-eating species is removed from a community?

Accepted Answer

The meat-eating species eats organisms that eat grass, so removing the meat-eater allows an increase in the abundance of grass-eating organisms. This increase in the number of herbivores can lead to overgrazing and ultimately the disappearance of the grass species.

Question 11

Which of the following communities would be considered to have the greatest species richness?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following communities would be...

Question 12

Which of the following choices best explains,from an ecological perspective,why there are laws that require a wildlife survey before certain building or other land-use projects may proceed?

Accepted Answer

Laws that require a wildlife survey before certain building or other land-use projects may proceed are in place to ensure that the local habitat of keystone species is not disturbed. If the habitat of a keystone species is disturbed, it can have ripple effects throughout the entire community of populations, causing potential ecological collapse or loss of biodiversity. Therefore, it is important to survey the wildlife before any land-use projects proceed to ensure the protection of keystone species and maintain ecological balance.

Question 13

Why would a food web rather than a food chain be the preferred way to represent the movement of food through the community?

Accepted Answer

Food chains are oversimplified and do not accurately depict the complexity of ecological relationships within a community. A food web is a more comprehensive and accurate way to represent the flow of energy and nutrients through a community, as it shows the interconnections between various food chains and the multiple food sources that each consumer may have.

Question 14

In comparing the two communities shown,

Accepted Answer

Community B has a greater variety of species and therefore a higher species richness than community A. There is no information provided to determine which community has more primary producers, so choices C and D cannot be determined.

Question 15

Which of the following statements accurately describes an ecological community?

Accepted Answer

Ecological communities can be nested within larger communities. For example, a community of fish might be nested within a larger community of aquatic organisms, which is nested within a larger community of all living things in that ecosystem. Communities do not have fixed boundaries, can vary in scale and change over time due to factors such as succession or disturbances. Therefore, options A, C, and D are incorrect.

Question 16

A measurement of how common one species is compared to another species is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Relative species abundance measures the proportion of individuals of one species compared to the total number of individuals across all species in a community.

Question 17

The sea star Pisaster ochraceus is a keystone species.Ten years after P.ochraceus is removed from selected intertidal communities along the Washington coast,how might those communities compare to control communities?

Accepted Answer

Pisaster ochraceus is a keystone species because it preys on mussels, which allows other species to coexist in the community. Without P. ochraceus, mussels would become dominant and crowd out other community members, reducing overall biodiversity. Therefore, the removal of P. ochraceus would likely lead to an increase in mussel abundance and a decrease in other species.

Question 18

The total number of different species living within a community is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Species richness refers to the total number of different species living within a community.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about communities is true?

Accepted Answer

Communities can have many different species interacting with each other, forming complex relationships such as competition and predation. The number of species in a community can vary depending on the location and ecosystem. Temperature is not necessarily a determining factor in the abundance of communities, and communities can be made up of a variety of different types of organisms, not just mammals.

Question 20

In a typical prairie food web,energy moves from grass to grasshopper to field mouse to fox.Which organism is the secondary consumer?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a typical prairie food web,energy moves...

Quiz 17: Communities of Organisms

A species of bat is removed from a community when it is hunted to extinction.Within two years scientists notice seeds from several plants are no longer germinating.The bat was a

In comparing the two communities shown,

Into which category would a human be assigned when eating pepperoni pizza?

Which of the following could represent the linear flow of energy within a food web?

Which of the following would probably NOT occur if a single species was removed from an ecological community?

If a disease quickly spreads through a desert and kills moths that are the sole pollinators of long-lived yucca plants,the most likely outcome would be

How do ecological communities change over time?

The removal of a keystone species from a community usually results in

Can a human being be considered an ecological community?

Which of the following best explains why a grass species might disappear when a meat-eating species is removed from a community?

Which of the following communities would be considered to have the greatest species richness?

Which of the following choices best explains,from an ecological perspective,why there are laws that require a wildlife survey before certain building or other land-use projects may proceed?

Why would a food web rather than a food chain be the preferred way to represent the movement of food through the community?

In comparing the two communities shown,

Which of the following statements accurately describes an ecological community?

A measurement of how common one species is compared to another species is referred to as

The sea star Pisaster ochraceus is a keystone species.Ten years after P.ochraceus is removed from selected intertidal communities along the Washington coast,how might those communities compare to control communities?

The total number of different species living within a community is referred to as

Which of the following statements about communities is true?

In a typical prairie food web,energy moves from grass to grasshopper to field mouse to fox.Which organism is the secondary consumer?