Deck 18: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere

Question 1

What level of ecology is concerned with the adaptations of individuals?

A) community
B) organismal
C) ecosystem
D) population

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What level of ecology is concerned with groups of individuals of the same species?

A) community
B) organism
C) ecosystem
D) population

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What term applies to the physical and physiological changes experienced by astronauts who spend months in space?

A) acclimation
B) adaptation
C) camouflaging
D) flagging

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What are estuaries?

A) types of freshwater biomes
B) areas near the start of a river
C) regions where ocean meets land
D) transition areas between a river and the ocean

Question 5

In an aquatic ecosystem,what name is given to the region where photosynthesis can occur?

A) pelagic zone
B) aphotic zone
C) benthic realm
D) photic zone

Question 6

Which of these is a community?

A) all of the Staphylococcus aureus (a species of bacteria living on your skin
B) all of the organisms living in your home
C) all of the people living in your neighborhood
D) all of the nut grass (considered a weed) in your backyard

Question 7

Aquatic organisms ________.

A) have a waxy coating to prevent water loss
B) may experience problems with water balance
C) typically have a plentiful supply of nitrogen
D) never find light to be in short supply

Question 8

Ecology is the study of ________.

A) life
B) human effects on the environment
C) interactions between humans and other species
D) interactions between organisms and their environments

Question 9

Which of the following organisms are NOT ultimately dependent on sunlight for energy?

A) species that live in hydrothermal vent habitats
B) migratory bird species
C) marine species that live in the aphotic zone
D) trees that have experienced "flagging"

Question 10

Suppose that a group of climate scientists claims that they can predict future impacts of global climate change with 98% accuracy.Why should you be skeptical of this claim?

A) They do not have reliable methods to measure this change.
B) Their predictions are based on incomplete information about species diversity and interactions of living organisms with each other and with their environments.
C) They should be focusing their predictions based only on climate change in the polar regions where the greatest effects of climate change are experienced.
D) They have not accounted for abiotic factors that affect global climate change in their predictions.

Question 11

Which of these biomes is one of the most biologically productive of all biomes?

A) open oceans
B) estuaries
C) temperate grasslands
D) coniferous forests

Question 12

If you study how two species of finches compete for food,you are trying to answer a question about ________.

A) community ecology
B) population ecology
C) organismal ecology
D) ecosystems ecology

Question 13

What level of ecology is concerned with both the biotic and abiotic aspects of an environment?

A) community
B) organism
C) ecosystem
D) population

Question 14

Which of the following is abiotic?

A) a protist
B) a plant
C) a fungus
D) a rock

Question 15

What level of ecology is concerned with groups of individuals of different species?

A) community
B) organism
C) ecosystem
D) population

Question 16

Which of the following is a behavioral response to environmental variability?

A) migrating to a different location
B) acclimation
C) endothermy
D) "flagging" by trees

Question 17

What is a population?

A) a group of organisms living in a particular geographic area
B) a group of organisms of the same species living in a particular geographic area
C) a community as well as all the abiotic factors in a particular geographic area
D) all of the organisms of a species existing at a particular time

Question 18

Wetlands ________.

A) are important in improving water quality
B) include rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes
C) are bodies of swiftly flowing water
D) are found in the intertidal zone

Question 19

Which nutrients often limit the distribution and abundance of photosynthetic organisms?

A) water and oxygen
B) nitrogen and phosphorus
C) carbon dioxide and nitrogen
D) water and carbon dioxide

Question 20

What name is given to the region where sea meets land?

A) pelagic realm
B) intertidal zone
C) benthic realm
D) aphotic zone

Question 21

Which of these biomes are maintained by fire?

A) temperate broadleaf forests and chaparral
B) chaparral and savannas
C) deserts and chaparral
D) savanna and temperate grasslands

Question 22

The greenhouse effect causes an increase in global temperatures.This increase is due primarily to ________.

A) CO₂ and other greenhouse gases allowing more solar radiation to penetrate Earth's surface
B) CO₂ and other greenhouse gases slowing the escape of UV radiation from Earth
C) the loss of ozone that trapped cooling UV radiation in the atmosphere
D) CO₂ and other greenhouse gases slowing the escape of heat from Earth

Question 23

Most of the temperate grassland in North America has been converted to ________.

A) cities
B) farmland
C) national parks
D) small neighborhoods

Question 24

What is one important difference between savannas and temperate grasslands?

A) Savannas only rarely experience fires.
B) Temperate grasslands are mostly treeless.
C) Savannas are inhabited by grazing mammals.
D) Temperate grasslands have nutrient-poor soil.

Question 25

What name is given to the open ocean?

A) pelagic realm
B) intertidal zone
C) benthic realm
D) photic zone

Question 26

In the oceans,global warming has ________.

A) decreased the amount of oxygen available
B) benefited corals
C) made the water more basic
D) made the water more acidic

Question 27

Long,snowy winters as well as evergreen trees such as pine and fir are found in ________.

A) chaparral
B) temperate broadleaf forests
C) coniferous forests
D) temperate grasslands

Question 28

Permafrost,or permanently frozen subsoil,characterizes ________.

A) temperate broadleaf forest
B) chaparral
C) tundra
D) coniferous forest

Question 29

In what part of the ocean are phytoplankton found?

A) pelagic realm
B) intertidal zone
C) benthic realm
D) aphotic zone

Question 30

With regard to the environment as a whole,when is the worst time to apply pesticide to your lawn?

A) when it is raining, or is about to rain
B) when it is cold, or is about to get cold
C) at the same time you apply fertilizer
D) at night

Question 31

Temperate zones ________.

A) have the coolest climates on Earth
B) have milder climates than the tropics
C) are relatively dry
D) are concentrated in the polar regions

Question 32

Water moves from land to the atmosphere through ________.

A) precipitation only
B) transpiration only
C) transpiration and evaporation
D) evaporation and precipitation

Question 33

What name is given to the seafloor?

A) pelagic realm
B) intertidal zone
C) benthic realm
D) aphotic zone

Question 34

An effect of deforestation has been to ________.

A) decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
B) increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
C) increase the rate at which carbon dioxide is incorporated into organic material
D) decrease the rate of carbon dioxide production through cellular respiration

Question 35

Which of the following can moderate climate by absorbing heat when the air is warm and releasing heat when the air is cold?

A) clouds
B) glaciers
C) mountains
D) oceans

Question 36

Temperature increases due to global warming have been greatest ________.

A) close to the poles
B) in the sea
C) in the tropics
D) in deserts

Question 37

Water-storing plants and deeply rooted shrubs are plants that characterize ________.

A) tropical forests
B) chaparral
C) deserts
D) savanna

Question 38

What fraction of Earth's surface has been altered by human use?

A) 25%
B) 50%
C) 75%
D) 95%

Question 39

The Sahara Desert and the Negev Desert belong to the same ________.

A) community
B) savanna ecosystem
C) biome
D) temperate grassland

Question 40

________ are the dominant herbivores of savanna ecosystems.

A) Antelopes
B) Zebras
C) Buffalo
D) Insects

Question 41

Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
CO₂ is not the only greenhouse gas that impacts global climate change. Other greenhouse gases (GHGs) may be equally or more effective than CO₂ at trapping heat on Earth. Climate scientists determine how much a GHG may impact global warming based on two factors: the efficiency with which a GHG absorbs energy (i.e. traps heat on Earth) and the length of time (in years) that the gas remains in the atmosphere. A unit of measurement called the Global Warming Potential (GWP) is used to describe how much energy a GHG absorbs over a specific period of time (100 years is a standard time frame). All GWP values of GHGs are compared to the GWP of CO₂, which is given a value of 1.
has a GWP over 20 times higher than CO₂.However,CH₄ emitted today lasts for only about a decade in the atmosphere,while the GWP of CO₂ can last for thousands of years.What is a possible reason that CH₄ can have such a high GWP as compared to CO₂?

A) The 100-year time frame is too short of a time frame to compare CH₄ and CO₂.
B) CH₄ absorbs more energy than CO₂.
C) CH₄ is less efficient at trapping heat on Earth.
D) CH₄ is not a proven greenhouse gas.

Question 42

Examine the figure below.Which part of Earth receives the greatest intensity of solar radiation?

A) Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn
B) equator
C) North and South Poles
D) All parts of Earth receive the same intensity of solar radiation.

Question 43

Examine the figure below.Globally,the largest amount of water moves from ________.

A) the oceans to the atmosphere by evaporation
B) land to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration
C) the atmosphere to land by precipitation
D) land to the oceans by surface and groundwater runoff

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a result of global warming?

A) changes in the breeding seasons of some species
B) increased forest clearing for agricultural purposes
C) melting permafrost
D) shifts in the ranges of some species

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT a cause of increasing CO₂ levels?

A) burning of fossil fuels
B) home energy use
C) production of manufactured goods
D) creating compost piles from vegetable waste

Question 46

Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
CO₂ is not the only greenhouse gas that impacts global climate change. Other greenhouse gases (GHGs) may be equally or more effective than CO₂ at trapping heat on Earth. Climate scientists determine how much a GHG may impact global warming based on two factors: the efficiency with which a GHG absorbs energy (i.e. traps heat on Earth) and the length of time (in years) that the gas remains in the atmosphere. A unit of measurement called the Global Warming Potential (GWP) is used to describe how much energy a GHG absorbs over a specific period of time (100 years is a standard time frame). All GWP values of GHGs are compared to the GWP of CO₂, which is given a value of 1.
In this scenario,how would you best describe CO₂?

A) It is a baseline comparison for the GWP values of all other GHGs.
B) It is a GHG whose GWP value is dependent upon the GWP values of all other GHGs.
C) It is the GHG that is the most efficient at trapping heat on Earth.
D) It is the GHG that is the least efficient at trapping heat on Earth.

Question 47

Scientists have documented that spring seasons starting earlier due to climate change have resulted in some caterpillar species beginning their maturation stage earlier than normal.There are bird species that need the caterpillars to feed their chicks.However,since the caterpillars are maturing before the chicks hatch (and therefore cannot be used for chick food),the birds are experiencing a drop in their lifetime reproductive success.Interestingly,scientists have also documented that the individual birds that are best able to change when they lay their eggs to align with earlier spring seasons have the greatest lifetime reproductive success.These phenomena are examples of ________.

A) an evolutionary response to climate change
B) an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions due to climate change
C) a change in species distribution due to climate change
D) the effects of terrestrial biome distribution due to climate change

Question 48

Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
Salmon eggs hatch in freshwater streams and, during their first year of life, the young salmon migrate distances up to 1,000 km in order to reach the ocean. Here they spend up to 5 years where they feed and grow, acquiring more than 95% of their biomass. During the summer of their maturing year, they begin the long journey back to their home streams to spawn. Although it is still uncertain how salmon navigate back to their spawning grounds, current hypotheses suggest that they have a highly developed sense of smell that allows them to remember odors they encountered on their migration to the ocean. They then use these odors to help them navigate back to the streams where they were born. At the spawning grounds, females use their tails to form a hollow cavity in the stream gravel where they lay up to 8,000 eggs. The males fertilize the eggs, and both adults typically die soon thereafter.
At different times in their lives,salmon can be found in all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) a freshwater biome
B) a chaparral
C) the pelagic realm
D) an estuary

Question 49

Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
CO₂ is not the only greenhouse gas that impacts global climate change. Other greenhouse gases (GHGs) may be equally or more effective than CO₂ at trapping heat on Earth. Climate scientists determine how much a GHG may impact global warming based on two factors: the efficiency with which a GHG absorbs energy (i.e. traps heat on Earth) and the length of time (in years) that the gas remains in the atmosphere. A unit of measurement called the Global Warming Potential (GWP) is used to describe how much energy a GHG absorbs over a specific period of time (100 years is a standard time frame). All GWP values of GHGs are compared to the GWP of CO₂, which is given a value of 1.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)are greenhouse gases that,for a specific amount of mass,trap significantly more heat than CO₂.How can you classify CFCs?

A) gases with lower GWP values than CO₂
B) gas with equal GWP values to CO₂
C) gases with greater GWP values than CO₂
D) gases that do not have GWP values

Question 50

Malaria is an infectious disease transmitted to humans from a parasite that infects mosquitoes that feed on humans.World health officials have concerns that climate change may impact the transmission of malaria into tropical highland areas in Africa.If these concerns turn out to be valid,they would be evidence for which of the following?

A) Global climate change affects the distribution of species.
B) Global climate change will negatively impact the transmission of malaria only in Africa.
C) Global climate change affects freshwater and marine biomes.
D) Global climate change will enable scientists to more easily control the spread of malaria.

Question 51

Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
Salmon eggs hatch in freshwater streams and, during their first year of life, the young salmon migrate distances up to 1,000 km in order to reach the ocean. Here they spend up to 5 years where they feed and grow, acquiring more than 95% of their biomass. During the summer of their maturing year, they begin the long journey back to their home streams to spawn. Although it is still uncertain how salmon navigate back to their spawning grounds, current hypotheses suggest that they have a highly developed sense of smell that allows them to remember odors they encountered on their migration to the ocean. They then use these odors to help them navigate back to the streams where they were born. At the spawning grounds, females use their tails to form a hollow cavity in the stream gravel where they lay up to 8,000 eggs. The males fertilize the eggs, and both adults typically die soon thereafter.
The physiological response that allows salmon to survive in fresh water,then in salt water,and then fresh water again is an example of ________.

A) a behavioral response
B) evolution
C) acclimation
D) an anatomical response

Question 52

Which of the following actions would increase your carbon footprint?

A) reusing or recycling items
B) eating more vegetables and less meat
C) eating more beef and less chicken
D) walking instead of driving

Question 53

Examine the figure below.Phytoplankton live in the ________.

A) photic zone and aphotic zone
B) aphotic zone
C) benthic realm
D) photic zone