Biomes & Aquatic Zones
The benthic zone of aquatic environments is defined as the:
A. Region that receives abundant sunlight
B. Region where phytoplankton is found
C. Region that receives no light
D. Substrate at the bottom of a body of water
E. Region that is flooded at high tide and not covered by water at low tide
D. Substrate at the bottom of a body of water
Which statement most accurately defines a population?
A. Individuals that inhabit the same general area
B. Individuals that exhibit approximately constant and uniform density and dispersion
C. Individuals that inhabit the same general area and belong to the same species
D. Individuals that inhabit the same general area, belong to the same species, and exhibit approximately constant and uniform density and dispersion
C. Individuals that inhabit the same general area and belong to the same species.
Big-bang reproduction like that involving the agave plant is an example of?
A. Semelparity
B. Iteroparity
C. Exponential growth
D. Logistic growth
E. K-selection
A. Semelparity
What is the fundamental difference between matter and energy in an ecosystem?
A. Matter is cycled through ecosystems; energy is not
B. Energy is cycled through ecosystems; matter is not
C. Matter is used in ecosystems; energy is not
D. Matter cannot be created or destroyed; energy can
A. Matter is cycled through ecosystems; energy is not.
What is the key process or processes driving the carbon cycle?
A. Evaporation
B. Photosynthesis
C. The weathering of rocks
D. Fixation by prokaryotes
B. Photosynthesis
Where would you expect to find the littoral zone of a lake?
A. The shallow water region along the shore
B. The open water region farther from shore with enough sunlight for photosynthesis
C. The deepest region, where light typically does not penetrate effectively
D. The bottom region where organisms tend to attach themselves to one spot
E. Near the thermocline
A. The shallow water region along the shore
An ecologist recorded 12 white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, per square mile in one woodlot and 20 per square mile in another woodlot. What was the ecologist comparing?
A. Density
B. Dispersion
C. Carrying capacity
D. Range
A. Density
What does not contribute to a species’ life history?
A. When reproduction begins
B. How often the organism reproduces
C. How many offspring are produced during each reproductive episode
D. How likely each offspring is to die by predation
D. How likely each offspring is to die by predation
Which of the following organisms is most likely to be located at the apex or top of the pyramid of biomass?
A. Grass
B. Grasshopper
C. Snake
D. Mouse
E. Hawk
E. Hawk
Plants cannot incorporate nitrogen into organic compounds and therefore depend on ______ to make nitrogen available to them.
A. Animals
B. Bacteria
C. Protists
D. Fungi
E. Viruses
B. Bacteria
In an aquatic biome, does significant sunlight reach the benthic zone?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Depends on the specific ecosystem
C. Depends on the specific ecosystem
Which of the following are important biotic factors that can affect the structure and organization of biological communities?
A. Light intensity and seasonality
B. Availability of minerals and soil pH
C. Predation and competition
D. Precipitation and wind
E. Temperature and water availability
C. Predation and competition
Which statement best describes the current growth of the global human population?
A. The human population is growing exponentially
B. The human population is no longer growing exponentially but is still increasing rapidly
C. The human population is decreasing
D. The human population is steady with no significant increase or decrease
B. The human population is no longer growing exponentially but is still increasing rapidly.
Which of the following is true about secondary consumers in an ecosystem?
A. They are eaten by primary consumers
B. They are fewer in number than are primary consumers
C. They contain the greatest total biomass in the system
D. They only eat plants
E. They are smaller and weaker than are primary consumers
B. They are fewer in number than are primary consumers.
What is the key process driving the phosphorus cycle?
A. Evaporation
B. Photosynthesis
C. The weathering of rocks
D. Fixation by prokaryotes
C. The weathering of rocks
Which of the following biomes requires high temperatures to exist?
A. Desert
B. Coniferous forest
C. Temperate broadleaf forest
D. Tropical forest
E. Both deserts and tropical forests
D. Tropical forest
Uniform spacing patterns in plants such as the creosote bush are most often associated with:
A. Chance
B. Patterns of high humidity
C. The random distribution of seeds
D. Competitive interactions among individuals in the population
E. The concentration of nutrients within the population's range
D. Competitive interactions among individuals in the population
Which curve on a graph comparing number of survivors and the relative age best reflects survivorship in marine mollusks?
A. Over-arching curve, with more deaths at the end of the lifespan
B. Straight linear line, with a consistent number of deaths throughout the lifespan
C. Under-arching curve, with more deaths at the beginning of the lifespan
C. Under-arching curve, with more deaths at the beginning of their expected lifespan
Because only about 10% of energy of one trophic level is converted into organisms at the next trophic level, _____________________________.
A. Food chains are rarely longer than 4 or 5 links
B. There are relatively few top predators in an ecosystem
C. There will nearly always be more herbivores than carnivores
D. All of the above are true
D. All of the above are true.
In the nitrogen cycle, the transformation of gaseous nitrogen into nitrogen-containing compounds is performed primarily by:
A. Fungi
B. Prokaryotes
C. Green plants
D. Herbivores
E. Carnivores
B. Prokaryotes
Which of the following biomes can only exist with very little precipitation?
A. Tropical forest
B. Coniferous forest
C. Temperate grassland
D. Arctic and alpine tundra
E. Desert
E. Desert
The graph shows changes in a wild sheep population that were introduced to the island of Tasmania in the early 1800s. The graph indicates that the sheep population most likely is: (Graph shows the number of sheep increasing exponentially till in 1850, where numbers stop increasing and stagger up and down, leveling roughly at around 1,700 in population.)
A. Growing in excess of its carrying capacity, since fluctuations in population size occurred after 1850
B. Headed for extinction because of the population explosion around 1930
C. Regulated by density-independent factors, because there appear to be about a 10-year cycle of sharp declines in size
D. Shifting from K-selected strategy to an r-selected strategy
E. Stable after 1850 under the effects of density-dependent regulating factors
E. Stable after 1850 under the effects of density-dependent regulating factors
What animal has the highest production efficiency?
A. Mammals
B. Mammals and birds
C. Fish
D. Insects
E. Humans
D. Insects
Due to biological amplification (also called biological magnification), you would expect toxins to be most concentrated in the tissues of:
A. Herbivores
B. Producers
C. Carnivores that eat herbivores
D. Carnivores that eat carnivores
E. Toxins would be equally concentrated in all of these groups
D. Carnivores that eat carnivores
What is the major concern with CFCs in the atmosphere?
A. CFCs break down O₂ molecules
B. CFCs are toxic to breathe, even in very low concentrations
C. CFCs make too many O₂ molecules
D. CFCs break down O₃ molecules
E. CFCs cause cancer when they make contact with human skin
D. CFCs break down O₃ molecules