Ecology

Categories/Characteristics of Life

100

Which organism in the aquatic food chain gets energy directly from the Sun? Baleen Whale-->Krill -->Phytoplankton A. krill B. baleen whale C. phytoplankton D. both krill and the baleen whale

What is C. phytoplankton

200

One kind of bacteria lives, secretes enzymes into, and consumes dead organic matter in areas without oxygen. These bacteria can be classified as A. parasites. B. autotrophs. C. eukaryotes. D. decomposers.

What is D. decomposers.

300

A student is concerned with the survival of the plant in his aquarium. Which level of ecology is his focus? A. an organism B. a population C. a community D. an ecosystem

What is A. an organism

400

Which best describes the interaction between autotrophs and heterotrophs? A. One competes with the other for access to sunlight and soil. B. One decomposes the other to release nutrients back into the soil. C. One helps produce the other in a mutually beneficial relationship. D. One consumes the other to use energy that originally came from the Sun.

What is D. One consumes the other to use energy that originally came from the Sun.

500

Scientists who research ways to make more effective fertilizer are applying knowledge from what pure-science concept? A. nitrogen cycle B. trait inheritance C. natural selection D. ecological competition

What is A. nitrogen cycle

Characteristics of Environments

100

Of what is the nutrient cycle described an example? Includes photosynthesis, cellular respiration, decay and burning of fossil fuels. A. the water cycle B. the carbon cycle C. the nitrogen cycle D. the phosphate cycle

What is B. the carbon cycle

200

How is primary succession different from secondary succession? A. Primary succession starts with bare rock, and secondary succession starts with soil. B. Primary succession starts with soil, and secondary succession starts with bare rock. C. Primary succession ends with grasslands, and secondary succession ends with a forest. D. Primary succession ends with a forest, and secondary succession ends with grasslands.

What is A. Primary succession starts with bare rock, and secondary succession starts with soil.

300

Which presents the correct order of biomes from least biodiversity to most biodiversity? A. tundra, taiga, temperate grassland, rainforest B. taiga, tundra, temperate grassland, rainforest C. tundra, taiga, rainforest, temperate grassland D. taiga, tundra, rainforest, temperate grassland

What is A. tundra, taiga, temperate grassland, rainforest

400

A land developer wants to control a population of hawks. He decides to solve the problem by clearing out the land’s fields. How will this action most likely control the population? A. The population of hawks will increase due to decreased competition. B. The hawks will experience more crowding and the population will decline. C. There will be fewer predators of the hawks, so their population will increase. D. The food supply of the hawks will decrease, causing the population of hawks to decrease.

What is D. The food supply of the hawks will decrease, causing the population of hawks to decrease.

500

The information below shows the number of plants and animals necessary to support the life of one high-level consumer in a temperate grassland biome. 1 high level consumer 90,000 secondary consumers 200,000 primary consumers 1.5 million producers The Information represents the flow of energy through A. different trophic levels in most ecosystems. B. soil, plants, and animals during the nitrogen cycle. C. different organisms within a single level of most food webs. D. the atmosphere, land, and bodies of water during the water cycle.

What is A. different trophic levels in most ecosystems.

Populations and Communities

100

An example of a biotic factor in a pond ecosystem is A. the Sun. B. the soil. C. the water. D. the plants.

What is D. the plants.

200

The relationship between a tick and the dog it is biting is called A. predation. B. parasitism. C. mutualism. D. commensalism.

What is B. parasitism.

300

A scientist is examining what happens to rodents and grasses when more hawks are allowed to hunt rodents in a field. What level of ecology is he observing? A. an organism B. a population C. a community D. an ecosystem

What is C. a community

400

A certain light-producing microbe finds shelter and food in the skin of a fish. This relationship would be considered mutualism if the light from the microbe A. helps the fish find suitable mates. B. causes harmful mutations in the fish. C. makes the fish more easily preyed upon. D. makes no difference in the life of the fish.

What is A. helps the fish find suitable mates.

500

The Chinquapin, a tree native to northwest Arkansas, was plentiful until it was devastated by a fungal disease carried by the Asian chestnut tree. To restore the Chinquapin to its former numbers and maintain biodiversity, scientists should try to A. remove all Asian chestnut trees from Arkansas. B. plant many Chinquapin trees near Asian chestnut trees. C. develop a vaccine for the fungal disease which harms the Chinquapin. D. breed the surviving Chinquapin trees that demonstrated resistance to the disease.

What is D. breed the surviving Chinquapin trees that demonstrated resistance to the disease.

Climate Change

100

One issue caused by ozone depletion is increased A. acid rain. B. skin cancer cases. C. fossil fuel emissions. D. number of infectious diseases.

What is B. skin cancer cases.

200

Crucial to the idea of global warming is that global temperatures are raised when heat is A. emitted from active volcanoes. B. produced by fossil-fuel emissions. C. generated within Earth’s mantle and core. D. trapped by atmospheric greenhouse gases.

What is D. trapped by atmospheric greenhouse gases.

300

Skeptics of the idea that humans play a prominent role in global warming point to the fact that global temperatures were higher a thousand years ago than now. This could be relevant to the current global warming debate because a thousand years ago there were fewer A. oceans. B. polar icecaps. C. greenhouse gas emissions. D. animal and plant species living in existence.

What is C. greenhouse gas emissions.

400

Increased reliance on which energy source would likely have the most negative effects on global climate change? A. coal B. wind C. nuclear D. hydroelectric

What is A. coal

500

How would the development of hybrid cars minimize the effects of human population growth on the environment? A. by increasing noise pollution B. by increasing smog production C. by decreasing dependence on fossil fuels D. by decreasing the number of people traveling on highways

What is C. by decreasing dependence on fossil fuels

Ecological Issues

100

Humans could make the environment much more sustainable if technology could derive most of the world’s energy supply from A. coal. B. wood. C. the Sun. D. fossil fuels.

What is C. the Sun.

200

Geothermal energy can be converted from hot water or steam from deep within Earth’s surface and transformed into electricity. One disadvantage of geothermal energy is that A. it is a nonrenewable resource. B. habitats can be destroyed when drilling. C. it releases hazardous waste into the atmosphere. D. emitted toxins can gather in animals’ bodies over time.

What is B. habitats can be destroyed when drilling.

300

What always occurs when converting wildlife habitats into farmland? A. spread of bacterial disease B. reduction of ecosystem biodiversity C. increase in the populations of predators D. growth of insect resistance to pesticides

What is B. reduction of ecosystem biodiversity

400

One way that pesticides have had a negative effect on ecosystems is by A. building up toxins in animals that consume plants sprayed with pesticides. B. making plants that have been sprayed with pesticides unable to fix nitrogen in soil. C. preventing runoff from fields sprayed with pesticides from entering lakes and streams. D. allowing plants that have been sprayed with pesticides to build up resistance to the pesticides.

What is A. building up toxins in animals that consume plants sprayed with pesticides.

500

A civic leader wishes to limit the amount of pollution that is carried along runoff into rivers and streams. One plan that can help accomplish this is to limit the A. use of fertilizers on farms. B. use of nitrogen-fixing crops on farms. C. amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere. D. amount of CFCs entering the atmosphere.

What is A. use of fertilizers on farms.