Name: _______________________________________

Period: _____

Date: ____________

Biology Ecology Quiz

Multiple Choice (1.75 points each) Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

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The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment is called a. economy. c. recycling. b. modeling. d. ecology. The combined portions of Earth in which all living things exist is called the a. biome. c. ecosystem. b. community. d. biosphere. All of the members of a particular species that live in one area are called a(an) a. biome. c. community. b. population. d. ecosystem. Which of the following is NOT a basic method used by ecologists to study the living world? a. experimenting c. modeling b. classifying d. observing Which ecological inquiry method is an ecologist using when he or she enters an area periodically to count the population numbers of a certain species? a. questioning c. experimenting b. observing d. modeling A mathematical formula designed to predict population fluctuations in a community could be called a(an) a. biological experiment. c. ecological model. b. biological system. d. ecological observation. Plants are a. producers. b. consumers. c. d. herbivores. omnivores.

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What is the original source of almost all the energy in most ecosystems? a. carbohydrates c. water b. sunlight d. carbon

Name: _______________________________________

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Date: ____________

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The algae at the beginning of the food chain in the figure above are a. consumers. c. producers. b. decomposers. d. heterotrophs. An organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply from inorganic compounds is called a(an) a. heterotroph. c. detritivore. b. consumer. d. autotroph. Which of the following organisms does NOT require sunlight to live? a. chemosynthetic bacteria c. trees b. algae d. photosynthetic bacteria All the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem make up a food a. interaction. c. network. b. chain. d. web. The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the a. organic mass. c. energy mass. b. trophic mass. d. biomass. What is an ecological model of the relationships that form a network of complex interactions among organisms in a community from producers to decomposers? a. food web c. food chain b. an ecosystem d. a population What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web? a. energy path c. trophic level b. food chain d. food pyramid A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe the bird? a. herbivore, decomposerc. carnivore, consumer b. producer, heterotroph d. autotroph, herbivore

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Name: _______________________________________

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The trophic levels in the figure at right illustrate a. the relative amount of energy at each level. b. the amount of living organic matter at each level. c. the relative number of individual organisms at each level. d. that the producers outnumber first-level consumers.

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Only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. Of the remaining energy, some is used for the organisms life processes, and the rest is a. used in reproduction. c. stored as fat. b. stored as body tissue. d. eliminated as heat. Which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem? a. a numbers pyramid c. a biomass pyramid b. an energy pyramid d. a food pyramid Matter can recycle through the biosphere because a. matter is passed out of the body as waste. b. matter is assembled into chemical compounds. c. biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it. d. biological systems use only carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. The repeated movement of water between Earths surface and the atmosphere is called a. the water cycle. c. precipitation. b. the condensation cycle. d. evaporation. What is the process by which bacteria convert nitrogen gas in the air to ammonia? a. nitrogen fixation c. decomposition b. excretion d. denitrification How is carbon stored in the biosphere? a. in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide b. underground as fossil fuels and calcium carbonate rock c. in the oceans as dissolved carbon dioxide d. all of the above Nitrogen fixation is carried out primarily by

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Name: _______________________________________

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a. humans. b. plants. ____ 25.

c. d.

bacteria. consumers. c. d. recycle chemical compounds. carry out nitrogen fixation.

Organisms need nutrients in order to a. utilize hydrogen and oxygen. b. carry out essential life functions.

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What can happen after a lake receives a large input of a limiting nutrient? a. An algal bloom occurs. b. Algae begin to die and decomposers take over. c. Nitrogen compounds are recycled. d. The concentration of oxygen drops below the necessary level. If a nutrient is in such short supply in an ecosystem that it affects an animals growth, the a. animal becomes a decomposer. c. nutrient leaves the food chain. b. substance is a limiting nutrient. d. ecosystem will not survive. The average year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region are referred to as the regions a. weather. c. ecosystem. b. latitude. d. climate. Climate is a global factor that produces a. Earths unique ocean and atmosphere. b. the shape and elevation of landmasses. c. a wide range of environmental conditions that shapes communities. d. solar energy within the atmosphere. Temperatures on Earth remain within a suitable range for life as we know it because of the a. unequal heating of Earths surface. b. loss of heat to space. c. radiation of sunlight back into the atmosphere. d. greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a. the result of an excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. b. a natural phenomenon that maintains Earths temperature range. c. the result of the differences in the angle of the suns rays. d. an unnatural phenomenon that causes heat energy to be radiated back into the atmosphere. Earth has three main climate zones because of the differences in latitude and, thus, a. amount of precipitation received. c. ocean currents. b. angle of heating. d. prevailing winds. Cool air over the poles will a. rise. c. absorb heat from the equator.

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Name: _______________________________________

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b. sink. ____ 34.

d.

flow parallel to Earths surface.

Why does Earth have three main climate zones? a. Warm air rises at the equator and cold air sinks over the poles causing an unequal distribution of heat over Earth. b. There are differences in latitude and, thus, the angle of heating from the sun. c. Continents and other landmasses physically interfere with global heat distribution. d. The Earth rotates and affects the major ocean currents. Each of the following is an abiotic factor in the environment EXCEPT a. plant life. c. rainfall. b. soil type. d. temperature. Which is a biotic factor that affects the size of a population in a specific ecosystem? a. average temperature of the ecosystem b. type of soil in the ecosystem c. number and kinds of predators in the ecosystem d. concentration of oxygen in the ecosystem An organisms niche is a. the range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which it uses those conditions. b. all the physical and biological factors in the organisms environment. c. the range of temperatures that the organism needs to survive. d. a full description of the place an organism lives. Several species of warblers can live in the same spruce tree ONLY because they a. have different habitats within the tree. b. eat different foods within the tree. c. occupy different niches within the tree. d. can find different temperatures within the tree. A wolf pack hunts, kills, and feeds on a moose. In this interaction, the wolves are a. hosts. c. mutualists. b. prey. d. predators. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit is a. commensalism. c. predation. b. mutualism. d. parasitism.

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Name: _______________________________________

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The symbiotic relationship between a flower and the insect that feeds on its nectar is an example of a. mutualism because the flower provides the insect with food and the insect pollinates the flower. b. parasitism because the insect lives off the nectar from the flower. c. commensalism because the insect does not harm the flower and the flower does not benefit from the relationship. d. predation because the insect feeds on the flower. The series of predictable changes that occurs in a community over time is called a. population growth. c. climax community. b. ecological succession. d. climate change. What is one difference between primary and secondary succession? a. Primary succession is slow and secondary succession is rapid. b. Secondary succession begins on soil and primary succession begins on newly exposed surfaces. c. Primary succession modifies the environment and secondary succession does not. d. Secondary succession begins with lichens and primary succession begins with trees. Which biome is characterized by very low temperatures, little precipitation, and permafrost? a. desert c. tundra b. temperate forest d. tropical dry forest A biome is identified by its particular set of abiotic factors and its a. average precipitation and temperature. b. characteristic ecological community. c. distance from the equator. d. specific geographical location. Ponds and lakes are a. flowing-water ecosystems. b. wetlands. c. d. standing-water ecosystems. estuaries.

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The photic zone a. extends to the bottom of the open ocean. b. extends to a depth of about 200 meters. c. is deep, cold, and permanently dark. d. is where chemosynthetic bacteria are the producers.

Name: _______________________________________

Period: _____

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Which of the following statements is NOT true about the open ocean? a. The open ocean has very low levels of nutrients. b. Organisms in the deep ocean are exposed to frigid temperatures and total darkness. c. The open ocean begins at the low-tide mark and extends to the end of the continental shelf. d. Most of the photosynthetic activity on Earth occurs in the open ocean within the photic zone. Which of the following tells you population density? a. the number of births per year b. the number of frogs in a pond c. the number of deaths per year d. the number of bacteria per square millimeter The movement of organisms into a given area from another area is called a. immigration. c. population shift. b. emigration. d. carrying capacity. When organisms move out of the population, this is known as a. emigration. c. immigration. b. abandonment. d. succession. What must occur in a population for it to grow? a. The birthrate becomes higher than the death rate. b. The birthrate stays the same and the death rate increases. c. The birthrate becomes lower than the death rate. d. The birthrate and the death rate remain the same. What is happening in a population as it decreases? a. The birthrate and the death rate remain the same. b. The death rate becomes lower than the birthrate. c. The death rate stays the same and the birthrate increases. d. The death rate becomes higher than the birthrate. As resources in a population become less available, the population a. declines rapidly. c. reaches carrying capacity. b. increases slowly. d. enters a phase of exponential growth. In a logistic growth curve, exponential growth is the phase in which the population a. reaches carrying capacity. c. growth begins to slow down. b. grows quickly. d. growth stops. If a population grows larger than the carrying capacity of the environment, the a. death rate may rise. c. death rate must fall. b. birthrate may rise. d. birthrate must fall.

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Name: _______________________________________

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Water lilies do not grow in desert sand because water availability to these plants in a desert is a. a limiting factor. c. a competition factor. b. the carrying capacity. d. none of the above