Ecosystem Review

Which feeding relationship best describes the connection between a lake and a forest ecosystem?

Aquatic insects could emerge to be eaten by birds.

Which best describes how energy from the sun relates to the energy a cow gets from eating grass in a field?

The grass uses energy from the sun to make food; the cow eats the grass and breaks it down to release energy for the cow to use.

Some caterpillars need big wide leaves to wrap up in when undergoing metamorphosis. Which is the limiting factor when there is a shortage of this kind of leaf?

shelter

As populations grow, they tend to spread out into new territory. Which limiting factor is most likely to become an issue?

space

Which best describes mutualism?

Ants attack animals that try to feed on the acacia tree, and the ants feed on the nectar of the tree.

Populations of wolves and rabbits in an ecosystem are represented by the graph below. Which best explains the relationship between wolves and rabbits in the ecosystem?

As the number of rabbits increases, the number of wolves increases.

Food webs are used to identify the feeding relationships between organisms. Which statement can be logically concluded about the food web shown?

Organism 8 is definitely a carnivore.

The diagram below shows an aquatic ocean ecosystem where seals feed on fish and fish feed on phytoplankton. Which best describes how oxygen and carbon dioxide are cycled in this aquatic ocean ecosystem?

Phytoplankton use carbon dioxide and produce oxygen during photosynthesis; phytoplankton, fish, and seals use oxygen and produce carbon dioxide during respiration.

Which best explains the role of plants in the carbon cycle?

Plants take in carbon dioxide released by other organisms.

Wildcats, such as the lynx, are predators of rabbits. Which will most likely occur if a new, aggressive species of wolf is introduced into the ecosystem that is a predator of the lynx?

The population of the rabbits in the ecosystem will increase.

If krill is a primary food source for a local population of whales, which will most likely happen to the whales if the krill population suddenly doubles?

The whales will increase in number.

Which would be the impact on producers and consumers if the decomposers in an ecosystem suddenly disappeared?

There will be less nutrients available

In a forest ecosystem, a food chain might look like this: 2735324 If the green plants are destroyed in a forest fire, which short-term effect will this have on the organisms in this food chain?

There would be fewer rabbits for the coyotes to eat.

Which best describes the role humans play in the oxygen cycle?

They breathe in oxygen and convert it to carbon dioxide, which they breathe out into the atmosphere.

Which best describes the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the flow of energy?

They convert atmospheric nitrogen into molecules that other organisms can use.

Which can provide the most energy in an ecosystem?

a grassy meadow

Which animal relationship is parasitic?

a tick feeding on a dog

Planting legumes in order to add nitrogen to soil most likely causes

an enrichment in the fertility of the soil.

Which provides most of the carbon dioxide that algae need to make food?

animals

A bracket fungus grows on a dead tree and breaks it down into chemical nutrients. What term best classifies the role of a bracket fungus in this ecosystem?

decomposer

A food web showing some of the connections between organisms is shown. If a disease decreased the population of cottontail rabbits for a short period of time, which animal populations would experience an increase in competition with each other for food?

hawks and coyotes

Clownfish take shelter in the tentacles of sea anemones and keep sea anemones clean. Which type of relationship does this represent?

mutualism

Which molecule is necessary in order for respiration to occur in plants and animals?

oxygen

A wolf and a rabbit are an example of which ecological relationship?

predator/prey

Which best represents the niche of phytoplankton and algae in a marine ecosystem?

producers

In an energy pyramid, the total energy available for consumption from one trophic level to the next one above it is

reduced.

What is the primary source of energy for producers?

the Sun

Which type of organism would most likely benefit directly from increased levels of CO2?

tree

Which best describes an abiotic limiting factor in a population?

water