CHAPTER 55

Four of the five statements listed below apply to the types of ecological pyramids. Which one is TRUE?

A pyramid of energy shows that energy decreases as one goes toward the apex of the pyramid

Approximately what proportion of the radiant energy enetering an ecosystem is used in photosynthesis?

1%

On average, clouds and surfaces, especially snow, ice, and the ocean, immediately reflect away ___% of the solar radiation that falls on Earth.

30

Arrang ethe following from the ecosystem with the smallest average NPP to the ecosystems with the largest NPP. (1) Lake (2) Savannah (3) Estuary (4) Tropical rain forest (5) Open Ocean

5, 1, 2, 3, 4

What ecosystem has the highest rate of primary productivity?

Algal beds and reefs

Which processes serves as a source of carbon to the atmosphere?

Combustion

During the cycling of phosphorus, which biological process is critical in cycling dissolved phosphorus?

Decomposition

Which of the following terms describes the clearance of large expanses of forest for agriculture, impacting the total amount of wter and minerals that flow into steams?

Deforestation

Which of the following processes restores nitrogen to the air?

Denitrification

The primary reason that Earth experiences season is because of the:

Earth's tilt on its axis

What key factor limits the number of trophic levels in an ecosystem?

Energy loss

Which process plays the most important role in the phosphorous cycle?

Erosion

In an ecosystem, which measure of energy is the largest in amount or rate?

Gross primary productivity

The event inhuman history that changed the natural balance of the carbon cycle was the:

Industrial Revolution

Which is the greatest sink of phosphorus?

Marine sediments

Which process is not involved in the hydrologic cycle?

Nitrification

Which is the most predominant gas in our atmosphere?

Nitrogen

Since 1750, which of the following has/have absorbed the most carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Oceans

Which is the largest ocean on Earth, containing more than half of Earth's water?

Pacific

The effect of DDT on birds is a result oh which three characterisics of DDT?

Persistence, bioaccumulation, and biological magnification

Which nutrient cycle does not have a gaseous phase?

Phosphorus cycle

Which process does not return carbon to the atmosphere?

Photosyntheisis

Which pair best represents photosynthetic organisms?

Primary producer and autotroph

Which of the following describes the arid or semiarid land that occurs on the leeward side of a mountain?

Rain shadow

What is the third trophic level of a food chain?

Secondary consumers

What two abiotic factors are considered to most affect organisms?

Temperature and water

Which trophic level would contain the lowest quantity of energy (kcal per m^2)?

Tertiary consumers

Fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are derived from which biogeochemical cycle?

The carbon cycle

Which statement about decomposers is FALSE?

They include bacteria but not fungi.

How are bacteria important to the genus Rhizobium?

They provide fixed nitrogen to legumes

Which of the following directly drives ocean surface circulation patterns?

Winds

In the accompanying figure, the gull has the highest concentration of DDT because it is:

at the top of the food chain

The accompanying figure is a good illustration of:

biological magnification

Dissolved phosphorous in aquatic ecosystems may return to the land via:

birds eating fish and mollusks

To date, humans have interfered with all of the biogeochamical cycles on Earth, but this interference has been of the greatest magnitude, in terms of human-induced changes in climate, in the:

carbon cycle

A primary source of carbon for photosynthetic organisms is:

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and water

The major components of Earth's atmosphere, from the lowest concentration to the greatest concentration, are:

carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen

The ultimate source of energy for the communities of the hydrothermal vents is provided by:

chemoautotrophic prokaryotes

A linear depiction of energy flow in an ecosystem is a(n):

food chain

Organisms that eat plants exclusively are known as:

herbivores

Drier climates tend to prevail:

in a rain shadow

GPP, or Gross Primary Productivity:

is the total energy captured from the sun through photosynthesis

What is the most important thing to remember about energy flow in ecoystems?

it is linear

What is the end result of gross primary productivity minus plant respiration?

net primary productivity

Bacteria are most essential in the cycling of:

nitrogen

Which step of the nitrogen cycle fixes nitrogen into a form that organisms can use?

nitrogen fixation

The 'sun's energy is produced by:

nuclear fusion reactions

Nitrogen is critical requirement for living organisms because it is a component of:

nucleic acids and proteins

A food web is a more realistic depiction than a foood chain because:

organisms rarely eat just one kind food

Which biogeochemical cycle has no gaseous component?

phosphorous cycle

Fixation of carbon is accomplished by:

photosynthetic organisms

Solar radiation:

powers the hydrologic and other biogeochemical cycles

Which consumer obtains its energy by the sun?

producers

The atmosphere performs several essential ecological functions. One of these is to:

protect Earth from most ultraviolet radiation

The accopanying figure represents a:

pyramid of biomass

In large measure, differences in ____ that are due to variatons in the amount of ____ at different locations on Earth drive the circulation of the atmosphere.

rainfall; solar energy

Which of the following porperty of the Earth influences the direction that wind blows?

rotation

Transpiration is most closely associated with:

terrestial plants

Net primary productivity represents

the amount of biomass in excess of that needed to support plant cell respiration

The clockwise gyre of surface ocean currents in the North Atlantic results in:

warmer water on Atlantic beaches of North America than Pacific beaches of the same latitude