Unit 1 APES Test

Based on the second law of thermodynamics, how much biomass of phytoplankton would be needed to produce 11 kilogram (kgkg) of large fish in this food web?

1000 kg

A temperate grassland biome has a gross primary productivity of 3,480kilocalories/meter2/year and a net primary productivity of 2,000kilocalories/meter2/year. Which of the following is the approximate number of kilocalories/meter2/year available to herbivores in that biome?

200

Describe a biological process by which carbon is converted from organic molecules to a gas and returned to the atmosphere.

A biological process by which carbon is converted from organic molecules to a gas and returned to the atmosphere is cellular respiration. When ANY organism breaks down it's glucose for energy (ATP), CO2 is returned into the atmosphere.

Describe a biological process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere and converted to organic molecules.

A biological process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere and converted into organic molecules is Photosynthesis. Photosynthesis takes the inorganic CO2 out of the atmosphere and turns it into organic carbon molecules like glucose.

Explain how atmospheric carbon is incorporated into two oceanic sinks.

Atmospheric carbon is incorporated into two oceanic sinks by having organisms like algae or green plants take up the CO2 and use it for photosynthesis. The atmospheric carbon is also incorporated into two oceanic sinks when CO2 is dissolved into AND out of ocean water.

Which of the following types of organisms are required to complete the nitrogen cycle, including the process of denitrification?

Bacteria

Which of the boxes represents a carbon source?

Burning Fossil Fuels

This rate of reaction can be measured in the dark by determining the amount of oxygen gas consumed in a period of time.

Cellular Respiration

This biome is found in shallow waters off the coastline and is Earth's most biologically diverse marine biome.

Coral Reefs

NPP=GPP - R(respiration)

Equation

This biome contains a nutrient-rich environment created by falling leaves and trapped organic materials from the large trees, and it provides the ecosystem service of filtering pollutants from water.

Freshwater Wetlands

The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.

GPP

Which of the following smaller reservoirs of freshwater are missing from the diagram?

Ice Caps

Energy is transferred along food chains from one stage to the next. Which statement best explains how the energy is transferred?

If a primary producer stores 10,000kcal of energy, then a tertiary consumer will have 10kcal of energy available.

Farmers in a suburban coastal town started using no-till agriculture, a practice that reduces soil erosion from their farmland. Use the image above to determine which of the following long-term effects no-till agriculture will have on the ecosystem surrounding the farmland.

Less algal growth in nearby oceans

In reef ecosystems, corals often have microalgae living inside them. The algae supply the corals with nutrients, and the coral give shelter to the algae. Which of the following interactions best describes the relationship between the corals and the algae?

Mutualism

The energy available to consumers determined by subtracting the energy used by plants from the total energy transformed by the process of photosynthesis.

NPP

Which of the following processes is illustrated by the downward arrows from the atmosphere that show the conversion of nitrogen gas into usable forms available to producers?

Nitrogen Fixation

The diagram above best illustrates major processes in which of the following biogeochemical cycles?

Phosphorus Cycle

Which of the following trophic levels represents a primary producer in an aquatic food chain?

Phtoplankton

Which of the following best describes the flow of energy in most terrestrial and near-surface marine ecosystems?

Producers use energy from the sun to make organic matter, such as sugars, from carbon dioxide and water and are then consumed by organisms higher in the food chain.

This freshwater biome is characterized by fast-flowing water that can originate from underground springs or runoff, which carries sediment and organic material.

Rivers

The majority of the nitrogen on Earth can be found in which of the following reservoirs?

The atmosphere

Which of the following biogeochemical cycles includes the processes of buffering ocean

The carbon cycle

Which of the following best describes what is represented by the arrows in the food web?

The flow of energy

Which of the following describes the most likely change to terrestrial biomes resulting from warmer average global temperatures?

The global distribution of midlatitude biomes, such as grasslands and temperate rain forests, would increase.

Which trophic level has the least available energy in kilojoules in this food web?

The killer whale

Which of the following statements is best supported by the diagram of the phosphorus cycle?

The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually return to the soil.

Six white-tailed deer and six sika deer were enclosed in a pasture for observation during an eight-year study in central Texas. White-tailed deer are a native species to central Texas, while sika deer are a nonnative species to central Texas. White-tailed deer feed on flowering plants and the tips of trees and shrubs but do not eat grass. Sika deer feed on flowering plants, the tips of trees and shrubs, and grass. All other grazing animals were kept out of the pasture during the study. The number of sika deer more than doubled after the eight years, while the population of white-tailed deer decreased by 50 percent.

The sika deer out competed the white-tailed deer in consuming flowering plants and shrubs.

Which of the following best identifies a key component of the hydrologic cycle that powers the movement of water and is missing from the diagram?

The sun

Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest net primary productivity?

Tropical Rainforest

Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest primary productivity per unit area?

Tropical Rainforest

Which of the following best describes an example of resource partitioning in an ecosystem?

Two different bird species feed from the same oak tree; one eats acorns, and the other eats insects in the bark.

Which box represents a carbon sink that holds carbon compounds for the shortest period of time?

Vegetation

Which of the following best describes a terrestrial ecosystem that will have the highest net primary productivity?

Warm temperatures, high rainfall, and consistent sunlight

Based on the diagram, which of the following statements about the hydrologic cycle is true?

Water from the ocean evaporates and condenses in the atmosphere.

Based on the food web shown above, which of the following correctly describes the flow of energy through the trophic levels from producers to quaternary consumers?

Brittlebrush, grasshopper, grasshopper mouse, rattlesnake, red-tailed hawk

Discuss TWO roles that coastal wetlands play that are ecologically important, and TWO roles that wetlands play that are economically important.

Ecologically Important Water Purification is one role wetlands play that is ecologically important because all of the plant life soaks up water that might have pollution in it (specifically nitrates and phosphates). Another important role wetlands play ecologically is the atmospheric equilibrium. There is a high productivity rate in plants which means that there is a lot of photosynthesis that will absorb CO2 and release oxygen. Economically Important Ecotourism is a role wetlands play that is economically important. There is a major source of ecotourism through biking, fishing, kayaking and boating that makes money to support the economy. Crops from the wetlands also have economic importance. Crops like rice or cranberries can be harvested and sold for profit, thus benefiting the economy.

Identify and explain THREE ways in which humans have had a negative impact on or have degraded coastal wetlands.

Humans have had a negative impact or degraded coastal wetlands by draining wetlands for agriculture. When this happens, we lose natural habitats, plants, and many organisms which then significantly decreases the biodiversity that was once there. Humans have also have a negative impact on wetlands by over-exploiting wetland resources. If an organism is over-harvested, it will most likely have an effect on the food web like a trophic cascade. Humans have also had a negative impact on wetlands by over polluting. A wetland that is over polluted will kill off organisms needed to keep the wetland healthy.

Describe one major way in which the phosphorus cycle differs from the carbon cycle.

One major way in which the phosphorus cycle differs from the carbon cycle is the atmospheric component. The phosphorus cycle has NO atmospheric component while the short term carbon cycle relies on it. The carbon cycle uses the atmosphere to complete processes like photosynthesis (takes inorganic CO2 out of the atmosphere and makes it organic) and cellular respiration (when an organism breaks down the organic carbon and returns it into the atmosphere). The phosphorus cycle on the other hand doesn't rely on the atmosphere but on phosphate rocks and runoff. Phosphate rocks can have water run over them causing phosphate ions to erode and SHOULD be absorbed by producers to then transfer these phosphate compounds to food webs and that will eventually lead to the transfer to bottom feeders and decomposers. Runoff will occur IF phosphate isn't absorbed by producers so it 'runs off' into aquatic ecosystems. Over time the geological process will help to expose the sea floor to erosion which then can restart this cycle.