Unit 2: Ecosystems MCQs and FRQs

Is the producers in an ecosystem convert 15,000 cal of energy stored in organic compounds, which of the following would most likely be the amount of energy available to the territory consumers?

15; according to the 10% rule, a plant, which in this case has 15,000 cal, will be eaten by a primary consumer, giving the primary consumer 15,000 cal. When a secondary consumer eats the primary consumer, it only gets 10% of that energy, or in this case 150 cal. Finally when a territory consumer eats the secondary consumer, it gets 10% or 15 cal.

Identify one characteristic of a biome and explain how that characteristic determines the community of organisms found in the biome.

A biome is an area classified according to the species that live in that location. Temperature range, soil type, and the amount of light and water are unique to a particular place and form the niches for specific species allowing scientists to define the biome.

Which of the following is true of gross primary productivity? A- Gross primary productivity is the total rate of photosynthesis in an area, or the full amount of food produced by the producers. B- Gross primary productivity is the difference between net productivity and the energy lost by producers for respiration C- Gross primary productivity is the energy captured by producers added to energy used by primary and secondary consumers overtime. D - gross primary productivity is the total amount of energy lost by both producers and consumers through respiration overtime.

A, Gross primary productivity is the total rate of photosynthesis in an area, or the full amount of food produced by the producers.

Which environment is characterized by the highest diversity of tree species?

B

Identify an organism found in an aquatic biome and explain how that organism is uniquely adapted to live in that biome.

Carbs can be found in the aquatic biome. Crabs have unique anatomical features that help them minimize how much water evaporates from their gills. They also store water in their bladder, blood, and specialized pockets throughout their bodies. Behavioral adaptations also aid crabs with their terrestrial/aquatic transitions.

Identify two organisms that compete for a shared food resource. Describe how resource partitioning could reduce the competition between the two organisms you identified.

Cheetahs and lions both feed on the same prey. Resource partitioning is the division of limited resources by species to help avoid competition in an ecological niche. In any environment, organisms compete for limited resources, so organisms and different species have to find ways to coexist with one another.

The burdock plant produces spiny seeds that cling to the Fur of animals or clothing of humans. The plants rely on this method of seed dispersal for reproduction while the animals are unaffected. Which of the following is this an example of?

Commensalism; it is a relationship between species where one organism benefits and the other is neither benefits nor is harmed. In this case the burdock plant has its seeds dispersed for reproduction but the animal is not affected.

Which letter correctly identifies the process of the water cycle that would most be impacted by a city with asphalt parking lots and buildings? A- Evaporation B- Condensation C- Precipitation D- Run off

D; if you build a city with parking lots and buildings, less water would be able to infiltrate into the ground and more would run off since asphalt and concrete are impermeable.

Which of the following best describes a symbiotic relationship? A- marsupial animals carry their young in a pouch B- Mountain lions feed on white tailed deer C-Striped bass and bluefish eat the same variety of mackerel D- intestinal bacteria inhabit the gut of humans

D; intestinal bacteria inhabit the gut of humans

Which of the following is true and seen in the image above? A- Carbon does not have an atmospheric component. B- the majority of our atmosphere is carbon. C- carbon is found only anthropogenically D- carbon cycles between photosynthesis and cellular respiration

D; photosynthesis and cellular respiration or how carbon cycles in living things and is known as short term cycling.

Which of the following changes would most likely occur if the wolf were removed from the food web below?

Decrease in Eagles, increase in thrush; if the wolf were removed, the eagle would decrease because he prays on the wolf and some of his food source would be removed. At the same time they would be an increase in thrush birds since the wolves prey on the thrush birds and without wolves their numbers would go up.

What is the process where bacteria can take in nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it to a form that is usable by plants (primarily ammonia)?

Nitrogen fixation; during nitrogen fixation, N2 from the atmosphere is converted by nitrogen fixing micro-organisms into ammonia.

Identify one predator prey relationship in the food web above.

One point for identifying a predator prey relationship in the food web. There are many but some are python and rat, Python and frog, egale and wolf, eagle and frog.

Identify one primary producer in the food web above.

One point for identifying either corn, flowering plant, lavenders, or mangoes.

Identify one primary consumer in the food web above.

One point for identifying either grasshopper, butterfly, or fruit fly.

If the corn plant has 12,000 cal available, identify the calories available for grasshopper, the rat, and the python and then explain why these organisms would have the amount you identified.

One point for identifying the grasshopper as 12,000 cal, one point for identifying that the rat as 120 cal, and one point for identifying that the python would get 12 cal. Than one point explaining that according to the 10% rule: a plant or primary producer has 100% of the energy from the sun. But once a primary consumer eats that plant, he only gets 10% of the original energy from the product so, in this case, the grasshopper will get 12,000 cal. Then as the grasshopper goes about his day hopping around, heating his body, he uses up 90% of the energy that he received from the plant, leaving only 120 cal for the rat. Next the python will only get 12 cal because he only gets 10% of the energy from the rat.

Explain how the rate at which fossil fuels are transferred into the atmosphere, as shown in the diagram, has altered the carbon cycle during the past 250 years.

Over the past 250 years fossil fuels have been burnt at a very fast rate to meet the various human needs. These fossil fuels contains huge amount of carbon dioxide. And when these fossil fuels are burnt in power factories, power plants, cars etc. carbon moves from the fossil to the atmosphere. And since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas it traps more heat and hence there is a global temperature rise. And since this amount of carbon dioxide is very huge for plants to convert all of them into oxygen via photosynthesis it leads to disbalancing in the carbon cycle that is more carbon dioxide is produced than the amount can be utilized which finally leads to rise in Earth's temperature as all of the extra carbon dioxide ends up in Trapping more sun light.

Identify one process in the diagram that happens quickly in one process that happens slowly.

Photosynthesis happens quickly. Combustion of fossil fuel's happens slowly.

Five different species of warblers, seed eating birds, Live in the same species of conifer trees. All of the birds migrate to coniferous forest during the summer, and different species reside in different areas in the same tree. They feed on the seeds of the confire trees, but the different species do not mate with each other. Which of the following best explains why the different warbler species can all have habitats in the same can fire trees?

Resource person of the seeds reduces competition and the five different species can live in the same tree.

In evergreen plant is found in an environment with extremely cold winter temperatures. The plant has long, thin waxy needles that it keeps all year long. The soil is permafrost. In which of the following biomes is the plant most likely found? OPTIONS: Taiga, Desert, Tundra, Grassland

Taiga; the taiga is a coniferous forest (pine trees), with permafrost soil, usually found between the tundra and temperate forests. It is also the world's largest land biome.

According to the graph, what best describes the relationship between what is happening in 1885 with the links in the hare?

There were more hares in the area than lynx because of a healthy predator prey relationships.; the graph shows the relationship between the lynx and the hare. The lynx would not survive without it his food source, the hare. However the lynx keeps the hair numbers in check so they don't reach high numbers and began to start for lack of food resources for the prey. A healthy predator prey relationship is important in the environment.