Chapter 55

terrestrial plants.

Transpiration is most closely associated with

Tipping points for endangered food webs

What did Stephen Carter and his team from University of Madison-Wisconsin study?

organisms rarely eat just one kind of food.

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

food chain.

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

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and water.

A primary source of carbon for photosynthetic organisms is

1%

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

5, 1, 2, 3, 4

Arrange the following from the ecosystem with the smallest average NPP to the ecosystems with the largest NPP.

nitrogen.

Bacteria are most essential in the cycling of

atmospheric nitrogen.

Bacterial decomposition of organic nitrogen results in the production of

convert nitrate into atmospheric nitrogen.

Denitrifying bacteria

birds eating fish and mollusks.

Dissolved phosphorus in aquatic ecosystems may return to the land via

in a rain shadow.

Drier climates tend to prevail

Decomposition

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

photosynthetic organisms.

Fixation of carbon is accomplished by

The carbon cycle

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

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

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

is the total energy captured from the sun through photosynthesis.

GPP, or Gross Primary Productivity

They provide fixed nitrogen to legumes.

How are bacteria important to the genus Rhizobium?

Gross primary productivity

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

rainfall; solar energy

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

at the top of the food chain

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

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

Net primary productivity represents

nucleic acids and proteins

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

ammonia.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into

30

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

herbivores

Organisms that eat plants exclusively are known as______.

assimilation.

Plant roots absorb nitrate or ammonia and incorporate these compounds into plant proteins via the process of

do not indicate the biomass of the organisms at a given time.

Pyramids of numbers are of limited usefulness because they

Oceans

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

powers the hydrologic and other biogeochemical cycles.

Solar radiation

nuclear fusion reactions.

The 'sun's energy is produced by

deflection of moving air due to the rotation of Earth

The Coriolis effect results in the

biological magnification.

The accompanying figure is a good illustration of

pyramid of biomass.

The accompanying figure represents a

protect Earth from most ultraviolet radiation.

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

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

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

Persistence, bioaccumulation, and biological magnification

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

Nitrogen fixation

The enzyme nitrogenase is important in which part of the nitrogen cycle?

Industrial Revolution.

The event in human history that changed the natural balance of the carbon cycle was the

nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.

The main steps of the nitrogen cycle are

carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen.

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

Earth's tilt on its axis.

The primary reason that Earth experiences seasons is because of the

chemoautotrophic prokaryotes.

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

carbon cycle.

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

Algal beds and reefs

What ecosystem has the highest rate of primary productivity?

Fire instigates the growth of shade-tolerant plants

What is the least likely effect of fires on organisms?

Secondary consumers

What is the third trophic level of a food chain?

Energy loss

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

Temperature and water

What two abiotic factors are considered to most affect organisms?

Marine sediments

Which is the greatest sink of phosphorus?

El Niño-Southern Oscillation events

Which issue is least likely to have been the result of human impact on the nitrogen cycle?

Phosphorus cycle

Which nutrient cycle does not have a gaseous phase?

Winds

Which of the following directly drives ocean surface circulation patterns?

Denitrification

Which of the following processes restores nitrogen to the air?

Primary producer and autotroph

Which pair best represents photosynthetic organisms?

Photosynthesis

Which process does not return carbon to the atmosphere?

Coriolis effect

Which process is NOT indirectly related to absorption of solar energy by the Earth's surface?

Nitrification

Which process is not involved in the hydrologic cycle?

Erosion

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

Biomass reduction from one trophic level to the next is approximately 50%.

Which statement about biomass is FALSE?

They include bacteria but not fungi.

Which statement about decomposers is FALSE?

Mice consumption of grasses is harmful to the grass population.

Which statement about food chains is FALSE?

An owl has a positive impact on the grass population.

Which statement best describes a typical food chain?

There is a one-way flow of energy through the food webs of ecosystems.

Which statement reflects a key concept about ecosystems?

Assimilation

Which step of the nitrogen cycle is not performed by most bacteria?

Tertiary consumers

Which trophic level would contain the lowest quantity of energy (kcal per m2)?