Ecology

About how long have wastewater treatment plants been in existence?

120 years

The human population on Earth is expected to reach 9.5 billion people by

2050

Although "dry tombing" or capping a landfill after it is full is necessary, what problem can it create?

Biodegradable waste can remain for decades in a landfill.

_____ refers to the bacteria and other living components of an environment.

Biotic

___________ would help prevent the creation of leachate.

Capping the landfill when it is filled to capacity

One of the dominant tree species in the temperate deciduous forest in the eastern part of the United States used to be the American chestnut. Now, the dominant tree species are mixed oak and hickory trees and other hardwood trees. What is the reason for this change?

Early in the 20th century, the American chestnut population was devastated by a non-native fungal pathogen. It has never recovered.

Consider the following prairie food chain. Tall grass is consumed by grasshoppers that, in turn, are eaten by mice, and the mice are eaten by prairie kingsnakes. Red-tailed hawks prey on mice and prairie kingsnakes. When a red-tailed hawk dies, bacteria, beetles, fungi, and many types of worms help break down the body. What correctly identifies a trophic level in this ecosystem?

Grasshoppers are primary consumers.

Age-structure diagrams can predict whether a population will grow, decline, or remain stable. What prediction would you make for the U.S. population based on the estimated age-structure diagram for 2010?

The U.S. population will increase over the next 25 years.

What has happened to about 80% of the e-waste collected in the United States by recyclers?

The electronics were sent to developing countries.

Starting in 1929, an American demographer, Warren Thompson, developed a population growth model in which he proposed that the world's population was undergoing a demographic transition. How would you describe the changes in world population predicted by this model?

The world as a whole is undergoing a demographic transition in which there is a shift from high birth and high death rates to low birth and low death rates.

What would be considered household hazardous waste?

a can of spray paint

A cottontail rabbit living in Illinois survives in a hostile environment. What is an adaptation that functions primarily to address a biotic factor?

a light-colored winter coat that blends in well with light-colored vegetation, snow, and ice

Ignoring migration, the age structure diagram of a human population likely to maintain a relatively stable size will have what shape?

a rectangle tapering toward the top

The study of the interaction of organisms with each other and their environment involves non-living factors, also called _________________, and living factors, which are referred to as __________________.

abiotic components; biotic components

Desert owls are inactive during the day and active at night. They also have small bodies. This describes _____ adaptation to the hot and dry desert.

anatomical and behavioral

Horned lizards are desert animals that are active during the day. Their skin and kidneys are efficient at conserving water; when they get hot, they move to the shade so they can cool off. This describes _____ adaptation to the hot and dry desert.

anatomical, behavioral, and physiological

You accidentally flush your cell phone. Where will it most likely be found at a wastewater treatment facility?

bar screen

Cacti are desert plants with C4 metabolism. In addition, cacti bloom at night. This describes _____ adaptation to the hot and dry desert.

behavioral and physiological

What product of a wastewater treatment facility is often put on farm fields as a fertilizer?

biosolids

The sum of all Earth's ecosystems is called the _____.

biosphere

What is the largest hierarchical level that global warming affects?

biosphere

List the ecological hierarchy in the correct order, from largest to smallest?

biosphere; ecosystem; community; population; organism

Blending into the environment is a way to hide from predators. Predators are a common ______ factor.

biotic

Living things compose the ______ portion of an environment.

biotic

In animal populations, DDT causes _____.

birth defects

What does the Kanapaha Wastewater Treatment Facility use to disinfect the treated water?

chlorine

Where does settling of solids occur at a wastewater treatment facility?

clarifier

An egret eats insects stirred up by grazing animals. What term applies to the relationship between the egret and the grazing animal?

commensalism

In _____, one member of the species pair benefits and the other is unaffected; in this case the egret is getting a meal and the grazing animals are unaffected.

commensalism

A scientist is studying how sea slugs respond to predators. Which hierarchical level of ecology does this represent?

community

Humans and sharks both eat fish. What term applies to the relationship between the human and the shark?

competition

What are examples of e-waste?

computer, DVD player, microwave

Increase/Decreases human population growth: an increase in the death rate, perhaps due to war or epidemics

decrease

Increase/Decreases human population growth: delayed age at first reproduction

decrease

Increase/Decreases human population growth: the increased availability of birth control

decrease

An earthworm that feeds on the remains of plants and animals is acting as a _____.

detritivore

When computers are recycled in the United States in ways that limit environmental pollution, they are ____.

disassembled into their basic parts and recycled in various ways

The ______ level of ecological study includes all life-forms and all the nonliving factors.

ecosystem

The work of Rachel Carson and other ecologists revealed the terrible consequences of the overuse of DDT. These ecologists were working at what level of environmental interaction?

ecosystem

Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, deals with the

environmental effects of pesticides.

Which location on Earth receives the most solar radiation per unit area?

equator

True/False: The biosphere is a closed system.

fale

True/False: Cost was a major factor in the United States government's decision to ban DDT.

false

True/False: DDT cannot accumulate in the fat of animals.

false

True/False: DDT does not help prevent disease from passing from agricultural animals to humans.

false

True/False: The DDT ban in the United States has made it very difficult to control agricultural insect pests.

false

True/False: The biosphere is so immense it cannot be considered finite.

false

True/False: The biosphere is the sum of all of Earth's communities.

false

True/False: The moisture in cool air condenses into clouds and precipitates because cool air holds more moisture than warm air.

false

True/False: Warm air begins to cool as it begins to sink at about 30° North and South latitude.

false

True/False: Warm air expands and rises from the surface of the atmosphere around the poles.

false

DDT is _____-soluble so it accumulates in _____.

fat ... milk

The specific place or environment in which an organism lives is its _____.

habitat

Squirrels in the forests of Wisconsin hide away hickory nuts and acorns, which they will eat during the long, cold winter. This is an example of _____

herbivory

Increase/Decreases human population growth: medical advances that decrease infant mortality

increase

Two species of cattail in the same genus live at the margins of a lake but at different water depths. If the one that prefers shallow water is removed, the deep-water species occupies deep and shallow water. This is an example of _____

interspecific competition

Ignoring migration, the age structure of a human population likely to decrease in size will have what shape?

inverted pyramid

An ecological footprint

is a means of understanding resource availability and usage.

What hazardous material do electronics contain, making them important to recycle properly?

lead

One of the most toxic components of a computer is the _____.

lead embedded in the glass of the monitor

What hazardous material do fluorescent light bulbs contain, making it important to dispose of them properly?

mercury

Humans who have pets tend to be healthier than humans who do not have pets. What term applies to the relationship between a human and a pet?

mutualism

In_____, both members of the species pair benefit

mutualism

Some biologists have observed Egyptian plover birds land on the open mouth of a Nile crocodile without being eaten and remove leeches stuck firmly to the crocodile's gums. This is an example of _____

mutualism

The sum total of a population's use of the biotic and abiotic resources of its habitat constitutes its

niche

In the state of Washington, the prevailing winds blow eastward off of the ocean and up and over two mountain ranges. Biologists are searching for a rare fern plant that is known to prefer cool and wet environments, but hasn't been seen in this state for many decades. Where would the biologists most likely find the plant?

on the west sides of the mountain ranges at higher elevations

What term applies to the relationship between a dog and a blood-sucking tick?

parasitism

On Earth, most organic molecules are produced by

photosynthesis.

Earth's biosphere is not completely self-contained (or closed) because _____.

plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria obtain energy from sunlight, and heat escapes from the biosphere into space

When our oil supply is depleted, a new material will need to be used to produce _________.

plastic

A ______ consists of all of the organisms of the same species found in a particular geographic area.

population

A group of individuals of a single species that occupy the same general area is called a _____.

population

Which hierarchical level is represented by a survey of students and their habits?

population

A community is composed of

potentially interacting populations of different kinds of organisms.

A human eats a deer. What term applies to the relationship between the human and the deer?

predation

Sea anemones coating the shallow-water coral reefs in Australia feed on fish and shrimp that wander too close to their tentacles. This is an example of _____

predation

A cow eating grass is an example of a _____.

primary consumer

In a hypothetical food chain consisting of grass, grasshoppers, sparrows, and hawks, the grasshoppers are

primary consumers.

In an ecosystem, phytoplankton are _____.

producers

Ignoring migration, the age structure of a human population likely to increase in size will have what shape?

pyramid

When a human eats a steak, the human is acting as a _____.

secondary consumer

One of the main messages in the film about e-waste is that responsible consumers _____.

should recycle outdated electronics

What is the ultimate source of energy for nearly all surface terrestrial and shallow water ecosystems?

sunlight

A human who just ate a hamburger is eaten by a shark while swimming. The shark is acting as a _____.

tertiary consumer

What was about the second major event that stimulated an increase in the size of the human population?

the Industrial Revolution

What was on of the first of the major events that stimulated an increase in the size of the human population?

the advent of agriculture

What was about the third major event that stimulated an increase in the size of the human population?

the discovery of vaccines and the discovery of antibiotics

One reason it is important to understand community ecology is

to aid in conservation of endangered species.

True/False: A feature of the biosphere is its patchiness.

true

True/False: As warm air rises, air at the top of the atmosphere is pushed poleward and cools.

true

True/False: Many African governments concluded that the potential long-term health effects of DDT were not as serious as the immediate problem of insect control.

true

What environmental factors usually has the greatest direct effect on an organism's rate of water loss by evaporation?

wind