Quiz 5

How does an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases increase global temperatures?

By preventing some of the heat from escaping the planet's surface

Which is the dominant greenhouse gas leading to global warming of the atmosphere?

CO2

Of the biomes listed, which is best adapted to seasonal fires?

Chaparral

Of the following, which is contributing the most to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Combustion of fossil fuels

Many species of orchids are epiphytic, meaning they grow on a larger tree without benefitting or harming it. Which term best describes the relationship between the orchid and the tree?

Commensalism

An ecologist is studying the diet of a group of desert-dwelling scorpions, which have many types of potential prey (insects, small mammals, etc.). She tracks the scorpions to see how much they eat of each prey species. What level of ecological organization is she studying?

Community

A study is conducted to evaluate the effect of competition between foxes and coyotes for a limited food source. Which level of ecology is being studied?

Community ecology

Which principle states that no two species competing for the exact same resources can coexist?

Competitive exclusion principle

What is the primary role of a decomposer in the chemical cycling of elements in the biosphere?

Decomposers break down large organic molecules into smaller, more accessible nutrients.

.........is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Ecology

Compare the flow of energy and the flow of nutrients in ecosystems.

Energy comes in and out of ecosystems, while nutrients are recycled within ecosystems.

Bacteria populations grow at a really rapid pace, with their whole populations doubling within hours. What type of growth models do bacteria follow?

Exponential

Ecology and environmentalism are the same scientific discipline.

False

What are the main causes of biodiversity loss?

Habitat destruction, overharvesting, invasive species, pollution, and climate change

What can a human population's age pyramid tell you about current and future needs?

How many schools to build or to close down How many workers will be needed to support retirees How many resources would be needed for health care All of the above

Where would a coral reef most likely be found?

In the warm tropical waters where the sun can penetrate

Why is an estuary considered an intermediate biome?

It is the transition zone between freshwater and saltwater biomes.

What is a population's carrying capacity?

Its maximum population size to remain stable

Which growth model would you expect to see in a stable population?

Logistic

What are ecological reservoirs?

Nonliving components of ecosystems where chemicals accumulate

Which of the following correctly ranks the levels of ecological hierarchy from least inclusive to most inclusive?

Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biome, Biosphere

A group of snails (of the same species) lives in a garden that also includes beetles and tomato plants. What level(s) of ecological organization does the group of snails belong to?

Population Community Ecosystem

Vegetarians belong in which trophic level?

Primary consumers

Seed banks are centers that maintain a collection of seeds from a large number of varieties of many crop plant species.What is the primary value of a seed bank?

Seeds stored in a bank can be used to ensure genetic biodiversity of crop plants.

Before it was banned in the United States in 1972, the pesticide DDT was used to treat wetlands where mosquitos breed. There, algae would accumulate DDT in their tissues. Small aquatic animals such as mayfly nymphs would eat the algae. Fish would eat the mayfly nymphs and osprey would eat the fish.Which tropic level would have the highest DDT levels?

Tertiary consumers

What do survivorship curves display?

The change that an individual will live to a particular age

At what level is biodiversity often studied and measured?

The diversity of genes in a population The diversity of species in a community The diversity of ecosystems on the planet All of the above

What is an ecological footprint?

The estimate of land and water required to sustain one person

Why are there no large trees in the tundra?

The ground is frozen all year.

Human birth rate peaked in the 1980s and has been slowly declining ever since. How is this expected to affect our population size over the next several decades?

The human population size will continue to increase, but not as fast as before.

In which intermediate biome do most organisms have mechanisms to attach to the substrate and to avoid desiccation?

The intertidal zone

Why are certain species classified as "invasive"?

They are introduced to new habitats where there are no predators and/or competitors.

What can you predict about a population if the age structure chart is shaped like a rectangle?

This population has a "0" growth rate.

Aquatic biomes cover most of the Earth's surface.

True

Why did global human population remain relatively low up until about 1800?

Up until this time, infant mortality was relatively high.

Why are photosynthetic algae limited to surface water in marine ecosystems?

Visible light cannot penetrate deeply into the ocean, even when the water is clear.

How might the removal of a wetland affect a nearby city?

Wetlands reduce flooding, so the removal of a wetland would increase the likelihood of the city flooding.

An age pyramid with a broad base that quickly slopes up to a narrow top would be indicative of ________.

a developing nation

A population in ecology is defined as ________.

a group of organisms, all from the same species

Environmentalism is ________.

a philosophical and social movement concerned with preserving the environment

Using sunflower plants to naturally remove heavy toxins from contaminated soil is an example of ________.

bioremediation

Ecology is a science that can be carried out by ________.

both learning by observing and running experiments to test hypotheses

The distribution of terrestrial biomes on Earth depends mostly on ________.

both temperature and rainfall

To best assess the species diversity in one area, one should measure ________.

both the number of species and their relative abundance in the area

The maximum population size that a particular environment can support, given its available resources, is known as the _________.

carrying capacity

A(n) ......... consists of all of the organisms that live in the same area at the same time.

community

A wolf eats a rabbit that eats grass. The wolf is a(n) ________.

consumer

A(n) .......... consists of all of the abiotic and biotic factors in an area.

ecosystem

All of the following are abiotic factors within an ecosystem except ________.

energy nutrients fire All of the above are abiotic factors.

What is the difference between a community and an ecosystem?

A community includes interacting populations without their surrounding environment, while an ecosystem includes the surrounding environment.

What type of survivorship curves do humans typically display?

A curve that is initially quite flat, until it decreases steeply at old age.

A drought in Ethiopia results in the deaths of thousands of wild goats. What is this an example of?

A density independent limiting factor

What category describes a species that, while not presently at risk of extinction, could likely be at risk of extinction in the near future?

A threatened species

........ factors are nonliving factors that make up an environment.

Abiotic

Which of the following is not an example of goods and services provided by the environment?

All of the above are examples of goods and services provided by the environment.

Identify the biotic factor of an ecosystem among the following options.

Amount of moss available to the consumers

Which of the following scenarios describe an ecological succession?

An old field left abandoned that transforms back into a forest over time The site of a volcano eruption that is going back to its pre-eruption state The regrowth of a forest after a fire -All of the above are examples of ecological succession

All living things need carbon. How does most carbon enter the living portion of an ecosystem?

Atmospheric CO2 taken in by photosynthesis

All living things need nitrogen. How does nitrogen enter the living portion of an ecosystem?

Atmospheric N2 taken in by soil bacteria

Certain fungi have been used in recent years to help clean up and detoxify the environment following an oil spill.What type of restoration ecology does this process exemplify?

Bioremediation

..... factors are living factors that make up an environment.

Biotic

A sudden natural catastrophe resulting in massive die-offs would be categorized as a density-________ limiting factor.

independent

The use of multiple forms of pest control including biological, chemical, and the planting of pest-resistant crops is a strategy commonly called ________.

integrated pest management

The Asian kudzu bug (Megacopta cribaria) arrived in Atlanta in 2009 and is quickly spreading across the South. In addition to eating kudzu, it also eats soybeans and can decimate entire crops. The kudzu bug is a type of ________ species.

invasive

An ecosystem is a collection of all the ________ in a given area.

living and nonliving things

The tendency of toxins to accumulate in top predators is called biological ________.

magnification

Plants rely on pollinators to reproduce, while pollinators rely on plants to provide nutrients. This is an example of ________.

mutualism

Abiotic factors are ________.

nonliving components of an ecosystem

A(n) ........ is an individual living thing, such as a plant, an animal, or a bacterium.

organism

There are little birds that spend a great deal of time on the back of a rhinoceros and eat the blood-sucking ticks out of the rhino's ears. The rhino greatly benefits from the relationship, since it cannot remove the ticks itself. The tick-rhino relationship is an example of ________.

parasitism

A(n) .......... is a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular geographic area.

population

The number of emperor penguins living in 10 square kilometers in Antarctica refers to _______________.

population density

A community in ecology is defined as ________.

populations from multiple species interacting in the same place

Cheetahs are specialized hunters that stalk Thompson gazelles. This is an example of a ________ relationship.

predator-prey

A wolf eats a rabbit that eats grass. The grass is a ________.

producer

Phytoplankton is an example of a ________.

producer

Primary consumers eat ________.

producers

A biome characterized by warm, fairly dry climate that primarily contains grasses with scattered, isolated trees is a ________.

savanna

An invasive species is a species that ________.

spreads rapidly outside its native range and causes damage

The responsible management (use and conservation) of the earth's resources indefinitely is called ________.

sustainable development

Terrestrial biomes are defined in a large part by ________.

the dominant plants that live there

Ecology is best defined as the study of ________.

the interactions between living organisms and their environments

A dispersion pattern refers to ________.

the spacing of organism throughout a habitat

Aquatic biomes are defined primarily by ________.

their salinity

Although freshwater biomes cover less than 1% of the Earth's surface, they are important because ________.

they are home to lots of species they are the source of our irrigation for agriculture we depend on them for drinking water -All of the above are reasons why freshwater biomes are important.