Unit 2 Questions

Guano from fish-eating birds is a commercial source of this element:

Phosphorous

Approximately how many more times acidic, in terms of H+ concentration, is precipitation in the northeastern United States (4.4) as compared to precipitation in the South Pacific(5.4)?

10

Approximately how many more mammal species became extinct in the period 1901-2000 then became extinct in the period 1801-1900?

90

Represents the biotic potential of the species:

A (sharp J curve line)

Which of the following best shows the process of evolution?

A population of mosquitoes develops resistance to a pesticide

Also known as mineralization, this process is carried out by decomposers and returns nutrients in organic matter back to the soil:

Ammonification

Traveling southward from the arctic regions of Canada to the tropics of Panama, one passes through several biomes - tundra, coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, and tropical rainforest. The pattern of change vegetation is primarily the result of

An increase in both mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation

Plant roots absorb ammonium ions and nitrate ions for use in making molecules such as DNA, amino acids, and proteins:

Assimilation

Plants converting inorganic nitrogen compounds into organic compounds such as amino acids:

Assimilation

Country with the greatest percentage of land area affected by desertification

Australia

Around hot-water vents deep in the ocean live specialized communities. Bacteria turn hydrogen sulfide into reduced carbon compounds through chemosynthesis. The bacteria then provide food to other life forms. Compared to terrestrial food chains, the bacteria fill the same role as

Autotrophic, primary producers

Represents the growth of a population predicted by the logistic model:

C (comes right up before E)

Marine sediments that form limestone are a major sink for this element:

Carbon

Which of the following is true of carbon as it cycles in nature?

Carbon sinks include forests and oceans.

The process by which a soil nutrient is reduced and released to the atmosphere as a gas

Denitrification

The process that can release nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere:

Denitrification

The graph above represents the population growth of an herbivore over several generations. Which of the following is most likely a reason for the continuous overshoot and dieback experienced by the population?

Density of population causes vegetation to become limited.

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of the tragedy of the commons?

Depletion of an aquifer by regional farmers

Which of the following identifies the two factors thought to be the most harmful to biodiversity?

Destruction of habitat and invasion by non-native species

The diagram above illustrates how the number of individuals in a population changed with time as a result of external stresses and resource limitations. Which lettered portion of the curve most likely corresponds to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem?

E

Represents the maximum number of individuals that can be supported by a particular ecosystem on a long-term basis:

E (straight line in middle)

Which of the following ecological concepts includes all of the others?

Ecosystem

Which of the following statements about genetic diversity is true?

Genetic resistance to pests and disease.

Which of the following can be used to assess the biological diversity of an area?

Genetic variation within each species and number of species present

Elements that cycle in the environment and that always have a gaseous phase at some point in their cycle include which of the following

I and II only

Living organisms must acquire energy from their environment. Examples of adaptations that help organisms acquire this energy include which of the following?

I and II only

Which of the following is correct concerning K - selected species characteristics?

I and III

Characteristics that would lead to a nonnative organism's becoming invasive in an new environment would include which of the following characteristics?

I and III only

Characteristics that tend to increase the risk of a species becoming endangered include which of the following?

I, II, and III

Which of the following best describes the first law of thermodynamics?

In a closed system of constant mass, the energy involved in any physical or chemical change is neither created nor destroyed, but merely changed from one form to another.

Which of the following is the most likely reason that the greatest number of extinctions of bird species occurred in the period 1901-2000?

Increased environmental disturbances from human activities altered bird habitats.

Which of the following is a common characteristic of lakes undergoing cultural eutrophication?

Increased levels of plant nutrients

The factor that likely poses the greatest threat of extinction of species worldwide is

Increasing loss of habitat

Rachel Carson's contributions to the environmental movement include which of the following?

Increasing public awareness of the risks of using pesticides.

Which of the following is an example of an external cost?

Individuals pay for medical treatment of lung disease aggravated by pollution from a coal-fired power plant.

Correct statements about northern spotted owl include which of the following?

It is dependent of mature, old-growth forest for its habitat.

As our global climate becomes warmer, many mountain glaciers are melting. When these ice sheets recede they expose new surface area to become inhabited by organisms. Which of the following best represents the organisms' succession on the new rock?

Lichens->grasses->shrubs->trees

Ammonia is converted to nitrite, then to nitrate:

Nitrification

Photosynthesis is a major source of which of the following gases in Earth's atmosphere?

O2

Of the following ecosystems, which has the lowest net primary productivity, measured as kilocalories of energy produced per square meter per year?

Open Ocean

Exemplified by ticks feeding on a deer:

Parasitism

Members of an r-selected species characteristically:

Reach sexual maturity quickly

Which of the following is most likely to increase both the nutrient levels and the bacterial content of lake water?

Runoff from a nearby hog farm

Which of the following is the usual cause of cultural eutrophication in surface waters of both developed and developing countries?

Runoff of nitrate compounds into bodies of water

Country with the largest area of boreal forests:

Russia

The great grasslands of the world have which of the following primary characteristics in common?

Seasonal cycles of temperature and precipitation produce abundant vegetative growth.

An energy transformation occurs and results in increased disorder:

Second law of thermodynamics

The 10% rule of energy transfer in food chains in due to

Second law of thermodynamics

Losses of usable energy between successive trophic levels in an ecosystem are best accounted for by which of the following?

The second law of thermodynamics

Small populations of animals, such as those typically found on islands, are prone to extinction because:

They are more vulnerable to unpredictable events.

Which of the following best describes soils in many tropical rainforests?

They are quickly depleted of nutrient when the forest is removed

Why do introduced species often become pests

They displace native species

Biological control methods for managing insect pests are effective for reasons that include which of the following?

They generally focus on one target insect to ensure that the target insect population remains low. They can lead to a self-perpetuating population of a control species.

Which of the following best explains why decomposers in soils and water are important to ecosystems?

They recycle nutrients

On land, water that reaches the atmosphere from the surface of leaves does so through a process known as

Transpiration

The process in the hydrologic cycle in which water vapor is released from leaves into the atmosphere is called:

Transpiration

Country with the largest area of temperate deciduous forest:

United States of America

Coyotes are opportunistic predators that are found throughout most of north america. They typically feed on small mammals, insects and fruits. The best description of their role in the food web would be

an omnivore is a generalist

The upper growth limit represented by the dashed line in the graph above is known as

carrying capacity

Exemplified by moss growing on a tree trunk in a forest:

commensalism

Exemplified by starlings displacing bluebirds from nesting sites:

competition

The rapid rate of this process in tropical forests results in low-nutrient soils:

decomposition

Of the following organisms, which occupies the lowest trophic level?

deer

Nitrate ions and nitrite ions are converted into nitrous oxide gas and nitrogen gas:

denitrification

The amount of energy in an isolated system stays constant:

first law of thermodynamics

The building of a new highway in a heavily forested area separates individuals of a beetle population living in this area. Over time, the populations can no longer reproduce with one another and may become two distinct species. The mechanism for speciation in this event is:

geographic isolation

For a primary producer the main function of photosynthesis is the manufacture

glucose

Which of the following biomes is maintained through occasional fires

grassland

Energy is transferred from one object to another as the result of temperature difference:

heat flow

Matter in motion has energy:

kinetic energy

Exemplified by bees consuming nectar and carrying pollen from one flower to another:

mutualism

Many legume plants have specialized fungi, known as mycorrhizae, living in their roots providing inorganic nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates. The fungus gains valuable nutrients from the roots of the plants. This relationship is an example of

mutualism

The two major processes involved in the carbon cycle are

pesticides

Which of the following will result in accelerated eutrophication when introduced into streams, lake and bays?

phosphates

The process in which glucose is synthesized by plants:

photosynthesis

The ultimate source of energy for terrestrial ecosystems is

the Sun

All of the following statements about invasive species are true except

they tend to have low reproductive rats

Overgrazing of public land by privately owned livestock is an example of the

tragedy of the commons

Which of the following best helps explain why phosphorus is often a limiting factor in many ecosystems?

under many conditions phosphorus from stable insoluble compounds