Ecological Succession

Open Ended

What do you think would happen if no one ever took care of the sidewalks? What would it look like in 10 years? In 100 years?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best explains the significance of ecological succession in transforming environments like sidewalks into forests over time?

• It helps maintain biodiversity and ecosystem stability.

• It causes immediate destruction of habitats.

• It prevents any changes in plant growth.

• It only occurs in tropical regions.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes primary succession?

• Changing ecosystem from scratch (no living organisms)

• Changing ecosystem from an existing ecosystem

• A process involving only animals

• A process that never involves plants

Multiple Choice

After a wildfire, what type of ecological succession is most likely to occur?

• Primary succession

• Secondary succession

• Tertiary succession

• Climax succession

Multiple Choice

As the whale’s body decays and enriches its surroundings, which group of organisms is most likely to be attracted first?

• Decomposers

• Large predators

• Birds

• Terrestrial plants

Fill in the Blanks

When only the skeleton remains, heterotrophic bacteria decompose the oils inside the whale bones and support a diverse community of

, worms, crabs, and clams.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about primary succession on the ocean floor after a whale fall is correct?

• It begins with decomposers as pioneer species and ends with a climax community of bacteria.

• It starts with plants colonizing the bones.

• It is an example of secondary succession.

• It does not support any other marine life.

Open Ended

What are the pioneer species and climax community in the succession that occurs after a gray whale dies and sinks to the ocean floor?

Multiple Choice

Succession is the process by which a sidewalk covered with small plants could eventually become a forest like the one shown. What is the main factor that drives this change over time?

• Human intervention

• Natural processes such as plant growth and decay

• Sudden climate change

• Animal migration

Open Ended

Look at these photos. What do you think would happen if no one ever took care of the sidewalks? What would it look like in 10 years? In 100 years?