Ecology Review

What are the 6 levels of organization that ecologist study from smallest to largest?

• species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere
• biosphere, population, community, ecosystem, biome, species
• biosphere, population, species,  community, ecosystem, biome
• biosphere, ecosystem, population, species, community, biome

Which organism in the food web receives the least amount of energy from the producers?

• Rabbit
• Mouse
• Grass
• Hawk

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Food webs such as the one shown to the right were first used in 1927 by the animal ecologist Charles Elton. The food web below represents the feeding relationships among organisms in an Alaskan ecosystem. An environmental change that removed which of these organisms from the ecosystem would cause the most instability in the ecosystem? 

• Auklets
• Foxes 
• Salmon
• Zooplankton 

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Which of the following organism in this food web obtains energy from both producers and consumers?

• Weakfish
• Sand Shrimp
• Mussels
• Algae

Which energy pyramid most accurately shows the energy relationships between three organisms in this food web above?

• Bacteria 
  ←Protozoa
  ←Algae
• Diving beetles
  ←Snails
  ←Algae
• Crayfish
  ←Dead organisms
  ←Bacteria
• Amphipods
  ←Catfish
  ←Crayfish

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Using the food web to the left, which of the following is most likely to lead the greatest decrease in the deer mouse population?

• an increase in the owl populations
• an increase in the grass population
• an increase in the pine tree population
• an increase in the cottontail population

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Bats eat insects that damage crops and mosquitoes that are vectors of disease. One million bats can eat several tons of insects per night, saving billions of dollars in pesticides yearly. Agricultural and public health scientists are concerned about the spread of white-nose syndrome (WNS). WNS is a result of fungus that can infect cave-dwelling bats. While bats hibernate during winter months, the fungus covers the bats’ face and wings. WNS has a near 100% mortality rate, and 5.7 million bats have died since the discovery of the fungus in 2006. Many scientists are searching for ways to protect these bats. The relationship between this fungus and bats can best be defined as?

• Commensal, because the bats provide a surface for the fungus to grow
• Parasitic, because the fungus obtains nutrients and shelter from the bats
• Competitive, because both organisms use caves as shelter during the winter
• Mutualistic, because the relationship involves two distinct species living together

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For the food chain shown above, which of the following changes would have the most severe consequences?

• a drastic decrease in rainfall, causing drought
• a poaching of predatory hawks by game hunters
• the introduction of a second predator that eats field mice
• a parasitic infestation that reduces  the cricket population

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The diagram below represents the nitrogen cycle in a student’s aquarium. Ammonia, nitrites, and, to a lesser degree, nitrates can be harmful to fish. The student wants to keep the nitrogen in this aquarium cycling normally without having to continually change the water.  
Which of the following should the student add more of to help remove nitrates and improve the natural cycling of nitrogen in this aquarium?

• Fish 
• Plants
• Nitrobacter
• Water

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A student is asked to draw a food web in which the same organism is a primary consumer as well as a secondary consumer. How should the organism be represented in the food web?

• The organism must have an arrow pointing from it to a tertiary consumer and another arrow pointing from it to a decomposer.
• The organism must have an arrow pointing from it to a secondary consumer and another arrow pointing to it from the top predator. 
• The organism must have an arrow pointing to it from a producer and another arrow pointing to it from a primary consumer. 
• The organism must have an arrow pointing from it to a primary consumer and another arrow pointing away from it to a decomposer.

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