Ecology Review Quiz

Each of the following is an abiotic factor EXCEPT

• plant life
• soil type
• rainfall
• temperature

Which is a biotic factor that affects the size of a population in a specific ecosystem?

• average temp
• type of soil
• number and kinds of predators
• concentration of oxygen

During a long period when there is no rainfall, a mountain lion may temporarily leave its usual hunting territory to drink from a farm pond.  This behavior is probably due to... 

• its need to find different foods to eat
• the change in an abiotic factor in its environment
• its need to find a new habitat
• the change in a biotic factor in its environment

several species of warblers can live in the same spruce tree ONLY because they...

• have different habitats within the tree
• eat different foods within the tree
• occupy different niches within the tree
• can find different temps within the tree

In a freshwater community, a carp eats decaying material from around the bases of underwater plants, while a snail scrapes algae from the leaves and stems of the same plants.  There can survive at the same time because they occupy...

• the same niche, but different habitats
• the same habitat and niche
• same habitat, but different niches
• different habitats and niches

When a partially rotted log was turned over fungi, termites, pillbugs, ants, slugs, and earthworms were found living and around it.  These organisms collectively represent a...

• population
• community
• biosphere
• species

A natural community interacting with its abiotic environment is a description of...

• a population
• an ecosystem
• an organism
• an organ system

Which best illustrates a population at homeostasis?

• the growth of human population in the United States since 1650
• the rapid rise and fall of reindeer on St. Paul Island
• a stable deer population in a rocky mountain valley resulting in a balance of mortality and birthrate
• a rapid increase in a yeast population maintained in a test tube

Knowledge of ecology would be used most directly in studying the....

• structure of subcellular organelles
• production of hormones and neurotransmitters in 2 related organisms
• current decline of big horn sheep in the Rocky Mountains
• biochemical nature of genetic transmission

Which of the following descriptions about the organization of the ecosystem is correct?

• communities make up species, which make up populations
• populations make up species, which make up communities
• species make up communities, which make up populations
• species are grouped in populations, which make up communities