Balance in Ecosystems

In any biome across the world, what would be an impact of losing an organism from its food web?

• an increase in its population

• an increase in populations that eat that organism

• a decrease in the number of scavengers in an area

• a decrease in the biodiversity of the region

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Why is it extremely important to maintain biodiversity in plants that make up the human diet?

• to reduce pollution

• to reduce famines

• to increase precipitation in an area

• to increase the colors for bee pollination

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In an ecosystem, organisms are constantly interacting with each other (competing for resources, predator/prey relationships, etc.). Over time, what should happen in a healthy ecosystem?

• all the organisms eventually die out

• the resources will all be used up

• a stable balance among all organisms will occur

• too many predators will take over an ecosystem

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Over the course of 20 years, scientists see that the populations of all species in an ecosystem have decreased. What is likely true about this ecosystem?

• the plants health decreased but the animal health increased

• the overall health of the ecosystem is declining

• the overall health of the ecosystem is improving

• the animal biodiversity increased while the plant biodiversity decreased

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What will happen to the chinstrap penguin if the phytoplankton die out?

• the penguin population will decrease because they eat organisms that depend on phytoplankton

• they will not be affected because the penguins do not eat phytoplankton

• the penguins will start eating all the phytoplankton

• the penguin will start eating the seals instead

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Palm trees are native to warm, tropical ecosystems. What could explain why scientists found a palm tree fossil in Antartica?

• the ocean currents carried the palm seeds to a far away island

• birds carried the palm seeds to the far away place

• over time, continental drift caused the island to move from a tropical area to its current location

• the entire world used to be one, large tropical island

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Coral is an organism found in shallow, warm tropical waters near the equator. What explanation can be given for why a coral fossil was found in Wisconsin?

• there is a large ocean next to Wisconsin

• hurricanes blew the coral from the ocean to Wisconsin

• deep ocean currents moved the coral pieces to North America

• the continents have drifted north, but long ago it was in a tropical location

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What would be an explanation for finding fossils in ash between sedimentary rock layers?

• a volcanic eruption likely killed the organisms

• the climate changed drastically and killed the organisms

• the region was below sea level

• the fossils were found on the peak of a mountain

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How does mining and strip mining affect an ecosystem?

• it takes away all the groundwater

• it cause soil erosion so plants cannot grow

• it takes away all pollution from an area

• it improves the overall quality of life for organisms in the region

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In any food chain, which would be the worst case scenario?

• all the apex predators die off

• the plant eaters have a large population increase

• the plants begin to die off from pollution

• the winter lasts longer than usual

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