Ecology Practice #1

Which of the following best defines an ecosystem?

• A group of one species living in a given area

• All of the living and nonliving factors in an environment

• All of the species living in a given area

• The regions on Earth that can support life

Which of the following is an abiotic factor?

• Wind

• Mushroom

• Honey bee

• Pollen

Which is the smallest ecological level?

• A population

• A community

• An organism

• An ecosystem

Which of the following is an abiotic factor?

• Temperature

• Mold

• Pine tree

• Wolf

A population of frogs in a pond is growing under natural conditions with limited resources.

As the frog population increases in size, how will population density affect its growth rate?

• Population density will decrease and population growth will eventually increase.

• Population density will increase and the rate of population growth will eventually slow.

• Population density will become unstable and population growth will stop.

• Population density will remain constant and population growth will increase.

What is the most likely explanation for why the size of the wolf population remained relatively constant from 1990-1992?

• The population suffered from a new disease.

• The population reached its carrying capacity.

• The wolves' prey source was killed off due to hunting.

• A new predator was introduced.

An isolated bird population on a remote island remains at a relatively constant size year after year.

• Birthrate and death rate are close to equal.

• Birthrate is significantly greater than death rate.

• Birthrate is significantly lower than death rate.

• Birthrate and death rate are both zero.

What is the most likely explanation for why the size of the coyote population did not change during the 2006-2008 period?

• The population reached the carrying capacity of the environment.

• A new parasite affected the population.

• There was an extreme decrease in the population's food source.

• The population experienced high predation.

A population of deer has access to abundant, but limited, resources.

• Population density remains constant.

• Population density grows indefinitely.

• Population density decreases.

• Population density increases until resource limits are met.

Which of the following factors can be representative of a population near carrying capacity?

• An increase in younger population members

• An increase in resource competition

• An increased ratio of birthrate to death rate

• An increase in offspring survival rate