Ecology Review

Barnacles attach themselves to whales. The whales are so large that they are seemingly unaffected. The barnacles get a habitat and food when the whale enters an area with abundant food resources. What type of relationship exists between the whale and the barnacle?

• mutualism

• commensalism

• parasitism

• predation

Animals, such as fiddler crabs, advertise the size of their enlarged claw to intimidate their rivals. This territorial display is an example of what type of relationship?

• predation

• commensalism

• competition

• mutualism

The Galapagos Islands were formed from volcanic activity. Which of the following organisms would have been the pioneer species to be observed growing on the islands? 

• moss

• trees

• shrubs

• weeds

A common food web in a grassland would be grass -> mice -> snake -> hawk. If these organisms live next to a farmer's field that regularly uses an ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Which would have the highest concentration?

• snake

• hawk

• mice

• grass

What best describes the type of relationship that occurs between grasshoppers and mice? 

• Commensalism

• Predation

• Mutualism

• Competition

According to the food web, which of the following organisms can be classified into more than one trophic level? 

• grasshopper

• owl

• rabbit

• frog

What's missing from the food web?

• decomposers

• producers

• consumers

• autotrophs

Oxpeckers are birds that sit on zebras and rhinos and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and in return the zebras and rhinos get pest control. When there is danger, the oxpeckers fly upward and scream a warning to help the zebras and rhinos.  Which of the following correctly identifies the symbiotic relationship between the oxpeckers and the zebras? 

• parasitism

• commensalism

• mutualism

• competition

Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants. They do not harm the plants that they grow on. Instead they obtain what they need for survival from the air and the sun. Some species of orchids like the one pictured above are examples of epiphytes because they grow on tree trunks in tropical rain forests.  Which of the following correctly identifies the relationships between orchids and tropical rain forest trees? 

• mutualism

• commensalism

• parasitism

• predation

Which of the following correctly lists the flow of matter in the food web above? 

• plants, animals, nematodes, arthropods

• animals, nematodes, arthropods, plants

• plants, nematodes, arthropods, animals

• nematodes, plants, arthropods, animals