Ecosystems - Lesson 2: Interactions Among Organisms

A predator is an organism that

• A. eats insects and mice only.

• B. eats another organism in part or whole.

• C. protects other organisms of the same species.

• D. runs faster than other organisms in its ecosystem.

Which of these is an example of a predator-prey relationship?

• A. a chameleon eating a cricket

• B. a human building a bird house

• C. a kitten playing with a ball of string

• a dog teaching its offspring to open a dog door

Which of these is NOT a carnivore?

• a lion

• a grasshopper

• an owl

• an anteater

Why is an herbivore considered a predator?

• Herbivores hunt only animals for food.

• Herbivores eat other members of their own species.

• An herbivore is most likely to be hunted by carnivores.

• An herbivore’s prey is a plant and plants are organisms.

Which of these is an example of how predators affect prey populations?

• A flower population increases after bees build a hive in the area.

• A hummingbird shares resources with a nearby population of sparrows.

• Grass populations and insect populations increase after heavy rainfalls.

• The zebra population in an area decreases after lions begin hunting them.

What species of predator and prey did scientists study on Isle Royale in Michigan?

• lions and zebras

• foxes and geese

• wolves and moose

• deer and pine leaves

How does the scarcity of prey populations affect predator populations?

• Scarcity of a prey population has no effect on the predator population.

• Abundance of a prey population can decrease the predator population.

• Scarcity of a prey population leads to an increase in the predator population.

• Scarcity of a prey population leads to a decrease in the predator population.

Why are scientists able to see predictable patterns in predator and prey populations?

• Predator and prey populations are controlled by scientists

• Predator and prey populations always stay at similar levels.

• Predator and prey populations are determined by the weather.

• Predator and prey populations often interact in predictable ways.

What problem did scientists discover in the predator and prey populations in the Yellowstone ecosystem?

• There were too many predators and not enough prey.

• A new predator had been introduced into the ecosystem.

• There were not enough predators and too much prey.

• Prey were getting sick and infecting the predator population.

Which of these was one of the criteria scientists used to solve the predator and prey problem in Yellowstone?

• Scientists needed technology that could encourage population growth.

• Scientists needed technology that would limit the growth of the prey population.

• Scientists needed technology that would allow them to communicate with wolves.

• Scientists needed technology that could track the movement of wolves over long distances.