Unit 4 Ecosystem Restoration Review

The Great Blue Heron is a carnivorous bird that can be found in Louisiana’s wetlands. They are expert fishers. Herons trap their prey by walking slowly or standing still for long periods of time. They wait for fish to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills. Their diets also consist of mice, insects, and other small creatures. The Great Blue Heron depends on the living components of its ecosystem and nonliving components like sunlight and air for growth and survival.

Each organism in the pond ecosystem needs food. Choose the model that best represents how energy flows through the pond ecosystem.

• Sun → Rushes → Insect → Small Fish → Heron

• Rushes → Insect → Small Fish → Large Fish → Heron

• Rushes ← Insect ← Small Fish ← Large Fish ← Heron

• Sun ← Insect ← Large Fish ← Heron ← Bacteria

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Which statement best explains the model? (Look at the picture)

• All food can eventually be traced back to plants. Plants in the pond ecosystem captured energy from the sun.

• All food can eventually be traced back to soil. The soil provides plants the energy for the pond ecosystem.

• All food can eventually be traced back to dead organisms. Dead organisms in the pond ecosystem provide plants and animals with energy.

• All food can eventually be traced back to the sun. Energy from the sun shines on the earth and is captured by plants and animals.

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The Australian ecosystem has open spaces with hills covered with plants, such as grass and trees. One animal in this ecosystem is the kangaroo, which is an herbivore.  Kangaroos are large marsupials found only in Australia.

British settlers began colonizing Australia in the late 1700s. In 1859, 24 European rabbits were brought to Australia to make new British settlers feel more at home.  The feral, or wild rabbits which grew strong and reproduced rapidly, competed with the kangaroos for food and damaged the ecosystem. 

 In 1950, with approximately 600 million rabbits in Australia, scientists decided to try to lower the number of rabbits by releasing a disease into their environment. The disease killed many of the rabbits, but the dead rabbits created additional problems for the environment. Although there were many dead rabbits, eventually decomposers cleaned them up.

Which TWO ways do European rabbits and kangaroos interact with the Australian environment? 

• Rabbits and kangaroos obtain air and water from the environment.

• Rabbits and kangaroos interact with the Australian environment by providing food for plants

• Rabbits and kangaroos get energy from eating other animals.

• Rabbits and kangaroos meet their needs in their environment by eating plants for food.

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The Australian ecosystem has open spaces with hills covered with plants, such as grass and trees. One animal in this ecosystem is the kangaroo, which is an herbivore.  Kangaroos are large marsupials found only in Australia.

British settlers began colonizing Australia in the late 1700s. In 1859, 24 European rabbits were brought to Australia to make new British settlers feel more at home.  The feral, or wild rabbits which grew strong and reproduced rapidly, competed with the kangaroos for food and damaged the ecosystem. 

 In 1950, with approximately 600 million rabbits in Australia, scientists decided to try to lower the number of rabbits by releasing a disease into their environment. The disease killed many of the rabbits, but the dead rabbits created additional problems for the environment. Although there were many dead rabbits, eventually decomposers cleaned them up.

Which of the following would be the most likely result if the population of European rabbits in this ecosystem were to decrease dramatically?

• The population of native kangaroos will stay the same.

• The population of plants in the Australian landscape will increase.

• Rabbits will continue to destroy the Australian landscape.

• The population of native kangaroos will decrease.

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How does matter move between the organisms that live in the Australian ecosystem?

• The sun allows grass to grow → European rabbits graze on grass → Foxes eat European rabbits

• European rabbits graze on grass → Foxes eat European rabbits → The sun allows grass to grow

• Foxes eat European rabbits → The sun allows grass to grow → European rabbits graze on grass

• The sun allows grass to grow → Foxes eat European rabbits → European rabbits graze on grass

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Which statement best describes how the matter is transferred between decomposers and plants?

• Decomposers are the top of the food chain. Matter and energy from decomposers are released into the ecosystem.

• Decomposers break down organisms and return nutrients to the soil. Plants need those nutrients to survive.

• Decomposers transfer matter from the air to the soil. The plants consume that matter for energy

• Plants are producers. They use energy from the sun to grow.

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Which statement best describes what happens to the flow of energy after a kangaroo ingests food from the Australian landscape?

• The energy from the plant is returned to the sun.

• The energy from the plant is transferred to the soil as the kangaroo eats.

• The plant releases energy as the kangaroo eats it.

• The energy from the plant is transferred to the kangaroo.

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LaShyla's grandmother grows bean plants in her garden. LaShyla observes that several of the plants are not growing well. She is interested in investigating how different factors impact the growth height of the bean plants. LaShyla predicts, "Bean plants need water to grow and to survive". 

To test her prediction, she conducts an experiment. She purchases two bean plants and plants them in the same section of her grandmother’s garden.  Her experiment is outlined in the chart below.

Which of the following is the most likely outcome of LaShyla's plant project?

• Both plants have strong, green stems and leaves.

• Both plants have weak stems and brown leaves that are dying.

• Plant 1 has strong, green leaves with strong stems. Plant 2 has green leaves with weak stems.

• Plant 1 has weak stems with brown and yellow leaves. Plant 2 has strong, green stems and leaves.

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Walter researches a forest ecosystem for his science fair project. He made a model of a forest food web to explain how matter moves among organisms in the ecosystem. He studied his model and realized he could make an improvement.

How could Walter improve his forest food web model to best explain how matter cycles among organisms and the environment?

• He should add the right climate to explain how the plants and animals survive in their environment.

• He should add decomposers to explain how they break down dead organisms and restore some materials to the soil.

• He should add a rabbit to the food chain to include more forest animals and explain how animals compete for grass.

• He should add air to explain how the different organisms in the forest use the gases in the air to survive.

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