Ecological Succession Quiz

What will most likely result after a fire or other natural disaster damages an ecosystem in a certain area?

• The area will remain empty with no living organisms.

• A stable ecosystem will be established after one year.

• An ecosystem similar to the original one will eventually return if the climate remains the same.

• The stable ecosystem that becomes reestablished in the area will be different from the original.

Which situation is most likely to lead to ecological succession?

• The fish populations in a large lake remain the same for many years.

• Humans are allowed to hunt wolves, with no limits, for one season.

• The amount of industrialization (increased factories) increased in an area, resulting in increased burning of fossil fuels.

• A farmer who planted corn for many years has retired, leaving the field abandoned.

What is ecological succession?

• A series of gradual changes after a disturbance (damage)

• Changes that only happen when species die

• A series of changes that cause a population to increase or decrease

• An instant change caused by a disturbance

What is formed (created) during primary succession that does not need to be formed during secondary succession?

• Pioneer Species

• Lichens

• Climax Community

• Soil

Decomposers are important in food chains because they

• A) produce their own food using light from the sun.

• B) stop the flow of energy from one organism to another.

• C) break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients back to the soil.

• D) are microscopic and other organisms cannot consume them.

In which part of the food chain is the greatest amount of energy transferred?

• A) Insect to frog

• B) Frog to owl

• C) Grass to insect

• D) Owl to hawk

The amount of energy transfer from one trophic level (organism) to the next level is approximately __________.

• 1%

• 10%

• 100%

• 50%

Which trophic level contains organisms that only eat plants?

• Producers

• Secondary Consumers

• Primary Consumers

• Decomposers

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in the roots of some plants. They provide nitrogen in the form that plants need and get a home and food from the plants. What type of symbiotic relationship is this?

• Mutualism

• Parasitism

• Commensalism

• Predation

Why are there arrows in food chains and food webs?

• They indicate which organisms are carnivores.

• They show how sunlight flows in an ecosystem.

• They show the direction the energy is flowing between organisms.

• They indicate that the amount of energy available at each level is the same.