Succession and Predation Graphs

A stable ecosystem is characterized by having

• no competition between species

• a continual input of energy

• limited autotrophic nutrition

• predators that outnumber their prey

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

After a building was torn down and the area was cleared, grasses began to grow in the area. Several years later, small bushes replaced the grasses. This pattern of plant growth is know as ecological

• coordination

• stability

• succession

• cultivation

The graph shows the masses of different types of plants found in an area of the Adirondack Mountains after a forest fire occurred.

Based on the information provided in the graph, the process that is occurring is

• genetic engineering

• selective breeding

• biological evolution

• ecological succession

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

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Which situation is most likely to lead to ecological succession?

• A farmer who has planted corn for many years retires, and the field is left abandoned.

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

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

• The amount of industrialization increased in an area, resulting in the increased burning of fossil fuels.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

The diagrams show some changes in an environment over time.

Which phrase best describes this sequence of diagrams?

• the altering of an ecosystem by a natural disaster

• natural communities replacing each other in an orderly sequence

• the path of energy through a food web in a natural community

• similarities between an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial ecosystem

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

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The diagram represents different stages of an ecosystem over a period of time.

Which stage of the ecosystem has the greatest long-term stability?

• A

• B

• C

• D

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

The diagram represents a process that occurs in nature.

If the oak and hickory trees were burned in a forest fire, leaving bare soil, which group of plants would most likely be the first to grow back?

• crabgrass and horseweed

• oak and hickory trees

• broomsedge and pine seedlings

• mature pine and young deciduous trees

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

An ecological process is represented in the diagram.

Which statement describes an event in this process?

• Community A organisms will develop directly into community D organisms.

• Community D modifies the environment, making it suitable for community C

• Community B modifies the environment, making it suitable for community C.

• Community E will develop into community A, if the environment remains stable.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Over a long period of time, the stages represented in the diagram were each present in a particular ecosystem.

After a forest fire, what is the most likely order in which these stages appeared?

• A → B → C → D

• B → D → C → A

• B → C → D → A

• D → C → A → B

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

In December 2004, a tsunami (giant wave) destroyed many of the marine organisms along the coast of the Indian Ocean. What can be expected to happen to the ecosystem that was most severely hit by the tsunami?

• The organisms in the ecosystem will become extinct.

• Succession will continue in the ecosystem until one species of marine organism is established.

• Ecological succession will no longer occur in this marine ecosystem.

• The ecosystem will change until a new stable community is established.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4