Ecology and Environmental Science Quiz

What are abiotic vs. biotic factors?

• Abiotic - living, Biotic - nonliving

• Abiotic - nonliving, Biotic - living

• Abiotic - energy, Biotic - matter

• Abiotic - matter, Biotic - energy

What are the two most basic needs of all organisms?

• Water and shelter

• Food and water

• Matter and energy

• Light and air

What happens to most precipitation?

• It evaporates into the atmosphere

• It is absorbed by plants

• It falls into the ocean

• It forms rivers and lakes

What kind of organisms fix nitrogen in the soil?

• Fungi

• Algae

• Bacteria

• Viruses

What is meant by a population’s carrying capacity?

• The maximum number of species in an ecosystem

• The largest population size that can be supported in an area

• The average population size over time

• The minimum population size needed for survival

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

• Two species can occupy the same niche indefinitely

• Two species cannot occupy the same niche in the same area for very long

• One species will always outcompete another in any environment

• Species can share resources equally in the same niche

What element is essential for all organic compounds?

• Oxygen

• Hydrogen

• Carbon

• Nitrogen

What are the three types of symbiotic relationships?

• Mutualism, Parasitism, Predation

• Commensalism, Parasitism, Competition

• Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism

• Predation, Competition, Mutualism

Identify the survivorship curve for a given population where parents produce few offspring and provide them with a lot of care.

• Type I

• Type II

• Type III

• Type IV

What is the difference between intraspecific and interspecific competition?

• Intraspecific occurs between different species; interspecific occurs within the same species.

• Intraspecific occurs within the same species; interspecific occurs between different species.

• Both occur within the same species.

• Both occur between different species.