Ecological Relationships and Energy Flow

What is a positive role that termites play in an ecosystem?

• They build large mounds that provide shelter for other animals.

• They break down dead plant matter and return nutrients to the ecosystem.

• They help to spread seeds of new plants.

• They are a primary food source for many large predators.

Which organisms are found at the very first trophic level of an energy pyramid?

• Primary Consumers

• Secondary Consumers

• Producers

• Tertiary Consumers

If producers in an energy pyramid have 50,000 kilocalories of energy, how much energy would the primary consumers have?

• 500 kilocalories

• 5,000 kilocalories

• 50,000 kilocalories

• 500,000 kilocalories

In a food web where birds eat grasshoppers and a certain type of plant, what would likely happen if the bird population decreased?

• The grasshopper population would decrease, and the plant population would increase.

• The grasshopper population would increase, and the plant population would decrease.

• Both the grasshopper and plant populations would decrease.

• Both the grasshopper and plant populations would increase.

A type of bat lives inside a pitcher plant, getting a home. The bat's droppings provide nitrogen for the plant. What kind of relationship is this?

• Parasitism

• Commensalism

• Mutualism

• Predation

What process converts nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into ammonia and ammonium, making it usable for plants?

• Nitrification

• Ammonification

• Denitrification

• Nitrogen Fixation

Which process involves nitrifying bacteria converting ammonia and ammonium into nitrates and nitrites, which are ideal forms for many plants?

• Nitrogen Fixation

• Nitrification

• Ammonification

• Denitrification

What process uses carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as an input to create food (glucose) and is performed by many producers like plants?

• Cellular Respiration

• Decomposition

• Photosynthesis

• Burning Fossil Fuels

What happens to coral when ocean temperatures become too high?

• They grow faster and become stronger.

• They change color to a darker shade.

• They expel the algae living inside them, turning white.

• They move to colder parts of the ocean.

What happens to the ocean's chemistry when it absorbs too much carbon dioxide?

• It becomes more alkaline (higher pH).

• It becomes more acidic (lower pH).

• Its temperature increases significantly.

• It becomes clearer and more transparent.