Ecology Review (Amoeba Sisters)

A food chain typically BEGINS with a

• primary consumer

• producer

• apex predator

• decomposer

Answer explanation

Food chains start with a producer (autotroph)

An autotroph...

• can make its own food

• cannot make its own food

Answer explanation

ON AVERAGE, what percentage of energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next?

• 25%
• 15%
• 5%
• 10%

Answer explanation

If only 10% is transferred, how much energy will be in the top level (tertiary consumers)?

(Notice that the decimal place moves one space to the left each level)

90,000 → 9,000 → 900 → ?

• 9 kilocalories

• 90 kilocalories

• 0.9 kilocalories

Answer explanation

If the population of birds were to decrease, which of the following would be most likely to happen?

• The population of grasshoppers and blueberries will increase.

• The population of snakes will increase exponentially.

• The number of rabbits will significantly decrease.

Answer explanation

Birds eat the blueberries and grasshoppers - so if there are less birds, then less of those populations are getting eaten!

For organisms in a symbiotic relationship called parasitism...

• one benefits, one is harmed

• both are harmed

• both benefit

• one benefits, one is unaffected

Some species of bats will nest inside carnivorous pitcher plants. The bat gets a safe place to sleep, and the pitcher plant actually uses the bat's waste as a source of nitrogen. What type of relationship is this?

• Parasitism

  (+/-)

• Mutualism

  (+/+)

• Commensalism

  (+/0)

Answer explanation

Several processes occur within the nitrogen cycle, including nitrogen fixation, nitrification, ammonification, and denitrification.

What is happening in each of these processes?

• Nitrogen is converted into glucose using sunlight.

• Nitrogen is converted between different forms to create a cycle.

• Nitrogen is removed from the ecosystem because it is toxic.

Answer explanation

A carbon reservoir is...

• a living organism

• any place carbon is found

• a process that builds carbon

Answer explanation

Carbon reservoirs are sources of carbon, so they are considered to be anywhere that carbon is found!

What process uses carbon dioxide as an input and is performed by many producers?

• Photosynthesis

• Cellular Respiration

• Mitosis

Answer explanation

CO₂ is an input for photosynthesis!