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WorksheetsUnit 4 Ecology Practice Test
Total questions: 32
Worksheet time: 46mins
The sum total of the variety of organisms on Earth is referred to as
Ecosystem
Forest
Biodiversity
Agriculture
A species that enters an environment where it has not lived before is called a(an)
Endangered species
Threatened species
Predator
Invasive species
A species whose population size is declining so rapidly that it could soon become extinct is
Endangered
Nonnative
Fragmented
Invasive
The graph shows changes in the size of a bacterial population over time in the presence of a limiting factor. Which labeled segment of the graph is most similar to how a bacterial population would change without any limiting factors?
Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
Segment 4
What is the approximate carrying capacity of the rabbit population shown in the graph?
3 rabbits
55 rabbits
65 rabbits
Not reached yet
Louisiana’s state tree is the bald cypress. In the southern coastal areas of Louisiana, there are “ghost swamps” full of dead bald cypress trees. In most cases, these are wetlands that have been repeatedly flooded by water from the Gulf of Mexico because the land is subsiding. The seedlings of other trees, such as the Chinese tallow tree, appear to be out-competing bald cypress seedlings in these swamps. Which factor limits the natural reforestation of the bald cypress in the ghost swamps?
The lack of water
The shade of older trees
The presence of salt water
The availability of oxygen
Which statement best explains why ecosystems must have a constant input of energy from the Sun during the growing seasons?
The amount of solar energy will decrease in the winter.
Most of the energy flows up to the highest trophic levels
Energy is constantly lost as heat due to decomposition and respiration
Photosynthesis allows plants to store solar energy as chemical energy.
Why is a wolf in an arctic food web considered to be dependent on sunlight for food energy?
Cells in all living organisms contain some photosynthetic organelles.
In cold environments, animals use warmth from sunlight to increase their internal chemical energy.
The chemical energy stored in animals the wolf eats ultimately comes from solar energy captured by producers.
Wolves adapt to food scarcity by changing roles from consumers to producers.
Zooplankton are microscopic organisms in this ecosystem. Given the information in this food web, which change would most likely cause an increase in the zooplankton population in the lake?
Removing the bass
Adding more bass
Adding more sunfish
Adding more shad
After being gone for many years, wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. Given the information in the food web, which species likely benefited the most from the return of the wolves?
Deer
Grasses
Elks
Gophers
What is true of the time interval marked D in the graph. Choose all that apply
Carrying capacity has been reached
Birthrate equals death rate
Population is growing
Which time intervals in the graph shows exponential growth. Choose all that apply.
A
B
C
Imagine that the birds in this ecosystem all die. What will happen to the red fox population?
The red fox population will decrease
The red fox population will reproduce more
All the red foxes will die
The red fox population will increase
Imagine that a population of pumas wanders into this ecosystem. Pumas eat deer. What will happen to the mice?
The population size will decrease
The population size will increase
The population size will stay the same
The population will migrate to another area
The largest animals on Earth are the baleen whales. They feed primarily on krill, a small, shrimp-like animal. What is the advantage to baleen whales in eating tiny first-order consumers rather than eating large animals that are third- or fourth-order consumers?
The first-order consumers tend to be more spread out than higher-order consumers
The number of available producers is greater for lower orders.
The tiny first-order consumers are less dangerous than animals of higher orders
The total amount of available energy is greater in first-order consumers than in higher orders.
Which statement BEST explains why only 10% of the energy the krill contains is transferred to the whale?
Only a small percentage of energy is needed at higher levels
Amount of energy remains the same but it takes different forms
All the energy is used up by the primary producers
The energy in each level is lost as heat and released into the environment
Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, cycle carbon through the carbon cycle. Which other processes also participate in the carbon cycle?
Select all that apply
Biological processes, such as photosynthesis
Geo-chemical processes, such as the release of gas from volcanoes
Mixed biogeochemical processes, such as the formation of fossil fuels
Whole ecosystems of organisms live underground, where it is dark. These organisms eat decaying materials or other soil organisms and rarely or never come above ground. DO these soil ecosystems depend on light from the Sun?
No, because the bodies of soil organisms are adapted to live in the dark.
No, because only green plants depend on sunlight
Yes, because the energy in the decaying materials originally came from sunlight
Yes, because sunlight drives cellular respiration, which gives the organisms energy to live.
Which of the following is NOT an example of a density-dependent limiting factor?
Competitors
Parasites
Natural Disasters
Predators
Diseases
Imagine that a population of cougars wanders into the ecosystem. Cougars eat skunks. What will happen to the toad population?
The toad population size will stay the same.
The toad population will move elsewhere
The toad population size will increase
The toad population will decrease
Autographs are organisms that
Obtain energy by eating only plants
Use energy they take in from the environment to convert inorganic molecules into complex organic molecules
Consume plant and animal remains and other dead matter.
Rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply
In the nitrogen cycle, bacteria that live on the roots of plants
denitrifies nitrogen compounds
break down nitrogen compounds into nitrogen gas
Change nitrogen gas into plant proteins
Change nitrogen gas into ammonia
Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, cycle carbon through the carbon cycle. Which other processes also participate in the carbon cycle
Photosynthesis
Release of gas from volcanoes
Formation of fossil fuels
Cellular respiration
Which statement correctly explains why each trophic level in an energy pyramid has less energy than the one below it?
Much of the energy within a trophic level is used for life processes and is not stored.
When organisms increase their body size,they convert energy to additional mass.
Body mass tends to decrease with trophic level, so energy demands are lower in each
Organisms at higher trophic levels use energy more efficiently
What is the original source of energy for most organisms living deep in caves?
Chemical decomposition of limestone rock
Geothermal energy transferred from deep within the Earth
Energy captured from sunlight by organisms outside the cave
Energy present in water moving through the cave
Whole ecosystems of organisms live underground, where it is dark. These organisms eat decaying materials or other soil organisms and rarely or never come above ground. Do these soil ecosystems depend on light from the Sun?
Photosynthesis allows plants to store solar energy as chemical energy
Energy is constantly lost as heat due to decomposition and respiration
Most of the energy flows up to the highest trophic levels
The amount of solar energy will decrease in the winter.
Which claims are supported by evidence from the graph? Select the two correct answers.
Sea urchin survival depends on a stable sheephead population
The size of the sheephead population has a direct effect on the size of the sea urchin population
As the sea urchin population decreases, the population of sheephead decreases due to starvation
A large sheephead population will cause the sea urchin population to decrease
The sea urchin population decreases, the population sheephead decreases due to starvation.
Which change is most responsible for the decline of the kit fox population?
An increase in predator habitat due to reduce competion
An increase in insect populations due to agriculture
A reduction in carrying capacity due to habitat loss
A reduction in carrying capacity due to decreased temperatures
29. Which claim about changes in biodiversity in the San Joaquin Valley is supported by the information in Figure 1?
Biodiversity has increased because of the expansion of agriculture
Biodiversity has increased because woodlands have been removed.
Biodiversity has decreased because species have migrated out of the valley
Biodiversity has decreased because a variety of habitats have been reduced.
Which statement best explains why biodiversity is important for all life on Earth?
High biodiversity changes an ecosystem by reducing the survival rate of all but the individuals best suited to an area.
Low biodiversity prevents the loss of species by increasing the types of organisms that can live in one area
High biodiversity tends to stabilize an ecosystem by reducing the rate at which species become extinct.
Low biodiversity results in stable ecosystems by increasing competition for resources among individuals.
Which human intervention would most likely protect and maintain kit fox populations?
Moves kit foxes to areas with large populations of similar mammals
Move kit foxes to sparsely populated mountainous regions
Protect grasslands and prairies from development
Introduce a species that could be a new kit fox food source.
Scientists studying San Joaquin kit foxes have proposed the 3 strategies shown in an effort to increase the kit fox population.
-Strategy 1: Work with landowners to create artificial dens that prevent coyotes and bobcats from entering.
-Strategy 2: Place tracking devices on lizards and rodents to understand how the kit fox’s prey use the territory.
-Strategy 3: Restore a portion of agricultural land back to its original saltbush habitat.
32. Identify which strategy is likely to result in the greatest increase in the San Joaquin kit fox population and explain why the strategy you identified is more likely than the other two strategies to lead to the greatest increase in the kit fox population.
Strategy 1 because it will protect the kit foxes from predators
Strategy 2 because it will help scientist understand the needs of kit foxes
Strategy 3 because it will protect the greatest area for kit fox growth.
All of the strategies will equally help the kit fox population
