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WorksheetsEcology Test 2021
Total questions: 44
Worksheet time: 1hrs 5mins
Biodiversity is necessary in keeping an ecosystem healthy. In this example "Food Web A" is sustainable. Why is sustainability important for an ecosystem in "Food Web A".
If one organism is removed the food web can still operate with little or no negative effect from the loss of the organism.
If an organism is removed the food web will collapse and will affect the environment.
In a food chain, the options of consumption for each organism is plentiful, so the food chain will not be effected by the removal of one organism.
A certain flightless bird had no experience with snake predators. A brown tree snake was introduced as an invasive species. What most likely happened as a result of the introduction of the brown tree snake?
Brown tree snake ate only species that lived in trees.
The flightless bird was able to start flying.
The population of the flightless bird started to decline and nearly became extinct.
The flightless bird began building nests in trees.
The habitat of a moth species included trees with both light and dark colored bark.Therefore, the moth species included both light and dark colored genetic variants. Then, the light-colored trees were wiped out by a disease. Within a few years, nearly all the moths in this forest were dark colored. Which of the following choices BEST explains what happened?
The light moths that survived all had dark offspring in order to adapt to the change.
The dark moths were less visible to predators, so mostly light moths were eaten.
The few light moths that survived did not mate, and therefore they had no offspring.
The light moths changed their wing pigments to darker colors to avoid being eaten.
The use of fertilizers on farmland can eventually cause an overgrowth of phytoplankton to appear in surrounding aquatic ecosystems. What process contributes to the eutrophication (excessive richness of nutrients) of these water sources and the increased growth of phytoplankton?
A decreased use of water by animals.
An increase in runoff after heavy rains.
An increase in the sedimentation of rivers.
A decrease in the erosion of creek beds.
Coral reefs support more species than any other marine environment. The biodiversity in a coral reef is great, and scientists estimate that there may be another 1 to 8 million undiscovered species of organisms living in and around reefs. Reef structures protect shorelines against waves preventing the destruction of beaches and coastal property.
An artificial reef is a man-made structure that mimics some of the characteristics of a natural reef. Often, old ships and even subway cars are sunk off the coastal shore to create an artificial reef environment.
What is the greatest benefit an artificial reef would provide?
The artificial reef would create a place for scuba divers to explore.
The artificial reef would increase the biodiversity of the ecosystem off of the coast.
The artificial reef would decrease erosion of the coastline.
The artificial reef would provide a place for people to recycle large unused structures.
The graph shows the change in commercial catch, or landings, of Atlantic cod in the Georges Bank fishery.
Which of these statements is best supported by the data in the graph?
The Georges Bank cod fishery is currently sustainable.
Overfishing of Georges Bank cod occurred in the 1980s.
The Georges Bank cod population dropped sharply in the 1990s.
What is true about sustainability?
Having a small number of species increases biodiversity
Sustainability is how organisms change over time
Sustainability is how much rainfall and sunlight an ecosystem receives
The more different types of species you have (biodiversity) the better an ecosystem can sustain itself
Predator population lags behind prey population because......
Increase in predators leads to decrease in prey
Increase in predators leads to increase in prey
Increase in predators leads to decrease in producers
Increase in producers leads to increase in prey
Energy from the sun enters ecosystems through the transformation of light to chemical energy. This energy is available to different organisms based on trophic level. Which statement BEST describes the availability of energy for organisms in different trophic levels?
Energy increases as trophic levels increase (move higher up the food chain)
Energy decreases as trophic levels decrease (move lower down the food chain).
Energy decreases as trophic levels increase (move higher up the food chain)
Energy does not change throughout the trophic levels.
Water in most estuaries is brackish because of the mixing of fresh water from rivers and saltwater from incoming tides. A drought in the bay watershed would most likely cause the water in the bay to
increase in salinity
decrease in salinity
stay the same
fold the surrounding housing projects
Which statement describes an interaction that helps maintain the dynamic equilibrium of this ecosystem?
The diagram above shows an energy pyramid for an aquatic ecosystem.
Which of the following statements best explains why the energy pyramid is narrowest at the top?
The organisms at the top of the pyramid are the most efficient feeders.
The organisms at the top of the pyramid have the largest population sizes.
The organisms at the top of the pyramid need only a small amount of energy for their metabolism.
The organisms at the top of the pyramid receive only a small fraction of the energy that originally enters the system.
Yellowstone National Park is a national park located in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first National Park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion. On February 19, 2017, an article was written about YouTuber Kat Martin, who has been uploading videos of the Yellowstone geysers for well over a year. She says that the geysers are now erupting more frequently and stronger than anything she has witnessed in the past. What is arguably the world’s most famous super volcano is overdue for an eruption, and it could wreak havoc on America and potentially even the whole world. While the Yellowstone National Park is stunningly beautiful, with brightly colored sulphuric hot springs and erupting geysers, it packs a mighty punch.
If the super volcano were to erupt, the blast would cover all of the surrounding areas in ash. Based on the diagram above, which list shows the sequence of secondary succession that would follow that eruption?
X,Y,Z,W
Z,X,Y,W
W,Y,X,Z
Z,Y,W,X
A partial food web is shown above.
Which of the following describes the relationship between the earthworms and the beetles in the food web?
The earthworms and the beetles both compete for fungi.
The earthworms and the beetles both compete for robins and moles.
The earthworms help the beetles survive, and the beetles do not harm the earthworms.
The earthworms help the beetles survive, and the beetles help the earthworms survive.
The New England cottontail is the only rabbit native to New England. Current populations are small and isolated because of habitat loss. Scientists are concerned about the possible extinction of the New England cottontail.
Which of the following statements explains why having small and isolated populations puts these rabbits at risk for extinction?
Diet requirements of the rabbits are changed, making the emigration rate increase.
Male-to-female ratios in the populations are changed, making the birth rate fall to zero.
Immigration is increased, making it harder for the rabbits to successfully compete for resources.
Genetic variation is decreased, making the populations less able to adapt to environmental changes.
In 1937, two male and six female ring-necked pheasants were introduced to an island off the coast of Washington state. The pheasants mainly ate wheat.
The only known predators on the island were house cats, hawks, and owls. After five years, the pheasant population on the island had increased to 1,325 individuals. The population size then remained stable.
Which of the following most likely explains why the pheasant population size remained stable after five years?
The hawks learned to hunt only owls.
A limited amount of wheat grew on the island.
All the house cats that lived on the island died.
The original male and female ring-necked pheasants died.
A rainforest has many levels. The trees grow very tall and leaf sizes can be as small as your hand or as large as your body. What might they be competing for?
nutrients in the soil
quantity of sunlight
carbon dioxide in the air
timber that humans can use for fuel
An estuary collects sediments from the ocean and rivers that feed into it. The sediments swirl around and then settle to form a mudflat. Eel grass is then established on the mudflat. The ecosystem changes over time and ultimately develops into a salt marsh that contains mangrove trees. Which of the following is necessary for a plant to survive in this environment?
The plants must not root in the soil.
The plant must have strong roots to be able to withstand the wind force of tropical weather.
The plant life must be able to filter out the excess salt.
Which organisms in the food web shown are predators that compete for the same prey in this environment?
Coyotes and rabbits
White-tailed deer and rabbits
Leafy weeds and cotton rats
Bobcats and coyotes
A company purchased a large forest and cut the trees for lumber. Sunlight which had not reached the forest floor before was now very bright on the bare ground. Holly ferns began to grow rapidly because of increased access to light and moisture.
Which population of organisms would be in direct competition with the Holly ferns for the same resources?
Spotted owls
Squirrels
Hawks
Wildflowers
A coastal area that once supported a thriving fishing industry is overfished. The number of species found living in the marine ecosystem decreases.
Which of these activities is most likely to increase the natural biodiversity in the area?
Building artificial reefs and limiting fishing activity
Introducing non-native species to fill unoccupied habitats and banning fishing
Building artificial reefs and increasing fishing activity
Eliminating non-native species and encouraging fishing for large predatory fish
Organism X is positively affected by the
relationship and organism Y is negatively
affected.
Organism X is negatively affected by the
relationship and organism Y is positively
affected.
Both organisms are positively affected by the relationship.
Both organisms are negatively affected by the relationship.
Fleas attach to the skin of warm-blooded animals like dogs. The fleas feed on the blood of dogs, and they cause the dogs to itch. What is the relationship between fleas and dogs?
Fleas are hosts, and dogs are their parasites.
Fleas are predators, and dogs are their prey.
Dogs are hosts, and fleas are their parasites.
Dogs are predators, and fleas are their prey.
Which of the following describes how an abiotic factor can impact the population in an ecosystem?
A parasite that invades a host can reproduce and cause a decline in the host species population.
Organisms that compete for the same resources will keep each other from overpopulating.
Predators will prevent herbivores from depleting the plants and other resources in an ecosystem.
Seasonal variations in temperature can cause some of the individuals in a population to die.
What is the source of all energy that every food chain start with?
producers
sun
consumer
decomposers
Which is showing a biotic factor relying on an abiotic factor?
Bird eating a worm
Deer drinking water
Tick biting a dog
Dung Beetle following an elephant
According to the graph, what material’s recycling would reduce the largest portion of America’s trash?
Metals
paper
plastics
Yard trimmings
What recent change in oceans is making it hard for coral reefs to survive?
Warmer ocean temperatures is causing the corals to bleach and die.
Populations of fish that feed on coral are increasing and eating too many young coral.
The sandy places that young coral need to survive are being used by more tourists.
The trees that young coral depend on for shade are being cut down for buildings.
Which of the following human activities would be most helpful to an ocean ecosystem?
Fertilizing farmlands so the plants grow more
Fishing more in the coastal waters
Pouring motor oil down the storm sewer so it doesn't go in a landfill
Building an artificial reef for coral to grow and give shelter to fish
All of the following are negative impacts on oceans by human activity EXCEPT---
pollution
deforestation
overfishing
artificial reefs
According to the graph, what is causing the deer population to decrease
They got sick
The wolf population is decreasing
The wolf population increased
They ran out of food
Exotic or invasive species leads to all of these problems except
increased biodiversity
loss of biodiversity
disease
loss of native species
What is false about biodiversity
More biodiversity makes it least likely for a species to survive a disturbance such as a Tsunami
More biodiversity allows species to survive a disturbance such as a hurricane
As biodiversity increases sustainability increases
Genetic biodiversity is what makes us look and act different
