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Unit 1 Ecology

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 11mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

All primary consumers are

a)

Herbivores

b)

Carnivores

c)

Detritivores

d)

Omnivores

2.

A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe the bird?

a)

Herbivore, decomposer

b)

Producer, heterotroph

c)

Carnivore, consumer

d)

Autotroph, herbivore

3.

Which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem?

a)

Numbers pyramid

b)

Energy pyramid

c)

Biomass pyramid

d)

Food pyramid

4.

In the food chain of "algae --> mosquito larvae --> frogs --> raccoons", algae are the

a)

Consumers

b)

Heterotrophs

c)

Detritivores

d)

Autotrophs

5.

What is an explanation of why producers are always found at the lowest trophic level?

a)

Producers are larger than consumers

b)

Producers are found in fewer numbers than consumers

c)

Consumers are eaten by a variety of producers

d)

Producers capture light every

6.

Which of the following is a good example of a decomposer?

a)

Fungus

b)

Vulture

c)

Clam

d)

Shrimp

7.

At which stage in succession would you find the MOST pioneer species?

a)

Beginning

b)

Middle

c)

End

d)

There are no pioneer species in succession

8.

Read each of the following statements, which best depicts the difference between primary and secondary succession?

a)

Primary succession is the sequence of plants that colonize a new area, while secondary succession is the sequence of animals that move in later

b)

Primary succession is the establishment of a new community in an existing ecosystem that was disturbed, while secondary succession is the establishment of a community in an area with no soil

c)

Primary succession is the establishment of a community in an area with no soil, while secondary succession is the establishment of a new community in an existing ecosystem that was disturbed

d)

Primary succession is the sequence of species that move in later

9.

DDT was a highly effective insecticide developed in the 1940’s. In fact, DDT was so good at killing mosquitos and reducing malaria, that its inventor, Paul Muller, won the Nobel Prize. However, in the 1960’s, it was discovered that DDT is taken up by algae in the water, increasing in concentration at each step of the food chain, because the pesticide remains in the fat tissues of organisms.

The ecological problem that resulted from DDT use is called….

a)

Biohazard

b)

Eutrophication

c)

Food chain disruption

d)

Biomagnification

10.

A forest burns down. What type of succession is most likely to happen next?

a)

Primary succession

b)

Climax community

c)

Secondary succession

d)

Tertiary succession

11.

Which of the following is a cause of eutrophication?

a)

Burning of fossil fuels in large cities

b)

Excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

c)

Not recycling plastics

d)

Excessive amounts of nitrates and phosphates in a freshwater system

12.

Cougars are predators that often eat weakened or diseased animals. This is a description of the (a)   of the cougars.

13.

A group of Orca whales is an example of what?

a)

Community

b)

Ecosystem

c)

Population

d)

Biosphere

14.

Fleas are insects that feed off of other organisms, which causes them to be harmed. Which of the following types of symbiosis is the most appropriate for this situation?

a)

Mutualism

b)

Commensalism

c)

Predation

d)

Parasitism

15.

The portion of the Earth that supports the existence of living things is the

a)

Community

b)

Habitat

c)

Biosphere

d)

Niche

16.

On ten acres of native forest there are 8 white-tailed deer, 7 coyotes, 45 armadillos, and 231 loblolly pine trees. Which population has the highest density?

a)

White-tailed deer

b)

Coyotes

c)

Armadillos

d)

Loblolly pine trees

17.

To assess a population’s growth rate, an ecologist must know how many individuals are born, how many died, and how many have emigrated. What else must an ecologist know?

a)

How many individuals find mates

b)

How many individuals immigrate

c)

How many individuals carry communicable diseases

d)

How many individuals are young or old

18.

Each of the following is an abiotic factor in the environment EXCEPT

a)

Plants

b)

Soil

c)

Rain fall

d)

Temperature

19.

Which is a biotic factor that affects the population size in an ecosystem?

a)

Average temperature of the ecosystem

b)

Type of soil in the ecosystem

c)

Number and kinds of predators in the ecosystem

d)

Concentration of oxygen in the ecosystem

20.

Which example BEST illustrates a community?

a)

A single zebra

b)

A tropical reef aquarium with many different types of fish and corals

c)

A heard of bison living in Yellowstone Park

d)

All of the blue whales in the world