1. Which ecological unit incorporates abiotic factors?
Answer: ecosystem
2. The effects of altitude on an ecosystem include all of the following EXCEPT
Answer: an increase in temperature
4. Where would an ecologist find the most phytoplankton in a lake?
Answer: limnetic zone
5. The best example of a polygynous mating system is
Answer: male mammals that control access to mates and resources
6. Which of these ecosystems accounts for the largest amount of Earth's primary productivity?
Answer: open ocean
7. Which of the following levels of organization is arranged in the correct sequence, from most to least inclusive?
Answer: ecosystem, community, population, individual
8. Which of the following terms best describes the problems of increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere?
Answer: greenhouse effect
9. All of the following describe possible results of competition EXCEPT
Answer: aposematic coloration
10. Rain shadows are directly created by:
Answer: mountains
11. As a population approaches K (carrying capacity) which of the following would most likely occur?
Answer: a sudden drop in population size
12. A type 1 survival curve (level at first with a rapid increase in mortality in old age) is most likely to be found in:
Answer: a and b
13. Detritovores are unique because they
Answer: scavenge on dead and decaying organic matter
14. CO[2] (carbon dioxide) is returned into the atmosphere by the process of:
Answer: respiration
15. N[2] (nitrogen) is removed from the atmosphere by:
Answer: nitrification
16. Which of the following ecosystems would have the least primary productivity rate?
Answer: swamp or marsh
17. During an el nino episode, the:
Answer: all of the above
18. The greenhouse effect is due to:
Answer: increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and chloroflourocarbons in the atmosphere
19. A species that is relatively r-selected might have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT
Answer: parental care of offspring
20. Uniform spacing pattern in plants such as the creosote bush are most often associated with which of the following?
Answer: antagonistic interactions of individuals in the population
21. As N approaches K for a certain population, which of the following is predicted by the logistic equation?
Answer: the growth rate will approach zero
22. Higher species richness in the tropics than in the temperate zone may be explained by:
Answer: all of the above
23. A species-area curve can be used to predict:
Answer: the number of species that will be found in a habitat island of a given size
24. In general, the total biomass in a terrestrial ecosystem will be greatest for which trophic level?
Answer: producers
25. The high levels of DDT found in birds of prey is an example of
Answer: biological magnification
26. The phosphorus cycle differs from the cycles for nitrogen and carbon in that:
Answer: there is not a gaseous form of phosphorus that has importance in the cycle
27. The return of salmon to their home stream to spawn is an example of:
Answer: olfactory imprinting
28. In an ecosystem, you would most expect to find interspecific competition between
Answer: populations of two species that occupy the same niche
29. The bright red blotches on a frog with poisonous skin secretions are an example of
Answer: aposematic coloration
30. Zooplankton in the middle of the Pacific Ocean are in which oceanic zone?
Answer: pelagic
31. Which of the first terrestrial biomes is NOT adapted to and maintained by frequent fires?
Answer: desert
32. At the equator, prevailing winds generally blow from
Answer: east to west
33. Which of the following occurs during autumn turnover in temperate lakes?
Answer: surface water is fortified with nutrients
34. In which community would organisms be most likely to have evolved adaptations allowing them to respond to different photoperiods?
Answer: temperate deciduous forest
35. Which of the following biomes would have the highest number of different species per square mile?
Answer: tropical rain forest
36. All of the following statements about community interactions are correct EXCEPT
Answer: keystone predators reduce diversity in a community by holding down or wiping out prey populations
37. In a prairie ecosystem, vultures eat dead coyotes; coyotes hunt mice; mice eat seeds; and bacteria break down organic material for nutrients that are then taken up by the plants. Which species is a secondary consumer?
Answer: coyote
38. The rate at which solar energy is converted to the chemical energy of organic compounds by autotrophs is termed
Answer: primary productivity
39. In ecosystems, the flow of ________ is one-way, whereas _________ are recycled.
Answer: energy... atoms
40. The number of species in a community, irrespective of the number of individuals of each species present, is called the
Answer: species richness
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