Deck 18: Communities and Ecosystems

Question 1

In a typical predator-prey relationship, ____.

A) the predator exerts selective pressure on its prey
B) the prey exerts selective pressure on its predator
C) the predator will not kill its prey
D) the predator feeds on carcasses
E) predator and prey exert selective pressures on each other

Answer 1

E

Question 2

​An example of a one-way relationship in which one species benefits and another is directly hurt is ____.

A) ​commensalism
B) ​mutualism
C) ​interspecific competition
D) ​scramble competition
E) ​parasitism

Answer 2

E

Question 3

​Which is a characteristic of parasites?

A) ​They are indiscriminate in their choice of host.
B) ​They inflict serious injury and kill their host.
C) ​Some reside inside their host, whereas others live outside their host.
D) ​Parasitic hosts are always animals.
E) ​They rarely harm their host.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

​Species richness and the relative abundance of each species determine ____.

A) ​the species composition of an ecosystem
B) ​the species diversity of a community
C) ​the species composition of a population
D) ​the species diversity of the biosphere
E) ​the species diversity in a niche

Question 5

​Resource partitioning is the result of ____.

A) ​parasitism
B) ​mutualism
C) ​competition
D) ​predation
E) ​commensalism

Question 6

​Which term denotes the conditions, resources, and interactions necessary for survival and reproduction of a species?

A) ​habitat
B) ​niche
C) ​carrying capacity
D) ​community
E) ecosystem​

Question 7

The lichen shown here is an example of ____.

A) competition
B) parasitism
C) predation
D) commensalism
E) mutualism

Question 8

A community refers to ____.

A) the interaction between populations and their environment
B) the interaction between species and their environment
C) an area in which a single species lives
D) all species that live and interact in a specific area
E) the nonliving components of an area

Question 9

​An interaction that benefits both species is ____.

A) ​a neutral relationship
B) ​commensalism
C) ​competition
D) ​mutualism
E) ​parasitism

Question 10

​Competitive exclusion is based upon the idea that ____.

A) ​one species will voluntarily allow the other to survive
B) no two species can completely occupy the same niche​
C) ​the larger species will dominate the smaller
D) ​competition is overrated as a factor in species survival
E) ​two species can live together, if they share the same niche but only at alternate times

Question 11

In S. invicta's native environment, _____ help keep the species in check.

A) harvester ants
B) fruit flies
C) phorid flies
D) songbirds
E) horned lizards

Question 12

How do red imported fire ants threaten the Texas horned lizard?

A) eating the lizard's eggs
B) eating plants that the lizard eats
C) eating ground-nesting bees
D) outcompeting harvester ants
E) outcompeting insects that songbirds eat

Question 13

​The interaction in which one species benefits and the second species is neither harmed nor benefited is ____.

A) ​mutualism
B) ​parasitism
C) ​commensalism
D) ​competition
E) ​predation

Question 14

​Solenopsis invicta, a species of fire ant, was introduced to the United States from ____.

A) ​South America
B) ​Canada
C) ​Asia
D) ​Africa
E) Europe​

Question 15

​RIFAs are a(n) ____ species.

A) ​host
B) ​parasitic
C) ​pioneer
D) ​keystone
E) ​exotic

Question 16

​Red imported fire ants (RIFAs) disrupt natural communities by ____.

A) ​congregating inside electrical equipment
B) ​competing with native ant populations
C) ​stinging humans with deadly venom
D) ​disrupting pasture land
E) ​killing Texas horned lizards

Question 17

​An example of a nonbiological factor that affects community structure is ____.

A) ​mutualism
B) ​competition
C) ​parasitism
D) ​predation
E) ​rainfall

Question 18

​The interaction between two species in which both species may be harmed is known as ____.

A) ​parasitism
B) ​mutualism
C) ​competition
D) ​predation
E) ​commensalism

Question 19

The relationship between the yucca plant and the yucca moth that pollinates it is best described as ____.

A) commensalism
B) parasitism
C) predation
D) mutualism
E) competition

Question 20

In contrast to predation, a parasite usually ____.​

A) ​does not kill its host
B) ​always kills its host
C) ​is a short-term visitor
D) ​is larger than its host
E) does not harm its host​

Question 21

Considering the traditional view of ecological succession, which plant would most likely be a pioneer species in a primary succession event?​

A) ​an oak tree that produces acorns dispersed by squirrels
B) ​a snapdragon flower pollinated by bees
C) ​a dandelion that produces seeds asexually, which are dispersed by the wind
D) ​a perennial species such as Douglas fir trees
E) a birch tree​

Question 22

The cowbird chick with its foster parent exemplifies an example of ____.​

A) ​commensalism
B) ​brood parasitism
C) ​competition
D) ​mutualism
E) parasitoidism​

Question 23

An example of a specific adaptation against predation is ____.​

A) ​photosynthetic dinoflagellates providing sugars to corals
B) ​eagles and foxes fighting over a carcass
C) ​two species of Paramecium feeding on bacteria
D) ​sundew plants and wolf spiders competing for food
E) ​a skunk squirting foul-smelling, irritating repellents

Question 24

This orchid attached to a tree branch is an example of ____.

A) competition
B) parasitism
C) predation
D) commensalism
E) mutualism

Question 25

An example of keystone species are ____.​

A) ​beavers that build dams
B) ​mice that feed on mushrooms and truffles
C) ​Douglas fir trees
D) ​kudzu
E) earthworms that aid decomposition​

Question 26

Which is a factor in determining which plant type becomes the pioneer species in a primary succession event?​

A) ​the species of plants that preceded it
B) ​the animals that occupy the area
C) ​chance events that affect the order in which pioneer species arrive
D) ​the nature of the existing soils
E) the type of disturbance​

Question 27

The plants and animals present in a region from which the trees were removed ten years earlier represent ____.​

A) ​primary succession
B) ​a climax forest
C) ​pioneer species
D) ​secondary succession
E) species introduction​

Question 28

Tapeworms and flukes are examples of ____.​

A) ​commensalism
B) ​mutualism
C) ​competition
D) ​predation
E) parasitism​

Question 29

Hoverflies like to drop in at outdoor picnics to sample the sweets, but the reaction of humans is to flee the scene because of the flies' uncanny resemblance to bees. Thus, the survival of hoverflies is enhanced by ____.

A) mimicry
B) display behavior
C) warning coloration
D) chemical defenses
E) camouflage

Question 30

This image shows an area in which a glacier has melted. What is indicated by the number "2"?

A) competition for food resources
B) resource partitioning between two competing species
C) emergence of climax species
D) colonization by pioneer species
E) secondary succession

Question 31

Phorid flies lay their eggs inside the bodies of various insects and spiders. When the larvae hatch, they consume the body of the "host" from the inside out. The phorid fly is an example of a ____.

A) brood parasite
B) parasitoid
C) commensalist
D) competitive excluder
E) mutualist

Question 32

How are parasitoids different from typical brood parasites?

A) They are usually not insects.
B) They affect only plants.
C) They lay eggs inside a host, which is eventually killed.
D) They fool another species into caring for their young.
E) They usually only affect the eggs of birds.

Question 33

Secondary succession can occur ____.​

A) ​after a fire
B) ​on a new sand dune
C) ​on bare rock
D) ​immediately after the formation of an artificial lake
E) ​on a glacier

Question 34

Two species of closely related squirrels both feed on acorns produced by oak trees. One species feeds exclusively near the top of the tree and the other feeds exclusively toward the bottom of the tree. This is an example of ____.

A) competitive exclusion
B) resource partitioning
C) mutualism
D) commensalism
E) mimicry

Question 35

The first plant to colonize the plains of Mount Saint Helens after this volcano erupted in 1980 was a prairie lupine. The prairie lupine is therefore an example of ____.​

A) ​a secondary successor
B) ​a pioneer species
C) ​a keystone species
D) ​an exotic species
E) an introduced species​

Question 36

Which represents an early stage in primary succession?​

A) ​pine tree growth
B) ​mosses and lichen on bare rock
C) ​weedy annual plants in an open field
D) ​climax species in succession
E) fields of food crops​

Question 37

​Many introduced species have deleterious effects on communities and ecosystems because ____.

A) ​coevolved parasites and pathogens are absent
B) ​the introduced species are long-lived
C) ​predators prefer the introduced species, resulting in proliferation of native prey species
D) ​the community from which they came lost an important predator, competitor, or parasite
E) human beings do not know how to appreciate them​

Question 38

The monarch butterfly is poisonous to birds; therefore, birds avoid eating them. Viceroy butterflies look very similar to monarch butterflies but are not poisonous. Because they look like monarch butterflies, birds also do not eat viceroy butterflies. This is an example of ____.

A) resource partitioning
B) competitive exclusion
C) mimicry
D) camouflage
E) commensalism

Question 39

Which is an example of an event that would give rise to primary succession?​

A) ​a dense landslide of mountain rocks covering an entire valley
B) ​a fire that burns all surface vegetation
C) ​an abandoned agricultural field
D) ​a lake that dries up, killing all aquatic plants
E) a forest that is logged​

Question 40

Commensalism is a type of ____.​

A) ​predation
B) ​symbiosis
C) active competition​
D) ​scramble competition
E) competitive exclusion​

Question 41

The greatest concentration of nitrogen on Earth is found in ____.​

A) ​living organisms, including bacteria
B) ​the atmosphere
C) ​soil minerals
D) ​fossil fuels
E) oceans​

Question 42

Light energy from the sun is captured by photosynthesis as ____.​

A) ​heat energy in chemical bonds
B) ​energy in chemical bonds
C) ​chemical energy lost to the environment
D) ​kinetic energy in chemical bonds
E) conserved energy​

Question 43

An example of a primary consumer is a(n) ____.​

A) ​tiger
B) ​grasshopper
C) ​eagle
D) ​hyena
E) snake​

Question 44

At the bottom or base of an energy pyramid are the ____.​

A) ​primary consumers
B) ​primary producers
C) ​secondary consumers
D) ​secondary producers
E) tertiary consumers​

Question 45

In the simplified prairie food chain illustrated by the following pictures, the letter C represents a ____.

A) tertiary consumer
B) secondary consumer
C) first trophic level
D) primary consumer
E) third trophic level

Question 46

An array of organisms together with their physical environment is referred to as a(n) ____.​

A) ​population
B) ​community
C) ​ecosystem
D) ​biosphere
E) landscape​

Question 47

In most land ecosystems, ____ food chains predominate.​

A) ​decomposer
B) ​detrital
C) ​producer
D) ​consumer
E) grazing​

Question 48

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ____.​

A) ​is destroying the ozone layer
B) ​has dramatically increased in the last few decades
C) ​is one of the prime reasons for acid depositions
D) ​is a waste gas produced by respiration and has no biological use
E) can change spontaneously to carbon monoxide in sunlight​

Question 49

In a natural community, the primary consumers are ____.​

A) ​herbivores
B) ​carnivores
C) ​detritivores
D) ​decomposers
E) producers​

Question 50

The warming action on Earth's atmosphere is referred to as ____.

A) respiration accumulation
B) the greenhouse effect
C) the smog problem
D) the blanket phenomenon
E) ozone depletion

Question 51

Which is an example of a detritivore?​

A) ​bacteria
B) ​plants
C) ​fungi
D) ​crab
E) protist​

Question 52

Nitrogen is released into the atmosphere by ____.​

A) ​nitrogen fixation
B) ​denitrification
C) ​nitrification
D) ​ammonification
E) decomposition​

Question 53

The niche of an earthworm in an ecosystem is as a(n)____.​

A) producer​
B) ​consumer
C) ​detritivore
D) ​decomposer
E) parasite​

Question 54

In the simplified prairie food chain illustrated in the following pictures, the letter D represents ____.

A) tertiary consumer
B) secondary consumer
C) first trophic level
D) primary consumer
E) third trophic level

Question 55

In a hypothetical land ecosystem, plants (the primary producers) capture 1000 kilocalories of sunlight energy per square meter per year. Approximately how many kilocalories of the plant's energy will be harvested by the third trophic level?

A) 1
B) 10
C) 100
D) 1,000
E) 2,000

Question 56

Most of the water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere comes from evaporation from ____.

A) lakes
B) rivers
C) land
D) oceans
E) plants

Question 57

An energy pyramid is ____.

A) a demonstration of the first law of thermodynamics
B) a representation of the decline in available energy as it travels through the trophic levels
C) fundamentally different from the pyramid of biomass and the pyramid of numbers
D) a demonstration of the interactions between species in a community
E) a representation of an ecosystem's diversity

Question 58

Although energy flows in one direction in an ecosystem, nutrients ____ through an ecosystem.​

A) ​move from consumers to producers
B) ​drive the energy flow
C) ​build up
D) ​deteriorate
E) cycle​

Question 59

Approximately ____ of Earth's total primary production is supplied by the ocean's primary producers.

A) one-fourth
B) one-third
C) half
D) three-fourths
E) all

Question 60

In an Arctic food web, the organisms in these pictures represent the ____.

A) second trophic level
B) secondary consumers
C) first trophic level
D) primary consumers
E) third trophic level

Question 61

Nitrogen gas is first converted into _____ by certain_____ before it enters the land nitrogen cycle.​

A) ​nitrate; bacteria
B) ​ammonium; bacteria
C) ​elemental nitrogen; bacteria
D) ​nitrate; bacteria and fungi
E) ammonium; bacteria and fungi​

Question 62

An aquifer is most closely related to ____.​

A) ​sea water
B) ​lake water
C) ​stream water
D) ​glacial water
E) groundwater​

Question 63

The process that converts nitrate into nitrogen gas is known as ____.​

A) ​denitrification
B) ​nitrification
C) ​nitrogen fixation
D) ​assimilation
E) assimilation and nitrification​

Question 64

Most of the Earth's phosphorous is in the form of ____.​

A) ​phosphoric acid
B) ​elemental phosphorous
C) ​phosphate
D) ​phosphorous cations
E) carbonate​

Question 65

Examine the following figure of the water cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​precipitation onto land

Question 66

Where is most of the Earth's phosphate found?​

A) ​ocean water
B) ​aquifers
C) ​the atmosphere
D) ​rocks and sediments
E) plants​

Question 67

Matching
Examine the following figure of the carbon cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​atmospheric CO₂

Question 68

The nitrogen cycle on land begins with ____.​

A) ​nitrification
B) ​denitrification
C) ​decomposition
D) ​uptake by producers
E) nitrogen fixation​

Question 69

Matching
Examine the following figure of the carbon cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​cellular respiration

Question 70

Examine the following figure of the water cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​evaporation from ocean

Question 71

In this figure, what do the yellow arrows marked #1 and #2 indicate?

A) light energy
B) heat energy
C) greenhouse gases
D) atmospheric gases
E) carbon dioxide

Question 72

Matching
Examine the following figure of the carbon cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​dissolved carbon in the ocean

Question 73

About half of all Americans rely on ____ for their drinking water.​

A) ​glaciers
B) ​sea water
C) ​stream water
D) ​aquifers
E) lake water​

Question 74

Matching
Examine the following figure of the carbon cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​fossil fuels

Question 75

Which is formed from the carbon shells of marine organisms?​

A) ​limestone
B) ​phosphates
C) ​glaciers
D) ​rhyolite
E) gneiss​

Question 76

Examine the following figure of the water cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​surface and groundwater flow

Question 77

Nitrification is the process of ____.​

A) ​converting nitrogen gas to ammonia
B) ​converting nitrogen gas to nitrate
C) ​converting ammonium to nitrate
D) ​converting nitrate to ammonia
E) converting nitrate to nitrogen gas​

Question 78

In this figure, what do the orange arrows marked #3 indicate?

A) light energy
B) heat energy
C) greenhouse gases
D) atmospheric gases
E) carbon dioxide

Question 79

Matching
Examine the following figure of the carbon cycle. Match each term with the concept to which it best corresponds. ​
a.A
b.B
c.C
d.D
e.E
​photosynthesis

Question 80

Some ___ have enzymes to break the bonds of atmospheric nitrogen and use it for the metabolism of proteins and other nitrogen-containing molecules.

A) fungi
B) bacteria
C) plants
D) protists
E) animals