Chapter 55 Ecology Flashcards

3) Which statement most accurately describes how matter and energy are used in ecosystems?
A) Matter is cycled through ecosystems; energy is not.
B) Energy is cycled through ecosystems; matter is not.
C) Energy can be converted into matter; matter cannot be converted into energy.
D) Matter can be converted into energy; energy cannot be converted into matter.
E) Matter is used in ecosystems; energy is not.

4) The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created, yet matter is sometimes gained or lost to an ecosystem. What is the reason for this seeming contradiction?
A) Chemoautotrophic organisms can convert matter to energy.
B) Matter can be moved in/out of an ecosystem from/to another ecosystem.
C) Photosynthetic organisms convert solar energy to sugars.
D) Detrivores convert matter to energy.
E) Heterotrophs convert heat to energy.

6) A cow's herbivorous diet indicates that it is a(n)
A) primary consumer.
B) secondary consumer.
C) decomposer.
D) autotroph.
E) producer.

7) To recycle nutrients, an ecosystem must have, at a minimum,
A) producers.
B) producers and decomposers.
C) producers, primary consumers, and decomposers.
D) producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and decomposers.
E) producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, top carnivores, and decomposers.

8) Which of the following terms encompasses all of the others?
A) heterotrophs
B) herbivores
C) carnivores
D) primary consumers
E) secondary consumers

10) Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem?
A) All of the brook trout in a 500 hectare² river drainage system.
B) The plants, animals, and decomposers that inhabit an alpine meadow.
C) A pond and all of the plant and animal species that live in it.
D) The intricate interactions of the various plant and animal species on a savanna during a drought.
E) Interactions between all of the organisms and their physical environment in a tropical rain forest.

13) The major role of detrivores in ecosystems is to
A) provide a nutritional resource for heterotrophs.
B) recycle chemical nutrients to a form capable of being used by autotrophs.
C) prevent the buildup of the organic remains of organisms, feces, and so on.
D) return energy lost to the ecosystem by other organisms.

33) What is secondary production?
A) energy converted by secondary consumers from primary consumers
B) solar energy that is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis
C) food that is converted to new biomass by consumers
D) energy that is not used by consumers for growth and reproduction
E) growth that takes place during the second year of life in consumers

34) How does inefficient transfer of energy among trophic levels result in the typically high endangerment status of many top-level predators?
A) Top-level predators are destined to have small populations that are sparsely distributed.
B) Predators have relatively large population sizes.
C) Predators are more disease-prone than animals at lower trophic levels.
D) Predators have short life spans and short reproductive periods.
E) Top-level predators are more likely to be stricken with parasites.

38) For most terrestrial ecosystems, pyramids of numbers, biomass, and energy are essentially the samethey have a broad base and a narrow top. The primary reason for this pattern is that
A) secondary consumers and top carnivores require less energy than producers.
B) at each step, energy is lost from the system as a result of keeping the organisms alive.
C) as matter passes through ecosystems, some of it is lost to the environment.
D) biomagnification of toxic materials limits the secondary consumers and top carnivores.
E) top carnivores and secondary consumers have a more general diet than primary producers.

39) Which of the following is primarily responsible for limiting the number of trophic levels in most ecosystems?
A) Many primary and higher-order consumers are opportunistic feeders.
B) Decomposers compete with higher-order consumers for nutrients and energy.
C) Nutrient cycles involve both abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems.
D) Nutrient cycling rates tend to be limited by decomposition.
E) Energy transfer between tropic levels is in almost all cases less than 20% efficient.

40) Which trophic level is most vulnerable to extinction?
A) producer level
B) primary consumer level
C) secondary consumer level
D) tertiary consumer level
E) decomposer level

54) Why do logged tropical rain forest soils typically have nutrient-poor soils?
A) Tropical bedrock contains little phosphorous.
B) Logging results in soil temperatures that are lethal to nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
C) Most of the nutrients in the ecosystem are removed in the harvested timber.
D) The cation exchange capacity of the soil is reversed as a result of logging.
E) Nutrients evaporate easily into the atmosphere in the post-logged forest.

58) In a typical grassland community, which of the following has the smallest biomass?
A) hawk
B) snake
C) shrew
D) grasshopper
E) grass

59) In a typical grassland community, which of the following is the primary consumer?
A) hawk
B) snake
C) shrew
D) grasshopper
E) grass

Food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem (arrows represent energy flow and letters represent species)

61) Examine this food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem. Which species is autotrophic?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E

Food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem (arrows represent energy flow and letters represent species)

62) Examine this food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem. Which species is most likely a decomposer on this food web?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E

Food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem (arrows represent energy flow and letters represent species)

64) Examine this food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem. Which pair of species could be omnivores?
A) A and B
B) A and D
C) B and C
D) C and D
E) C and E

72) As big as it is, the ocean is nutrient-limited. If you wanted to investigate this, one reasonable approach would be to
A) follow whale migrations in order to determine where most nutrients are located.
B) observe Antarctic Ocean productivity from year to year to see if it changes.
C) experimentally enrich some areas of the ocean and compare their productivity to that of untreated areas.
D) compare nutrient concentrations between the photic zone and the benthic zone in various marine locations.
E) contrast nutrient uptake by autotrophs in marine locations that are different temperatures.