1) "How do seed-eating animals affect the distribution and
abundance of the trees?" This question
A) would require an
elaborate experimental design to answer.
B) would be difficult
to answer because a large experimental area would be required.
C) would be difficult to answer because a long-term experiment
would be required.
D) is one that a present-day ecologist would
be likely to ask.
E) All options are correct.
Answer: E
2) Which of the following levels of ecological organization is
arranged in the correct sequence from most to least inclusive?
A) community, ecosystem, individual, population
B)
ecosystem, community, population, individual
C) population,
ecosystem, individual, community
D) individual, population,
community, ecosystem
E) individual, community, population, ecosystem
Answer: B
3) Which of the following examples of an ecological effect leading to
an evolutionary effect is most correct?
A) When seeds are not
plentiful, trees produce more seeds.
B) A few organisms of a
larger population survive a drought and then these survivors emigrate
to less arid environments.
C) A few individuals with denser fur
survive the coldest days of an ice age, and the reproducing survivors
of the ice age all have long fur.
D) Fish that swim the fastest
in running water catch the most prey and more easily escape predation.
E) The insects that spend the most time exposed to sunlight have
the most mutations.
Answer: C
4) Which of the following might be an investigation of microclimate?
A) the effect of ambient temperature on the onset of caribou
migration
B) the seasonal population fluctuation of nurse sharks
in coral reef communities
C) competitive interactions between
various species of songbirds during spring migration
D) the
effect of sunlight intensity on species composition in a decaying rat
carcass
E) the effect of different nitrogen applications on corn productivity
Answer: D
5) Which of the following choices includes all of the others in
creating global terrestrial climates?
A) differential heating of
Earth's surface
B) ocean currents
C) global wind patterns
D) evaporation of water from ocean surfaces
E) Earth's
rotation on its axis
Answer: A
6) Why is the climate drier on the leeward side of mountain ranges
that are subjected to prevailing winds?
A) Deserts usually are
found on the leeward side of mountain ranges.
B) The sun
illuminates the leeward side of mountain ranges at a more direct
angle, converting to heat energy, which evaporates most of the water
present.
C) Pushed by the prevailing winds on the windward side,
air is forced to rise, cool, condense, and drop its precipitation,
leaving only dry air to descend the leeward side.
D) Air masses
pushed by the prevailing winds are stopped by mountain ranges and the
moisture is used up in the stagnant air masses on the leeward side.
E) More organisms live on the sheltered, leeward side of
mountain ranges where their utilization of water lowers the amount
available when compared to the windward side.
Answer: C
7) What would be the effect on climate in the temperature latitudes
if Earth were to slow its rate of rotation from a 24-hour period of
rotation to a 48-hour period of rotation?
A) Seasons would be
longer and more distinct (colder winters and warmer summers).
B)
There would be a smaller range between daytime high and nighttime low
temperatures.
C) Large scale weather events such as tornadoes
and hurricanes would no longer be a part of regional climates.
D) Winter seasons in both the northern and southern hemispheres
would have more abundant and frequent precipitation events.
E)
The climate would stay the same. The only change would be longer days
and nights.
Answer: E
8) Palm trees and subtropical plants are commonplace in Land's End,
England, whose latitude is the equivalent of Labrador in coastal
Canada where the local flora is subarctic. Which statement best
explains why this apparent anomaly exists between North America and
Europe?
A) Labrador does not get enough rainfall to support the
subtropical flora found in Land's End.
B) Warm ocean currents
interact with England, whereas cold ocean currents interact with
Labrador.
C) Rainfall fluctuates greatly in England; rainfall is
consistently high in Labrador.
D) Labrador is too windy to
support tall plants, such as palm trees.
E) Labrador receives
sunlight of lower duration and intensity than does Land's End.
Answer: B
9) Which statement describes how climate might change if Earth was
75% land and 25% water?
A) Terrestrial ecosystems would likely
experience more precipitation.
B) Earth's daytime temperatures
would be higher and nighttime temperatures lower.
C) Summers
would be longer and winters shorter at midlatitude locations.
D)
Earth would experience an unprecedented global warming.
E) More
terrestrial microclimates would be created because of daily
fluctuations in climate.
Answer: B
10) Which of the following abiotic factors has the greatest influence
on the metabolic rates of plants and animals?
A) water
B)
wind
C) temperature
D) rocks and soil
E) disturbances
Answer: C
11) In mountainous areas of western North America, north-facing
slopes would be expected to
A) receive more sunlight than
similar southern exposures.
B) be warmer and drier than
comparable southern exposed slopes.
C) consistently be steeper
than southern exposures.
D) support biological communities
similar to those found at lower elevations on similar south-facing
slopes.
E) support biological communities similar to those found
at higher elevations on similar south-facing slopes.
Answer: E
12) Deserts typically occur in a band at 20 degrees north and south
latitude because
A) descending air masses tend to be cool and
dry.
B) trade winds have a little moisture.
C)
moisture-laden air is heavier than dry air and is not carried to these
latitudes.
D) ascending air tends to be moist.
E) these
locations get the most intense solar radiation of any location on Earth.
Answer: A
13) Which of the following events might you predict to occur if the
tilt of Earth's axis relative to its plane of orbit was increased to
33 1/2 degrees?
A) Summers and winters in the United States
would likely become warmer and colder, respectively.
B) Winters
and summers in Australia would likely become less distinct seasons.
C) Seasonal variation at the equator might decrease.
D)
Both northern and southern hemispheres would experience summer and
winter at the same time.
E) Both poles would experience massive
ice melts.
Answer: A
14) Imagine some cosmic catastrophe jolts Earth so that its axis is
perpendicular to the orbital plane between Earth and the sun. The most
obvious effect of this change would be
A) the elimination of
tides.
B) an increase in the length of night.
C) an
increase in the length of a year.
D) a decrease in temperature
at the equator.
E) the elimination of seasonal variation.
Answer: E
15) The main reason polar regions are cooler than the equator is that
A) there is more ice at the poles.
B) sunlight strikes the
poles at a lower angle.
C) the poles are farther from the sun.
D) the polar atmosphere is thinner and contains fewer greenhouse
gases.
E) the poles are permanently tilted away from the sun.
Answer: B
16) Which of the following environmental features might influence
microclimates?
A) forest canopy
B) freshly plowed field
C) log on the forest floor
D) large boulder
E) All
of the options are correct.
Answer: E
17) The success with which plants extend their range northward
following glacial retreat is best determined by
A) whether there
is simultaneous migration of herbivores.
B) their tolerance to
shade.
C) their seed dispersal rate.
D) their size.
E) their growth rate.
Answer: C
18) As climate changes because of global warming, species' ranges in
the northern hemisphere may move northward, using effective
reproductive adaptations to disperse their seeds. The trees that are
most likely to avoid extinction in such an environment are those that
A) have seeds that are easily dispersed by wind or animals.
B) have thin seed coats.
C) produce well-provisioned
seeds.
D) have seeds that become viable only after a forest
fire.
E) disperse many seeds in close proximity to the parent tree.
Answer: A
19) Generalized global air circulation and precipitation patterns are
caused by
A) rising, warm, moist air masses that cool and release
precipitation as they rise and then, at high altitude, cool and sink
back to the surface as dry air masses after moving north or south of
the tropics.
B) air masses that are dried and heated over
continental areas that rise, cool aloft, and descend over oceanic
areas followed by a return flow of moist air from ocean to land,
delivering high amounts of precipitation to coastal areas.
C)
polar, cool, moist high-pressure air masses from the poles that move
along the surface, releasing precipitation along the way to the
equator where they are heated and dried.
D) the revolution of
Earth around the sun.
E) mountain ranges that deflect air masses
containing variable amounts of moisture.
Answer: A
20) Air masses formed over the Pacific Ocean are moved by prevailing
westerlies where they encounter extensive north-south mountain ranges,
such as the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. Which statement best
describes the outcome of this encounter between a landform and an air
mass?
A) The cool, moist Pacific air heats up as it rises,
releasing its precipitation as it passes the tops of the mountains,
and this warm, now dry air cools as it descends on the leeward side of
the range.
B) The warm, moist Pacific air rises and cools,
releasing precipitation as it moves up the windward side of the range,
and this cool, now dry air mass heats up as it descends on the leeward
side of the range.
C) The cool, dry Pacific air heats up and
picks up moisture from evaporation of the snowcapped peaks of the
mountain range, releasing this moisture as precipitation when the air
cools while descending on the leeward side of the range.
D)
These air masses are blocked by the mountain ranges, producing high
annual amounts of precipitation on the windward sides of these
mountain ranges.
E) These air masses remain essentially
unchanged in moisture content and temperature as they pass over these
mountain ranges.
Answer: B
21) If global warming continues at its present rate, which biomes
will likely take the place of the coniferous forest (taiga)?
A)
tundra and polar ice
B) temperate broadleaf forest and grassland
C) desert and chaparral
D) tropical forest and savanna
E) chaparral and temperate broadleaf forest
Answer: B
22) Which of the following are important biotic factors that can
affect the structure and organization of biological communities?
A) precipitation, wind
B) nutrient availability, soil pH
C) predation, competition
D) temperature, water
E)
light intensity, seasonality
Answer: C
23) Which of the following can be said about light in aquatic
environments?
A) Water selectively reflects and absorbs certain
wavelengths of light.
B) Photosynthetic organisms that live in
deep water probably use red light.
C) Longer wavelengths
penetrate to greater depths.
D) Light penetration seldom limits
the distribution of photosynthetic species.
E) Most
photosynthetic organisms avoid the surface where the light is too intense.
Answer: A
24) Coral reefs can be found on the southern east coast of the United
States but not at similar latitudes on the southern west coast.
Differences in which of the following most likely account for this?
A) sunlight intensity
B) precipitation
C) day length
D) ocean currents
E) salinity
Answer: D
25) Which of the following investigations would shed the most light
on the distribution of organisms in temperate regions that are faced
with climate change?
A) Remove, to the mineral soil, all of the
organisms from an experimental plot and monitor the colonization of
the area over time in terms of both species diversity and abundance.
B) Look back at the changes that occurred since the Ice Age and
how species redistributed as glaciers melted, then make predictions on
future distribution in species based on past trends.
C) Compare
and contrast the flora and fauna of warm/cold/dry/wet climates to shed
light on how they evolved to be suited to their present-day
environment.
D) Quantify the impact of man's activities on
present-day populations of threatened and endangered species to assess
the rate of extirpation and extinction.
E) There is no
scientific investigation that can help make predictions on the future
distribution of organisms.
Answer: B
26) Which series is correctly layered from top to bottom in a
tropical rain forest?
A) ground layer, shrub/immature layer,
under story, canopy, emergent layer
B) canopy, emergent layer,
under story, shrub/immature layer, ground layer
C) canopy, under
story, shrub/immature layer, emergent layer, ground layer
D)
emergent layer, canopy, under story, shrub/immature layer, ground
layer
E) emergent layer, under story, canopy, ground layer,
shrub/immature layer
Answer: D
27) What is the limiting factor for the growth of trees in the
tundra?
A) low precipitation
B) cold temperatures
C)
insufficient minerals in bedrock
D) pH of soils
E) permafrost
Answer: E
28) Generally speaking, deserts are located in places where air
masses are usually
A) tropical.
B) humid.
C) rising.
D) descending.
E) expanding.
Answer: D
29) Turnover of water in temperate lakes during the spring and fall
is made possible by which of the following?
A) warm, less dense
water layered at the top
B) cold, more dense water layered at
the bottom
C) a distinct thermocline between less dense warm
water and cold, dense water
D) the changes in the density of
water as seasonal temperatures change
E) currents generated by
nektonic animals
Answer: D
30) In temperate lakes, the surface water is replenished with
nutrients during turnovers that occur in the
A) autumn and
spring.
B) autumn and winter.
C) spring and summer.
D) summer and winter.
E) summer and autumn.
Answer: A
31) Which of the following is responsible for the differences in
summer and winter temperature stratification of deep temperate zone
lakes?
A) Water is densest at 4°C.
B) Oxygen is most
abundant in deeper waters.
C) Winter ice sinks in the summer.
D) Stratification is caused by a thermocline.
E)
Stratification always follows the fall and spring turnovers.
Answer: A
32) Imagine that a deep temperate zone lake did not "turn
over" during the spring and fall seasons. Based on the physical
and biological properties of limnetic ecosystems, what would be the
difference from normal seasonal turnover?
A) The lake would be
uniformly cold during the winter and summer.
B) The lake would
fail to freeze over in winter.
C) An algal bloom of algae would
result every spring.
D) Lakes would suffer a nutrient depletion
in surface layers.
E) The pH of the lake would become
increasingly alkaline.
Answer: D
33) Which marine zone would have the lowest rates of primary
productivity (photosynthesis)?
A) pelagic
B) abyssal
C) neritic
D) continental shelf
E) intertidal
Answer: B
34) If you are interested in observing a relatively simple community
structure in a clear water lake, you would do well to choose diving
into
A) an oligotrophic lake.
B) a eutrophic lake.
C) a relatively shallow lake.
D) a nutrient-rich lake.
E) a lake with consistently warm temperatures.
Answer: A
35) Which of the following statements about the ocean pelagic biome
is true?
A) The ocean is a vast, deep storehouse that always
provides sustenance; it is the next "frontier" for feeding
humanity.
B) Because it is so immense, the pelagic ocean biome
is globally uniform.
C) Globally, more photosynthesis occurs in
the ocean neritic biome than in the pelagic biome.
D) Pelagic
ocean photosynthetic activity is disproportionately low in relation to
the size of the biome.
E) The most abundant animals are
vertebrate fishes.
Answer: D
36) If a meteor impact or volcanic eruption injected a lot of dust
into the atmosphere and reduced the sunlight reaching Earth's surface
by 70% for one year, which of the following marine communities most
likely would be least affected?
A) deep-sea vent
B) coral
reef
C) intertidal
D) pelagic
E) estuary
Answer: A
37) Which of the examples below provides appropriate abiotic and
biotic factors that might determine the distribution of the species in
question?
A) the amount of nitrate and phosphate in the soil,
and wildflower abundance and diversity
B) the number of
frost-free days, and competition between species of introduced grasses
and native alpine grasses
C) increased predation and decreased
food availability, and a prairie dog population after a prairie fire
D) available sunlight and increased salinity in the top few
meters of the ocean, and the abundance and diversity of phytoplankton
communities
E) the pH and dissolved oxygen concentration, and
the streams in which brook trout can live
Answer: B
38) A certain species of pine tree survives only in scattered
locations at elevations above 2,800 m in the western United States. To
understand why this tree grows only in these specific places, an
ecologist should
A) conclude that lower elevations are limiting
to the survival of this species.
B) study the anatomy and
physiology of this species.
C) investigate the various biotic
and abiotic factors that are unique to high altitude.
D) analyze
the soils found in the vicinity of these trees, looking for unique
chemicals that may support their growth.
E) collect data on
temperature, wind, and precipitation at several of these locations for
a year.
Answer: C
39) Species introduced by humans to new geographic locations
A)
are usually successful in colonizing the area.
B) always spread
because they encounter none of their natural predators.
C)
increase the diversity and therefore the stability of the ecosystem.
D) can outcompete and displace native species for biotic and
abiotic resources.
E) are always considered pests by ecologists.
Answer: D
40) Which of the following statements best describes the effect of
climate on biome distribution?
A) Average annual temperature and
precipitation are sufficient to predict which biome will be found in
an area.
B) Seasonal fluctuation of temperature is not a
limiting factor in biome distribution if areas have the same annual
temperature and precipitation means.
C) Not only is the average
climate important in determining biome distribution but so is the
pattern of climatic variation.
D) Temperate forests and
grasslands are different biomes because they receive a different
quality and quantity of sunlight, even though they have essentially
the same annual temperature and precipitation.
E) Correlation of
climate with biome distribution is sufficient to determine the cause
of biome patterns.
Answer: C
41) In the development of terrestrial biomes, which factor is most
dependent on all the others?
A) the species of colonizing
animals
B) prevailing temperature
C) prevailing rainfall
D) mineral nutrient availability
E) soil structure
Answer: A
42) Two plant species live in the same biome but on different
continents. Although the two species are not at all closely related,
they may appear quite similar as a result of
A) parallel
evolution.
B) convergent evolution.
C) allopatric
speciation.
D) introgression.
E) gene flow.
Answer: B
43) In which of the following terrestrial biome pairs are both parts
dependent upon periodic burning?
A) tundra and coniferous forest
B) chaparral and savanna
C) desert and savanna
D)
tropical forest and temperate broadleaf forest
E) grassland and tundra
Answer: B
44) Fire suppression by humans
A) will always result in an
increase in species diversity in a given biome.
B) can change
the species composition within biological communities.
C) will
result ultimately in sustainable production of increased amounts of
forest products for human use.
D) is necessary for the
protection of threatened and endangered forest species.
E) is a
management goal of conservation biologists to maintain the healthy
condition of forest communities.
Answer: B
45) Which of the following statements best describes the interaction
between fire and ecosystems?
A) The likelihood of a wildfire
occurring in a given ecosystem is highly predictable over the short
term.
B) Many kinds of plants and plant communities have adapted
to frequent fires.
C) The suppression of forest fires by man has
prevented certain communities, such as grasslands, from reaching their
climax stage.
D) Chaparral communities have evolved to the
extent that they rarely burn.
E) Fire is unnatural in ecosystems
and should be prevented.
Answer: B
46) In which community would organisms most likely have adaptations
enabling them to respond to different photoperiods?
A) tropical
forest
B) coral reef
C) savanna
D) temperate forest
E) abyssal
Answer: D
47) The growing season would generally be shortest in which of the
following biomes?
A) savanna
B) temperate broadleaf forest
C) temperate grassland
D) tropical rain forest
E)
coniferous forest
Answer: E
48) Trees are not usually found in the tundra biome because of
A) insufficient annual precipitation.
B) acidic soils.
C) extreme winter temperatures.
D) overbrowsing by musk ox
and caribou.
E) permafrost.
Answer: E
49) Studying species transplants is a way that ecologists
A)
determine the abundance of a species in a specified area.
B)
determine the distribution of a species in a specified area.
C)
develop mathematical models for distribution and abundance of
organisms.
D) determine if dispersal is a key factor in limiting
distribution of organisms.
E) consolidate a landscape region
into a single ecosystem.
Answer: D
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and
left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical
axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Choose the
climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement.
Climographs may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
50) Which climograph shows the climate for location 1?
A)
A
B) C
C) E
D) G
E) H
Answer: A
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and
left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical
axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Choose the
climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement.
Climographs may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
51) Which climograph shows the climate for location 2?
A)
B
B) C
C) D
D) F
E) H
Answer: D
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and
left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical
axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Choose the
climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement.
Climographs may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
52) Which climograph shows the climate for location 3?
A)
B
B) C
C) D
D) E
E) F
Answer: C
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and
left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical
axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Choose the
climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement.
Climographs may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
53) Which climograph shows the climate for location 4?
A)
A
B) B
C) C
D) E
E) G
Answer: D
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and
left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical
axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Choose the
climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement.
Climographs may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
54) Which climograph shows the climate for location 5?
A)
A
B) C
C) D
D) E
E) H
Answer: B
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and
left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical
axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Choose the
climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement.
Climographs may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
55) Which of the following best substantiates why location 3 is
an equatorial (tropical) climate?
A) It has a monsoon season
during the winter months.
B) It has consistent monthly averages
for rainfall.
C) The temperature is high for each monthly
average.
D) The temperatures reach 100°F during some months.
E) The temperatures are lower in June, July, and August.
Answer: C
The diagram shows a generalized cross section of the marine
environment with various zones labeled with letters. Choose the letter
that best answers the question. Letters may be used once, more than
once, or not at all
56) Which zone has a condition of constant temperature?
A)
A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
Answer: C
The diagram shows a generalized cross section of the marine
environment with various zones labeled with letters. Choose the letter
that best answers the question. Letters may be used once, more than
once, or not at all
57) Which zone produces the most global oxygen gas?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
Answer: B
The diagram shows a generalized cross section of the marine
environment with various zones labeled with letters. Choose the letter
that best answers the question. Letters may be used once, more than
once, or not at all
58) Which zone is comprised largely of detritus-feeding
organisms?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
Answer: C
The diagram shows a generalized cross section of the marine
environment with various zones labeled with letters. Choose the letter
that best answers the question. Letters may be used once, more than
once, or not at all
59) Which zone has the lowest biomass per unit of area?
A)
A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
Answer: D
The diagram shows a generalized cross section of the marine
environment with various zones labeled with letters. Choose the letter
that best answers the question. Letters may be used once, more than
once, or not at all
60) Which zone experiences the most abiotic change over a
24-hour period?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
Answer: A
Use the following diagram from the text showing the spread of the
cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis, since its arrival in the New World, to
answer the following question.
61) How would an ecologist likely explain the expansion of the
cattle egret?
A) The areas to which the cattle egret has
expanded have no cattle egret parasites.
B) Climatic factors,
such as temperature and precipitation, provide a suitable habitat for
cattle egrets.
C) There are no predators for cattle egrets in
the New World, so they continue to expand their range.
D) A
habitat left unoccupied by native herons and egrets met the biotic and
abiotic requirements of the cattle egret transplants and their
descendants.
E) The first egrets to colonize South America
evolved into a new species capable of competing with the native
species of herons and egrets.
Answer: D
Experts in white-tailed deer ecology generally agree that population
sizes of deer that live in temperate climates are limited by winter
snow. The deer congregate in "yarding" areas under evergreen
trees because venturing out to feed in winter is energetically too
expensive when snowfall depths accumulate to above 40 cm. Deer often
stay yarded until the spring thaw. Snow depth over 40 inches for more
than 60 days results in high mortality due to starvation.
62) This observation best illustrates which of the following
principles about factors that limit distribution of organisms?
A) Abiotic factors, such as weather extremes, ultimately limit
distribution.
B) Organisms will face extinction unless they
adapt to conditions or evolve new mechanisms for survival.
C)
Environmental factors are limiting not only in amount but also in
longevity.
D) Daily accumulations in snow depth gradually add up
to cause increased deer mortality.
E) Temporary extremes in
weather conditions usually result in high mortality in the deer population.
Answer: C
In areas of permafrost, stands of black spruce are frequently
observed in the landscape, while other tree species are noticeably
absent. Often these stands are referred to as "drunken
forests" because many of the black spruce are displaced from
their normal vertical alignment.
63) What might be the adaptive significance of these unusual
forests growing the way they do in this marginal habitat?
A)
Needles are adapted to withstand cold arctic temperatures.
B)
Branches are adapted to absorb more CO₂ with this displaced alignment.
C) Taproot formation is impossible, so trees developed shallow
root beds.
D) Trees are tilted so snow prevents them from
breaking or tipping over.
E) Trees tip so that they do not
compete with each other for sunlight.
Answer: C
64) Which of the following areas of study focuses on the exchange of
energy, organisms, and materials between ecosystems?
A)
population ecology
B) organismal ecology
C) landscape
ecology
D) ecosystem ecology
E) community ecology
Answer: C
65) Which lake zone would be absent in a very shallow lake?
A)
benthic zone
B) aphotic zone
C) pelagic zone
D)
littoral zone
E) limnetic zone
Answer: B
66) Which of the following is true with respect to oligotrophic lakes
and eutrophic lakes?
A) Oligotrophic lakes are more subject to
oxygen depletion.
B) Rates of photosynthesis are lower in
eutrophic lakes.
C) Eutrophic lake water contains lower
concentrations of nutrients.
D) Eutrophic lakes are richer in
nutrients.
E) Sediments in oligotrophic lakes contain larger
amounts of decomposable organic matter.
Answer: D
67) Which of the following biomes is correctly paired with the
description of its climate?
A) savanna–low temperature,
precipitation uniform during the year
B) tundra–long summers,
mild winters
C) temperate broadleaf forest–relatively short
growing season, mild winters
D) temperate grasslands–relatively
warm winters, most rainfall in summer
E) tropical forests–nearly
constant day length and temperature
Answer: E
68) Which of the following is characteristic of most terrestrial
biomes?
A) annual average rainfall in excess of 250 cm
B) a
distribution predicted almost entirely by rock and soil patterns
C) clear boundaries between adjacent biomes
D) vegetation
demonstrating vertical layering
E) cold winter months
Answer: D
69) The oceans affect the biosphere in all of the following ways
except
A) producing a substantial amount of the biosphere's
oxygen.
B) removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
C)
moderating the climate of terrestrial biomes.
D) regulating the
pH of freshwater biomes and terrestrial groundwater.
E) being
the source of most of Earth's rainfall.
Answer: D
70) Which statement about dispersal is false?
A) Dispersal is a
common component of the life cycles of plants and animals.
B)
Colonization of devastated areas after floods or volcanic eruptions
depends on dispersal.
C) Dispersal occurs only on an
evolutionary time scale.
D) Seeds are important dispersal stages
in the life cycles of most flowering plants.
E) The ability to
disperse can expand the geographic distribution of a species.
Answer: C
71) When climbing a mountain, we can observe transitions in
biological communities that are analogous to the changes
A) in
biomes at different latitudes.
B) at different depths in the
ocean.
C) in a community through different seasons.
D) in
an ecosystem as it evolves over time.
E) across the United
States from east to west.
Answer: A
72) Suppose that the number of bird species is determined mainly by
the number of vertical strata found in the environment. If so, in
which of the following biomes would you find the greatest number of
bird species?
A) tropical rain forest
B) savanna
C)
desert
D) temperate broadleaf forest
E) temperate grassland
Answer: A
73) If the direction of Earth's rotation reversed, the most
predictable effect would be
A) no more night and day.
B) a
big change in the length of the year.
C) winds blowing from west
to east along the equator.
D) a loss of seasonal variation at
high latitudes.
E) the elimination of ocean currents.
Answer: C