Which of the following lists of organisms is ranked in correct order from lowest to highest
percent in production efficiency?
A) mammals, fish, insects
B) insects, fish, mammals
C) fish, insects, mammals
D) insects, mammals, fish
E) mammals, insects, fish

mammals, fish, insects

A 3-hectare lake in the American Midwest suddenly has succumbed to an algal bloom. What
is the likely cause of eutrophication in freshwater ecosystems, such as this one?
A) increased solar radiation
B) introduction of non-native tertiary consumer fish
C) nutrient-rich runoff
D) accidental introduction of a prolific culture of algae
E) iron dust blowing into the lake

nutrient-rich runoff

Approximately how many kg of carnivore biomass can be supported by a field plot
containing 1,000 kg of plant material?
A) 10,000
B) 1,000
C) 100
D) 10
E) 1

10

The amount of chemical energy in a consumer's food that is converted to its own new
biomass during a given time period is known as which of the following?
A) biomass
B) standing crop
C) biomagnification
D) primary production
E) secondary production

secondary production

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

food that is converted to new biomass by consumers

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.

Top-level predators are destined to have small populations that are sparsely distributed.

Trophic efficiency is
A) the ratio of net secondary production to assimilation of primary production.
B) the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.
C) a measure of how nutrients are cycled from one trophic level to the next.
D) usually greater than production efficiencies.
E) about 90% in most ecosystems.

the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.