Ecology Review
1. The study of the interaction of living
organisms with each other and with their
physical environment is called
a. health.
c. ecology.
b. economy.
d. geology.
2. A group of organisms of different species
living together in a particular place is
called a
a. community.
c. biome.
b. population.
d. habitat.
3. An ecosystem consists of
a. a community of organisms.
b. energy.
c. the soil, water, and weather.
d. All of the above
4. The specific physical location in which a
given species lives is called its
a. habitat.
c. community.
b. abiotic factor. d. climate.
5. An organism’s niche includes
a. what it eats.
c. when it eats.
b. where it eats. d. All of the above
6. Which of the following would not be
included in a description of an organism’s
niche?
a. its trophic level
b. the humidity and temperature it prefers
c. its number of chromosomes
d. when it reproduces
7. Organisms that manufacture organic
nutrients for an ecosystem are called
a. consumers.
c. producers.
b. predators.
d. omnivores.
8. The primary producers in a grassland
ecosystem would most likely be
a. insects.
c. grasses.
b. bacteria.
d. algae.
9. The organic material in an ecosystem is
called
a. trophic level. c. energy.
b. biomass.
d. productivity.
10.cows : herbivores ::
a. horses : carnivores
c. algae : consumers
b. plants : producers
d. caterpillars : producers
11.When an organism dies, the nitrogen in its
body
a. can never be reused by other living things.
b. is immediately released into the atmosphere.
c. is released by the action of decomposers.
d. All of the above
12.Refer to the illustration above. The
photosynthetic algae are
a. producers.
b. consumers.
c. parasites.
d. decomposers.
13. Refer to the illustration above. The diagram,
which shows how energy moves through an
ecosystem, is called a
a. habitat net.
b. food chain.
c. trophic level.
d. food web.
14.Refer to the illustration above. The leopard
seals are
a. producers. c. herbivores.
b. omnivores. d. carnivores.
15.Refer to the illustration above. Among all of the
food chains, the organisms at the highest
trophic level are
a. the algae.
b. the crabeater seals.
c. the krill.
d. the killer whales.
16.In a food web, which type of organism
receives energy from every other type?
a. Producer
c. decomposer
b. carnivore
d. All of the above
17.
Refer to the illustration above. On the
pyramid, animals that feed on plant eaters are
no lower than
a. level 1. c. level 3.
b. level 2. d. level 4.
18.Refer to the illustration above. How much energy is
available to the organisms in level 3?
a. all of the energy in level 1 plus the energy in level 2
b. all of the energy in level 1 minus the energy in level 2
c. about 10 percent of the energy in level 2
d. about 90 percent of the energy in level 2
19.In an ecological energy pyramid, animals
that feed on plants are at least in the
a. first trophic level.
c. third trophic level.
b. second trophic level. d. fourth trophic
level.
20.The number of trophic levels in an
ecological energy pyramid
a. is limitless.
b. is limited by the amount of energy that is
lost at each trophic level.
c. is impossible to count because energy is
lost at each trophic level.
d. never exceeds three.
21.In going from one trophic level to the
next higher level,
a. the number of organisms increases.
b. the amount of usable energy increases.
c. the amount of usable energy decreases.
d. None of the above
22. Refer to the illustration above. The diagram
represents the decrease in
a. the number of organisms between lower and
higher trophic levels.
b. available energy between lower and higher
trophic levels.
c. diversity of organisms between lower and
higher trophic levels.
d. All of the above
23.
Refer to the illustration above. At each trophic
level, the energy stored in the organisms in that level is
a. about 10 percent of the energy in the level below it.
b. about 10 percent of the energy in the level above it.
c. about 50 percent of the energy in the level below it.
d. about 50 percent of the energy in the level above it.
24.Water and minerals needed by all
organisms on Earth pass back and forth
between the biotic and abiotic portions of
the environment in a process called
a. a trophic cycle.
b. a trophic pathway.
c. a biogeochemical cycle.
d. a biochemical pathway.
25.Because individuals in a population usually
tend to produce more than one offspring,
a. populations tend to increase in size.
b. populations remain stable in size.
c. individuals tend to die quickly.
d. the number of individuals declines rapidly.
26.A population of organisms grows
a. with no natural restrictions except the
availability of food.
b. when the birth rate exceeds the death
rate.
c. only in the absence of predators or
natural diseases.
d. All of the above
27. Refer to the illustration above. Which
time period shows the highest rate of growth
of the population?
a. period W–X
c. period X–Y
b. period W–Y
d. period Y–Z
28.
Refer to the illustration above. Which
point on the graph indicates the approximate
world population in the year 1950?
a. W
c. Y
b. X
d. Z
29. Refer to the illustration above. The
American Revolution began in 1776.
According to the graph, what was the
approximate world population at that time?
a. 500 thousand c. 1 billion
b. 1 million
d. 2 billion
30.exponential model : how all populations
can potentially grow without limits ::
a. population model : how organisms live in
an area
b. logistic model : how populations grow
when carrying capacity is limited
c. demographic model : how people move
into and out of countries throughout history
d. growth rate model : how populations
grow when immigration is limited
31.Birth and death rates are ____ on an
exponential growth curve, whereas they are
____ on a logistic growth curve.
a. variable; constant
c. steady; changing
b. high; low
d. unrestricted; restricted
32.As a population reaches its carrying
capacity, there may be an increase in
competition for
a. food.
c. mates.
b. shelter.
d. All of the above
33.Which of the following is a densityindependent factor?
a. food
c. severe weather
b. water
d. number of nesting sites
34.A tick feeding on a human is an example
of
a. parasitism.
c. competition.
b. mutualism.
d. commensalism.
35.Refer to the illustration above. The
relationship shown in diagram 4 is
a. commensalism.
b. competition.
c. mutualism.
d. parasitism.
36.Refer to the illustration above. The
relationship shown in diagram 2 is
a. commensalism.
b. competition.
c. mutualism.
d. parasitism.
37.Refer to the illustration above. The
relationship shown in diagram 1 is
a. commensalism.
b. competition.
c. mutualism.
d. parasitism.
38.Refer to the illustration above. The
relationship shown in diagram 3 is
a. commensalism.
b. competition.
c. mutualism.
d. parasitism.
 1 Both organisms benefit from the activity of each
other.
 2 One organism benefits, and the other organism
neither benefits nor suffers harm.
 3 One organism obtains its nutrients from
another, and the other organism may weaken due
to deprivation.
39. Refer to the chart above. The table represents
three types of
a. competition.
c. symbiosis.
b. rhythmic patterns.
d. secondary succession.
40. Refer to the illustration above. The
transformation over time shown in the
diagram is known as
a. stability.
b. succession.
c. symbiosis.
d. species richness.
41.Succession is
a. an organism’s ability to survive in its
environment.
b. the number of species living in an ecosystem.
c. the regular progression of species
replacement in an environment.
d. the transfer of energy through a food chain.
42.Which of the following types of succession would
most likely occur after a forest fire?
a. primary succession
c. secondary succession
b. old field succession
d. climax succession
43.When settlers arrived in New England, many
forests were turned into agricultural fields.
Eventually, some fields were abandoned and then
grew back into forests. This is best described as
a. primary succession.
c. secondary succession.
b. coevolution.
d. niche realization.
44.Which of the following is not a
characteristic of pioneer species?
a. They are small.
b. They grow quickly.
c. They reproduce slowly.
d. They disperse many seeds.
45.Area that is in the early stages of primary
succession will typically contain
a. perennial shrubs.
c. annual grasses.
b. rock lichens.
d. evergreen trees.