Ecology Test Review
Name___________________________
Use the following diagram to answer questions 1-4
1. Which organism in this food web is a decomposer?
2. What would happen if the predatory beetles were removed? (Fill in blanks with either increase
or decrease)
a. Dung-feeding flies would ____________________
b. Mixed- diet flies would ______________________
c. Fungivourous insects would __increase________________
d. Predatory flies would _______________________
3. What would happen if a predator of the parasitic wasps was added? (Fill in blanks with either
increase or decrease)
a. Dung-feeding beetles would _____________
b. Dung-feeding flies would ________________
c. Fungivorous insects would _______________
d. Predatory flies would ____increase_______________
4. Does this food web require sunlight for survival? Explain answer.
Yes , Fungi consume cow dung from a cow that has eaten grass, the grass requires sunlight.
5. What is defined as: the point at which a population in an ecosystem stops growing in response
to density-dependent and density-independent factors? Carrying Capacity
6. Define competition and give an example:
Animals compete for mates, space, food.
7. Define predation and give an example: Animal hunts or captures another animal for energy
example whales bubble netting fish.
8. Define commensalism and give an example:
One organism benefits the other neither benefits or is harmed barnacles on a whale
9. Define mutualism and give an example:
Both organisms benefit oxpecker and a rhino
10. Define parasitism and give an example: One organism benefits the other is harmed tick on deer.
11. Which of the following is the most likely result of nitrogen pollution?
a. Increase of ozone in the atmosphere
b. Algal blooms in water bodies
c. Global warming
d. Melting of polar ice caps
12. Which of the following are processes that bacteria perform that no other organisms can?
a. Converting radiant energy into chemical energy
b. Conserving water
c. Using nitrogen from the atmosphere
d. Decomposing the remains of dead organisms
13. In an ecosystem, 15 species of invertebrates were reduced to 5 after one species was removed.
The species that was removed was likely a:
a. Dominate competitor
b. Species that does not interact with other species
c. Generalized predator
d. Keystone species
Write the name of the symbiotic relationship each example describes
14. Barnacles attached to a scallop commensalism
15. Intestinal worms in a dog paratasism
Use the following diagram to answer question 16
16. Based on the food web, which of the following is most likely for the rabbit population trend that
is shown in the graph?
a. Overpopulation of rabbits
b. Decrease in amount of grass
c. Increase in amount of grass
d. Increase in squirrel population
17. What short term effects would occur if all of the animals on Earth were killed in a catastrophic
event?
a. Respiration increases
b. Decomposition increases
c. Combustion decreases
d. Nothing changes
18. What way would this ecosystem would be affected if the river suddenly became a very popular
trout fishing site?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The bear population would increase
The heron population would increase
The insect population would increase
None of the above
The graph below shows the population of owls and mice in an ecosystem over a ten-year period
19. Which of the following could have caused the decline in the owl population in 1987?
a. Disease
b. Habitat change
c. Decrease in mouse population
d. All of the above
20. What could have caused the increase in the mouse population in 1988?
a. Decrease in the mouse population
b. Increase in the owl population
c. Decrease in the owl population
d. Destruction of mouse habitat
21. If the study above continued in 2050 and 2100, what should the data reflect?
a. Increase in elk per 100 square miles
b. Decrease in annual rainfall
c. Decrease in elk per 100 square miles
d. No change in annual rainfall
22. Removing vast amounts of vegetation in an area causes increased soil erosion and subsequent
deposition of soil nutrients into bodies of water. This results in:
a. Eutrophication due to a decrease in nutrient uptake by land plants
b. Biomagnifications due to the storage of excess nutrients in aquatic organisms
c. Soil enrichment dues to the leaching of herbicides and pesticides from decomposing plants
d. Bioaccumulation due to an increase in the availability of nutrients to filter feeding organisms
23. Eutrophication, soil acidification, and acid rain are caused by overloading an ecosystem with
what element?
a. Nitrogen
b. Phosphorous
c. Carbon
d. Sulfur
24. Which element directly affects climate change and global warming?
a. Nitrogen
b. Oxygen
c. Carbon
d. Hydrogen
25. Circadian rhythms are based on ___________ intervals.
a. Daily
b. Monthly
c. Yearly
d. Seasonal
26. What are two positive and two negative effects of deforestation?
Urban development, increased farming, and soil degradation , global warming
27. Are predators a density-dependent, or density-independent factor?
28. What is the name of the first producer to appear during ecological succession?
Primary species
29. Which of the following would be a first step in ecological succession of a lake?
a. Reed plants attract dragonflies
b. Frogs arrive after plants are established
c. Trees appear and dominate the area
d. Microscopic producers live on the lake surface
30. What ecological role to fungi perform?
decomposer
31. In which of the following is the higher trophic level made up of more individuals?
a. Chipmunks feeding on acorns
b. Insects feeding on a tree
c. Prairie dogs feeding on grass
d. Dolphins feeding on smaller fish
32. Yeast was added to a flask containing a water/nutrient mixture and the yeast population was
monitored over a twenty four hour period.
The graph shows that after 16 hours, the yeast population:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Could continue reproducing at an increasing rate
Is about to increase dramatically in population
Is close to the food source sustainability of its habitat
Is beginning to feed on itself