Bell Ringer – November 5, 2012
1. A key predator that feeds on two species of bird and nests in a specific type of den that
aerates the soil and allows a species of plant to grow goes extinct, leaving behind a vacant
a. Set of resources
b. Niche
c. Landscape
d. Role
2. A bald eagle catches and consumes a trout. This interaction is best described as
a. Predation
b. Herbivory
c. Parasitism
d. Co-Evolution
3. In exploring a remote forest in southeast Asia, you discover a poisonous frog, and a
species of bird that eats the frog. Which of the following hypotheses makes the most
sense?
a. After a few years, the birds will go extinct after eating the toxic frogs.
b. The birds, on examination, will be found to have a tolerance for the poison.
c. The frogs are likely to go extinct in a few years because the birds will continue to
eat them.
d. The frogs, on examination, will be found to have decreasing levels of poison, which
explains why the birds are able to eat them.
4. Fleas live on mammals and consume their blood. The flea-mammal relationship is
a. Predatory
b. An Example of Herbivory
c. Parasitic
d. Commensalism
5. Which of the following describes a mutualistic relationship?
a. A species of fungus lives on the roots of pea plants and fixes nitrogen that the pea
plant can use.
b. A species of fungus lives on the roots of a pea plant and takes water and nutrients
from the plant.
c. A species of fungus lives on the roots of a pea plant, taking energy from the plant,
and fixing nitrogen which the plant can use.
d. A pea plant produces toxic chemicals in its roots that kill off all microorganisms in
the soil.
6. Explain how competition can affect an organism’s niche.
7. How are predation, parasitism, and herbivory similar? How are they different?
8. The human digestive tract is filled with bacteria. The bacteria live in the body and get
nutrients while helping to digest food. What kind of species interaction is this –
mutualism or commensalism? Is it symbiotic? Explain.