Biodiversity and Succession in Ecosystems
Study Guide, grade 7, TEKS7.10A,B,&C
1. How are succession(change) and equilibrium (balance) related? Succession maintains equilibrium in an
ecosystem.
2. Deforestation, pollution, and hunting can result in a reduction in biodiversity.
3. Pioneer species (lichens and mosses) bring change to an ecosystem. They are able to carry out
photosynthesis.
4. Put these four terms in order to represent ecological succession:
Flowering plants, native trees, grasses shrubs
5. The MOST serious threat to biodiversity is loss of natural habitat.
6. The more diverse an ecosystem the more stable it is.
7. A newly formed volcanic island is most likely to have pioneer species arriving.
8. To determine the area of tomato plant leaves, the necessary tool is a ruler.
9. The primary limiting factor for plants in a desert is moisture.
10. During summer, some fish stay deep in the lake to maintain a cool body temperature.
11. If a forest fire occurs, the ecosystem will have a change of species and go through the stages of secondary
succession.
12. Students create and prepare a flower bed to be planted in the fall. No one takes care of it over the summer.
What can they expect it to look like when they come back?
13. The first thing that happens after a volcanic eruption is lichens grow on the rocks.
The process to keep the ecosystem in equilibrium is called succession.
14. Trees block sunlight and make it hard for small plants to grow. This is the best explanation why trees are the
final stage (climax community) in succession.
15. What change would most likely allow frogs to live in a field?
a flood making a new stream run through the field
16. Observe the 2 fields below. One field has 16 different crops and the other field has only 2 different crops. A
disease kills all of crop 2 plants in both fields. Which field will lose the most food produced? How do these
fields model biodiversity helping an ecosystem be stable?
1
5
9
13
1
2
2
6
10
14
3
7
11
15
4
8
12
16