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Mentor Invitational – Feb. 14, 2009
Ecology Exam
Rank ________
Name(s) _________________________________ Team # ____________ School _________________
_____ 1. Factors that limit population size are called:
a. biotic potential
b. environmental resistance
c. density dependent
d. carrying capacity
_____ 2. Populations that are growing at their biotic potential:
a. exhibit arithmetic growth
b. exhibit exponential growth
c. mutate more rapidly
d. double in population
_____ 3. The most common type of dispersion is nature is:
a. clumped
b. random
c. uniform
d. dispersive
_____ 4. An organism accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s that has caused
extensive damage is the zebra mussel. This is an example of:
a. competitive exclusion
b. intraspecific competition
c. an invasive species
d. a keystone species
_____ 5. Which of the following is an area where primary succession would occur?
a. an area cleared by a tornado
b. an area that has been clear-cut
c. an area that was recently burned
d. an exposed coral reef
_____ 6. In the carbon cycle, carbon can be found in:
a. ozone, animals, and plants
b. oil, bicarbonate, and sugar
c. silicon dioxide and coal
d. water, animals, and plants
_____ 7. The step in the nitrogen cycle where bacteria convert ammonia (NH3) to nitrate (NO3-) is:
a. nitrification
b. denitrification
c. nitrogen fixation
d. ammonification
_____ 8. At which point on the graph to the right is the
population increasing most rapidly?
a. Point A
b. Point B
c. Point C
d. Point D
_____ 9. At which point on the graph from the previous question is the carrying capacity represented?
a. Point A
b. Point B
c. Point C
d. Point D
_____ 10. Which of the following features is typical of K-selected species?
a. early maturity
b. small body size
c. few offspring
d. short life span
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_____ 11. All of the following are biomass fuels EXCEPT:
a. wood
b. alcohol
c. coal
d. methane
_____ 12. Which of the following are important biotic factors that can affect the structure and
organization of biological communities?
a. precipitation, wind
b. nutrient availability, soil, pH
c. predation, competition
d. temperate, bacterial growth
_____ 13. Which term best describes this collection of locations: a forest, a freshwater lake, an estuary,
and a prairie?
a. ecosystem diversity
b. Aquatic ecosystem diversity
c. genetic diversity
d. species diversity
_____ 14. Asia (excluding China) had a birthrate of 24 and a death rate of eight in 2004. What was the
population growth rate?
a. 0.16%
b. 16%
c. 1.6%
d. 160%
_____ 15. Which of these organisms is a decomposer?
a. a bacterium that makes food from inorganic compounds
b. a clam that takes in water and filters food
c. a fungus that gets nutrients from dead logs.
d. a plant that makes food using sunlight
_____ 16. Which is an example of amensalism?
a. Penicillium and bacteria
b. a tapeworm and a sheep
c. an orchid and a tree
d. a lichen and a tree
_____ 17. Where is the largest percentage of water located?
a. groundwater
b. oceans
c. rivers
d. glaciers
_____ 18. In which area of a lake is there likely to be the greatest diversity of plankton?
a. littoral zone
b. profundal zone
c. limnetic zone
d. aphotic zone
_____ 19. According to the diagram to the right, which letter
represents the zone of intolerance for the factor in question?
a. A b. B c. C d. D
_____ 20. What does the letter “D” in the diagram represent?
a. zone of intolerance
b. zone of physiological stress
c. optimum range
d. upper limit
_____ 21. Two barnacle, Balanus and Chthamalus, can both survive on the lower rocks just above the
low-tide line on the Scottish coast, but only Balanus actually does so, with Chthamalus adopting a higher
zone. Which of the following best accounts for this niche separation?
a. predation of Chthamalus by Balanus
b. partitioning
c. Gause’s Law
d. Allee effect
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_____ 22. Based on the graph to the right, which
term describes Location 2?
a. oceanic
b. polar
c. temperate
d. tropical
_____ 23. Suppose that in Location 2 (graph to
right) there is very little rainfall during the year.
What would be the name of that biome in this
region?
a. desert
b. tundra
c. temperate forest
d. tropical forest
_____ 24. All of the following substances cycle through the biosphere EXCEPT:
a. oxygen
b. water
c. energy
d. carbon dioxide
_____ 25. All of the following are examples of predation EXCEPT:
a. wolves killing caribou
b. starfish eating clams
c. leeches attaching to fish
d. cats killing birds
_____ 26. Creosote bushes have adapted to desert life by:
a. having enlarged stems that store water
b. having a deep root system to reach to low water
c. having thick spines instead of leaves to protect it from drying out in the sun
d. secreting toxins into the soil to kill other nearby plants from absorbing soil moisture
_____ 27. An indicator species of the North American Prairie is:
a. bison
b. Przewalski’s horse
c. coyote
d. jack rabbit
_____ 28. In general, grasslands are:
a. low in biodiversity
b. high in biodiversity
_____29. Which of the following prairie animals has gone extinct?
a. jack rabbit
b. prairie dog
c. plains wolf
d. prairie mouse
_____ 30. Some forests are estimated at having 20-50 tons of topsoil per acre. How much topsoil per acre
of tall grass prairie is there estimated to be?
a. 10-20 tons/acre
b. 60-100 tons/acre
c. 150-200 tons/acre
d. 200-250 tons/acre
_____ 31. The rich soil found in the central plains of the United States is due to all of the following
EXCEPT:
a. sediment washed from the Rocky Mountains
b. sediment from the Mississippi banks
c. rubble from glaciers
d. windblown sand, silt and clay
_____ 32. Prairie potholes were created by:
a. prairie dogs
b. sand storms
c. receding glaciers
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d. farmers
_____ 33. Many deserts contain water-washed alluvium flat spaces. These poorly drained areas become
alkaline through the accumulation of soluble chemicals. What type of plant is adapted to grow in this type
of environment?
a. halophytes
b. epiphytes
c. orchids
d. moss
_____ 34. Deserts cover _____ percent of the world’s surface.
a. 10
b. 20
c. 30
d. 40
_____ 35. At one time, the Great Plains covered _________ of the United States.
a. one fourth
b. one half
c. three-fourths
d. almost all
_____ 36. Prairies are found on every continent EXCEPT:
a. Europe
b. Asia
c. Antarctica
d. Australia
_____ 37. __________ plays a major role in a savannas biodiversity.
a. predation
b. wild fires
c. rainfall
d. latitude
_____ 38. Savannas are different from other grasslands because:
a. there are different animals in savannas
b. the have more rain
c. the are at lower latitudes
d. they have more trees
_____ 39. Steppes differ from other temperate grasslands because:
a. there are different animals in steppes
b. they receive more rain and grasses are longer
c. they receive less rain and grasses are shorter
d. they are hotter and found in the interior of continents
_____ 40. The pampas can be found in:
a. South America
b. North America
c. Africa
d. Australia
_____ 41. If steppes received more rain they would become ___________, if they received less rain, they
would become ____________.
a. tropical rainforests, tundra
b. temperate forests, taiga
c. temperate forests, desert
d. grasslands, temperate forests
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Use the map below to answer questions 42-47.
_____ 42. Region “1” on the above map receives _________ rainfall per year.
a. 15 inches
b. 20-30 inches
c. 30-40 inches
d. 50-60 inches
_____ 43. Region “2” on the above map receives ________ rainfall per year.
a. 15 inches
b. 20-30 inches
c. 30-40 inches
d. 50-60 inches
_____ 44. Region “3” on the above map receives _________ rainfall per year.
a. 15 inches
b. 20-30 inches
c. 30-40 inches
d. 50-60 inches
_____ 45. Region “1” is better known today as the:
a. wheat belt
b. corn belt
c. soy belt
d. cattle grazing belt
_____ 46. In which region would the tallest grasses be found?
a. region 1
b. region 2
c. region 3
d. all regions equally
_____ 47. In which region would an ecologist find blue gamma grass, buffalo grass, and sage brush?
a. region 1
b. region 2
c. region 3
d. all regions equally
_____ 48. Some animals have aposematic coloration which means:
a. the animals blend into the desert environment
b. the animals exhibit a warning coloration
c. the animals reflect the sun’s radiation
d. the animals fur lacks pigment
_____ 49. Phreatophytes have adapted to arid climates by:
a. storing water in their stems
b. developing a waxy coating
c. having an extensive root systems d. remaining dormant during the hottest season
_____ 50. What is the importance of aeolian processes to deserts?
a. they help to form areas of water collection
b. they help to form the desert basins
c. they determine the climate
d. they determine the distribution of fauna
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_____ 51. Which of the following animals would be least likely found in the desert?
a. big horn sheep
b. raccoon
c. tortoise
d. coyote
52. How do wild fires help promote the grassland ecosystem?
How do the grasses survive the wildfires?
53. What is the benefit of an organism being crepuscular?
54. Owls, poorwills and nighthawks have been seen in the desert with their mouths wide open while
fluttering their throat region. Why do they display this behavior?
55. Turkeys and Black Vultures cool themselves by urohydrosis. How does urohydrosis cool these
animals?
Use the pyramid of energy below to answer the following questions.
Suppose that the base of the energy pyramid consists of plants that contain 450,000 Calories of food.
56.
If all the plants were eaten by mice and insects, how much food energy
would be available to the first level consumers? _________________
57.
If the mice and insects were all eaten by snakes, how much food energy
would be available to the snakes? __________________
58.
If all the snakes were eaten by a hawk, how much food energy would be
available to the hawk? ______________________
D
C
B
A
59.
How much food energy would the hawk use for its body processes
and lose as heat? _____________________
60.
How much food energy would be stored in the hawk’s body? ________________
61. Which organism in the diagram to the right is the
most susceptible to the effects of biological
magnification?
62. Explain your answer to #61.
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Use the diagram of a desert food web to answer questions 63-68.
63. What is the primary source of energy for this
food web?
64. At what trophic level are the insects?
65. According to the food web, what type of
consumer is the scorpion?
66. At what trophic level is the fox?
67. According to the food web, what type of
consumer are the rodents?
68. Name all the secondary consumers.
Use the diagram below of the carbon cycle to answer questions 69-72.
A
B
A
A
C
D
D
69. What biological process is represented by the letter “A”?
70. What biological process is represented by the letter “C”?
71. What process is occurring at letter “B”?
72. What biological process is represented by the letter “D”?
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Label the following United States deserts (73-76).
73.
74.
76.
75.
77. when two species use the same resources in different ways
78. bacteria able to make their own food from inorganic material
79. an organism which consumes meat and plant material
80. decomposer which eats detritus and dead organisms
81. two caribou fighting for a mate (type of competition)
82. the organisms to inhabit an environment
83. the use of bacteria to clean up oil in water systems
84. the specific relationship between a remora and a shark
85. the number of individuals per unit area
86. when birth rate equals death rate
87. soil, water and air in an ecosystem
88. antagonistic behavior results in this type of population distribution
89. floods, droughts, cold temperatures are what type of limiting factors
90. an age-specific death schedule
91. the role an organisms plays in its environment
92. the relationship between algae and fungus (a lichen)
93. a group of populations living together
94. the relationship between a coyote and rabbit
95. disease is an example of this type of limiting factor
96. the physical place where an organism lives
97. the mature stage of a forest
98. the rate at which the primary producers capture and store energy
99. a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment
relative to its abundance
100. an organism which consumes only autotrophs
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TIE BREAKER:
The data table on the right compares the primary productivity of some of the world’s ecosystems.
Use the data table to answer the following questions:
Ecosystem
Average Primary
1. Construct a bar graph to display the data.
Productivity (g/m2/yr)
Aquatic:
2. Which ecosystem is the most
Coral reef
2500
productive? Use what you know to explain
Estuary
1800
that fact.
Lake
500
Open Ocean
125
Terrestrial:
3. Although the open ocean is among the
Tropical rain forest
2200
least productive ecosystems, it contributes
Temperate forest
1250
greatly to the overall productivity of the
Tropical savanna
900
biosphere. Explain this situation.
Tundra
90
4. What are two abiotic factors that might account for the differences in productivity among the land
ecosystems in the table?
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