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Ecology Final Exam
1. What is extinction? All members of a species die off
2. What is a pioneer species? What is the most common pioneer species? First species to move into an
ecosystem - lichen
3. Why would a 5 cubic meter section of a 50-acre lake not be appropriate to study fish biodiversity?
Not a large enough area to study
4. “Life on Mars is likely due to the fact that the atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide.” This is a
hypothesis. What question(s) about carbon dioxide would scientist need to consider when testing this?
Can it be produced by abiotic processes
5. Compare habitat and niche. Habitat is the home/location of an individual. Niche is the job or roles of
the individual within the habitat.
6. Why is a mushroom considered a consumer? It is a decomposer – eating dead material.
7. Define trophic level. One step in a food chain.
8. What is biodiversity? The variety of organisms in an area.
9. What trophic level are producers in? bottom or first
10. What is mutualism? Give an example. When two organisms benefit from each other. Bee and
flower
11. What role do plants play in the carbon cycle? Take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
12. Why are bears and humans on the same trophic level(s)? Because we are both omnivores.
13. What is a food web? Connected food chains, or a series of feeding relationships
14. What is the water cycle? Use and reuse of water through an ecosystem
15. In the food web, what would lead to a decrease in the
hawk population? Less rabbits
16. Explain how the hawk is both a secondary and a
tertiary consumer. 2nd – after rabbit, 3rd in the
grasshopper, lizard and the mouse, snake chains
Ecology Final Exam
17. Which plant grew the most in
week 2? What was its growth? Plant 4
at 6inches
18. What is the independent variable?
Dependent? IV –amount of water, DV growth
19. Compare and contrast predation and parasitism. Predation hunts, kills and eats immediately.
Parasitism slowly feeds off host causing it harm.
20. How do you know that this picture shows primary
succession? Starts with rocks and no soil
A
B
C
21. In B, there is a blue-green growth on the rocks. What is it
and what is its function in succession? Lichen – a pioneer
species, breaking rock into soil
22. How does the law of 10% cause an energy pyramid to get smaller at the top? Each of the trophic
levels only gets 10% of that below it
23. Which level in a food pyramid do you find the herbivores? 2nd
24. Which trophic level gets solar energy INDIRECTLY? All consumers
25. How is fire useful in taiga? Seeds germinate (cones
open)
26. Which organisms have the least contamination in
picture? Producers – lowest trophic level
27. What is the sun’s role in most ecosystems? Provides
energy
28. Why are decomposers necessary? Which types of
organisms are the primary decomposers in terrestrial
ecosystems? Recycle nutrients, bacteria and fungi are primary decomposers
29. What is the understory of a forest? Above the floor below the canopy
30. Which terrestrial biome has the highest species diversity? Where on the planet is it found? Tropical
rainforest – found in the tropics around the equator
D
Ecology Final Exam
31. Which biome has plants that are adapted to obtain and conserve water? desert
32. Which forest biome has acidic soil and the least rainfall of all the forests? In what region is this
forest found in? taiga, temperate zone
33. Which biome has permafrost? tundra
34. In which biome(s) would searching for food at night be a good adaptation? Desert – to stay cool
35. Describe a savanna. Tropical grassland with migrating herbivores
36. Define biome. Areas with the same types of plants and animals
37. Since __plants_______ forms the base of the food web, they determine which _animals________
species will live in a biome.
38. Cactus spines are modified __leaves_________ to reduce water loss.
39. How is migration a useful adaptation on the savanna? Travels with the rain
40. Which forest layer gets the least sunlight? floor
41. Why do tundra plants bloom and set seed quickly? Because the growing season is so short
42. Describe the adaptations of the conifer to the taiga. Triangular shape to shed snow, evergreen to
photosynthesis as soon as it is warm enough,
43. Why is changing fur color (based on season) a useful adaptation in the tundra and taiga?
camouflage
44. How does observation begin the scientific process? Seeing something causes a scientist to ask
questions that lead to experiments
45. Data must be ___replicated__________ to be considered valid. Others must be able to get the
same information.
46. Why would a hypothesis change? New data
47. What are keystone species? The ecosystem would break down if they were gone
48. Why is habitat preservation the best way to preserve biodiversity? It saves both known and
unknown species
49. What is mass extinction? Many species die at the same time
50. What is the most serious nuclear accident that occurred in the United States? Three Island Island
Ecology Final Exam
51. What is uranium-235 used for? How is it considered “environmentally friendly” by some? Nuclear
fuel, no greenhouse gas
52. Which type of power generates the most air pollution? Fossil fuels
53. Which energy source is the most widely used? Why? Fossil fuels, easily gotten, cheap
54. Which energy sources are renewable? Solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydrogen, water
55. What is the MAIN reason for slowing the construction nuclear power plants? expensive
56. What is a direct use of fossil fuels? Burning gas for heat in a gas stove
57. What is hydroelectric energy? From moving water
58. ___Renewable__________________ energy is from sources that are constantly being formed.
59. How can the United States increase its energy efficiency? Drive less, take public transportation, turn
off appliance when not in use
60. What is geothermal energy? From the heat of the planet
61. What is biomass energy? Energy from biomass – wood, trash, etc
62. What is conservation? Only using what is necessary
63. A school was built on top of the Love Canal, a chemical waste dump.
64. What can cause erosion? Wind, rain
65. Dry regions are more likely to see ____desertification_____ from erosion.
66. What is a pathogen? Organism that causes disease – usually bacteria, fungi or protista
67. By improving air circulation, you reduce the amount of ___indoor____ pollutants in your home.