Download Ecology unit test review 13

Study Guide – Ecology Unit Test 2011. Biology 1/1 Honors
This test covers Chapters 13, 14 (less pgs 436-444), and Biomes/Ecosystems (15.3, 15.4, 15.5).
You need to know all vocabulary and words of the day,
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levels of organization in nature (organism->biome)
biotic and abiotic factors
biogeochemical cycles (C, H2O, O, N, P)
energy flow/pyramids
relationships in a food web
niches
competition, predation, symbiosis, parasitism
factors that determine population size
primary and secondary succession
6 major biomes, general characteristics of marine and aquatic ecosystems
The following is information on specific benchmarks that will be assessed on this test and on the End-ofCourse exam:
SC.912.L.17.5 Analyze how population size is determined by births, deaths, immigration, emigration, and
limiting factors (biotic and abiotic) that determine carrying capacity. (Also assesses SC.912.L.17.2,
SC.912.L.17.4, SC.912.L.17.8, and SC.912.N.1.4.)
Also Assesses SC.912.L.17.2 Explain the general distribution of life in aquatic
systems as a function of chemistry, geography, light, depth, salinity, and temperature.
SC.912.L.17.4 Describe changes in ecosystems resulting from seasonal variations, climate change, and succession.
SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize the consequences of the losses of biodiversity due to catastrophic events, climate
changes, human activity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native species.
SC.912.N.1.4 Identify sources of information and assess their reliability according to the strict standards of scientific
investigation.
Benchmark Clarifications
Students will use data and information about population dynamics, abiotic factors, and/or biotic factors to
explain and/or analyze a change in carrying capacity and its effect on population size in an ecosystem.
Students will explain that different types of organisms exist within aquatic systems due to chemistry,
geography, light, depth, salinity, and/or temperature.
Students will describe the potential changes to an ecosystem resulting from seasonal variations, climate
changes, and/or succession.
Sample Item 17 SC.912.L.17.5
The number of pythons found throughout Everglades National Park has increased in recent years. These
huge snakes are not native to Florida and are believed to have been released into the wild by pet owners.
Wildlife biologists have initiated attempts to capture and remove these pythons. Which statement best
explains the biologists’ reason for removing these pythons from the Everglades?
A. The pythons could upset the territorial boundaries of native organisms.
B. The pythons could adapt to overcome diseases common to native snakes.
C. The pythons could prey on native organisms and cause native populations to decline.
D. The pythons could begin to interbreed with native snakes and produce a more successful species.
Benchmark SC.912.L.17.9 Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and
decomposers. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and the reduction of
available energy at successive trophic levels. (Also assesses SC.912.E.7.1.)
Also Assesses SC.912.E.7.1 Analyze the movement of matter and energy through the different biogeochemical
cycles, including water and carbon.
Benchmark Clarifications
Students will describe the energy pathways through the different trophic levels of a food web or energy
pyramid. Students will analyze the movement of matter through different biogeochemical cycles.
Content Limits Items referring to organisms in food webs are limited to the impact of changes in matter
or energy in trophic levels.
Items addressing food webs will require application of the knowledge of roles of organisms in a food web
to describe energy pathways rather than the identification of producers, consumers (primary, secondary,
tertiary), and decomposers. Items will not require knowledge of specific organisms or their feeding habits.
Items assessing biogeochemical cycles are limited to the water cycle and the carbon cycle.
Items referring to the biogeochemical cycles may address but will not assess photosynthesis and cellular
respiration in isolation.
Sample Item 18 SC.912.L.17.9
A team of ecologists observed feeding patterns of several populations in the desert. The energy pyramid shown
below depicts the feeding patterns the ecologists observed.
Which of the following best explains the difference in the amount of available energy in the trophic levels of the
desert ecosystem?
A. There is less energy available in the producers because their tissues are less dense than those at higher trophic
levels.
B. There is more energy available in the second trophic level because less energy is needed for hunting compared to
the higher trophic levels.
C. There is more available energy in the birds of prey because they have greater muscle mass for storing energy than
organisms in lower trophic levels have.
D. There is less available energy in the fourth trophic level because of the loss of energy through metabolism in each
of the lower trophic levels.