Biology 307

Introduction through Ecosystems

In multiple choice questions, choose the one best answer unless instructed otherwise.

(3) 1. A(n) _________________________ consists of interacting biotic and abiotic components related through exchanges of energy and nutrients.

A) environment  B) ecology C) population D) ecosystem  E) community

(3) 2.  All of the organisms living in the place and the same time, presumably interacting and affecting one another is known as:

A) the environment  B) the community C) a species  D) the ecosystem  E) the habitat F) the population.

(3) 3.  The place where an organism resides is usually known as:

A) The habitat  B) the guild C) the home range  D) the environment

(3) 4.  The environment is defined as not only the place where the organism lives, but also:

A) the abiotic factors found there

B) the abiotic and biotic factors found there

C) the predators found there

D) the competitors found there

(3) 5.  Define evolution in one sentence:

(3) 7.  Earthworms consume dead leaves, thereby aerating and enriching the organic content of the soil.  To what trophic level do earthworms belong?

A) Producers  B) Herbivores  C) Carnivores  D) Decomposers

(3) 8.  Eagles feed primarily on live fish.  To what trophic level do they belong?

A) Producers  B) Herbivores  C) Carnivores  D) Decomposers

(3) 9.  What best describes humans with regard to their feeding habits?

A) Producers  B) Herbivores  C) Carnivores  D) Omnivores  E) Decomposers

3) 10.  Social insects have independently evolved the habit of gathering plant material, planting and culturing fungi, using the plant material as a substrate, and then feeding directly upon the fungi.  In the New World tropics, ants in the group called the Attini do this.  In the Old World tropics, termites have this habit.  What I have detailed above is best described as an example of:

A) Directional Selection   B) Disruptive Selection  C) Convergent (or Parallel) Evolution  D) Speciation

(3) 11.  On March 21 which of the following will not occur:

A) The sun will be directly overhead at noon at 22^oN latitude.

B) Day length will be 12 hours everywhere on earth

C) The sun will be directly overhead at noon on the equator

D) It will be the first day of autumn in Australia (southern hemisphere)

E) It will be the first day of spring in Fairfax County.

(3) 12.  The prevailing winds within the tropics, but south of the equator, are from the______________________

(3) 13.  Palm trees grow on the southern coast of England because of:

A) the warm waters of the North Sea

B) the warm waters of the Gulf Stream

C) its latitude near the equator

D) they have really hard working gardeners!

(3) 14.  On the far western coast of Washington state (on the Olympic Peninsula, the name for the biome is:

A) Temperate Rain Forest  B) Prairie  C) Tropical Rain Forest  D) Temperate Deciduous Forest  E) Tundra

(5) 15.  Since the prevailing winds within the temperate latitudes are from the _____________________, on the opposite side of large mountains (called the leeward side as opposed to the windward side), we often find what biomes?

A) Tundra  B) Desert  C) Swamps  D) Wet forests

(3) 16.  Temperate grasslands go under a number of names: prairie, steppes, pampas, veldt.  What name do we generally give grasslands found in the tropics?

3) 17.  In the Holdrige Life Zone system, the two most important variables are total annual precipitation and:

A) Mean Annual Temperature

B) Mean Annual Biotemperature

C) Length of Dry Season

D) Elevation and Latitude

(3) 18.  What is the natural biome of Fairfax County?

____________________________________________

(8) 21.  For each statement, indicate whether it is most true of C₃, C₄, or CAM plants.

A) This photosynthetic pathway is found in both Cactus plants and the aquatic plant Isoetes.__________________

B) The usual photosynthetic pathway for plants growing in partial shade and under moderate temperatures. _______________

C) In this photosynthetic pathway, plants are very efficient at fixing carbon dioxide. _____________________

D) This pathway is typical of high light and high temperature conditions. __________________

 1. The total amount of living material (biomass) present at a given point in time is referred to as the ___________________________.

2. The _______________________________ of an ecosystem is the gross primary production minus energy lost due to respiration.

3. Within a trophic level, assimilation efficiency equals:

a) assimilation/ingestion

b) production/assimilation

c) consumption/ingestion

d) production/ingestion

4. An animal ingests 10,000 kcal of food. If the assimilation efficiency is 50% and the amount of energy lost to respiration is 80% of the energy assimilated, what is the net production of energy from that 10,000 kcal?

5. What is an example of a sedimentary nutrient cycle?

(3) 3. Photosynthetic efficiency in plants usually varies from:

A) 1-5%

B) 20-25%

C) 50-75%

D) 0.001-0.1%

(24) 4. Define the following:

Evapotranspiration

Standing Crop

Climax Community

Secondary Production

(3) 10. Which of the following statements is true?

A) Litter production is highest in the tropics while litter accumulation is highest in high latitude coniferous forests.

B) Litter production is highest in the tropics and litter accumulation is also highest in the tropics.

C) Litter production is lowest in the tropics while litter accumulation is highest in high latitude coniferous forests.

D) Litter production is lowest in the tropics and litter accumulation is lowest in high latitude coniferous forests.

(4) 11. Decomposition of leaf litter is slowed by (two answers):

A) A low C:N ratio;

B) A low proportion of lignin, fiber and resins;

C) A low pH;

D) A low level of available oxygen.

(8) 15. Identify the major form of carbon in each of the following situations:

a) atmosphere

b) Inorganic form of carbon, sedimentary deposits

c) Organic form of carbon, sedimentary (underground) deposits

d) Wood in a forest