Biology Overview

When multiple organisms seek the same limited resource, their relationship is said to be ___________.
a. predation
b. parasitism
c. competition
d. herbivory

Which of the following statements best describes competition for a niche?
a. Members of different species never compete for resources.
b. Competition for resources always involves aggression.
c. Competition for a niche always results in the disappearance of one of the competing species.
d. Two species could divide a niche through “resource partitioning.”

If two members of the same bird species are competing for the same tree to build a nest in, this is considered_____
a. interspecific competition
b. intraspecific competition
c. mutualism
d. fundamental competition

Using “+” for those that benefit, “−” for those that are harmed, and “0” for no effect, which of the following expressions best represents competition between species?
− / −
0 / −
+ / −
+ / +

When an increase in the population of prey occurs, which of the following usually occurs in the population of its predator?
a. The population of the predator will become extinct.
b. The population of the predator increases.
c. The population of the predator decreases.
d. The population of the predator remains unchanged.

When a parasite lives inside the human gastrointestinal tract, absorbing some of the human’s nutrients at the human’s expense, it is considered a(n) _____ interaction.
a. partitioned
b. displacement
c. exploitative
d. Galápagos

Many plants have developed complicated defenses to protect themselves against _____.
a. pollination
b. herbivory
c. Invasive species
d. Parasitoidism

When a species is moved from its native area to a new area, it can become an invasive species and damage its new ecosystem. What is one reason these species are able to do damage to an ecosystem?
a. Having been moved from its home country, the introduced species does not know the local language so is unable to communicate with its new neighbors and gets angry, lashing out at any nearby organisms and doing great harm.
b. In nearly every case, when a species is moved across an ocean and into a new habitat it becomes a harmful invasive species simply because it is in a new habitat.
c. When moved to the new location, the species fills in unoccupied niches.
d. When a species is transported, it leaves behind its predators and the diseases that previously kept its population in check. Therefore the species is able to grow to large and damaging numbers.

Using “+” for those who benefit, “−” for those who are harmed, and “0” for no effect, which of the following expressions for the host species and other species (respectively) represents commensalism?
a. + / +
b. 0 / +
c. 0 / −
d. + / −

Two relationships that can be a symbiosis are ___________.
a. mutualism and parasitism
b. interspecific and intraspecific competition
c. mutualism and competition
d. parasitism and amensalism

If a human consumes both plant and animal products then he or she is considered a(n) _____.
a. producer
b. primary consumer
c. herbivore
d. omnivore

If you wanted to represent the relative importance of the trophic levels in a food chain, the most accurate way to do so would be a graph in the form of _____.
a. a pyramid of competition
b. a pyramid of energy
c. a pyramid of numbers
d. a pyramid of keystone species

Which of the following statements is correct concerning organisms that use cellular respiration?
a. When organisms use cellular respiration to process energy only a small amount of energy is transferred to the next trophic level.
b. When organisms use cellular respiration to process energy they die.
c. When organisms use cellular respiration to process energy they use photosynthesis.
d. When organisms use cellular respiration to process energy 100% of the energy is transferred to the next trophic level.

Which of the following would have the largest biomass in any given terrestrial ecosystem?
a. tertiary consumers
b. primary consumers
c. secondary consumers
d. autotrophs

Decomposers and detritivores are responsible for enhancing the _____ by recycling nutrients.
a. soil
b. polar ice caps
c. Earth’s mantle
d. energy cycle

As organisms feed on one another, ______ and _____ move through the community from one trophic level to another.
a. water and energy
b. disease and parasites
c. matter and energy
d. matter and water

Which statement is an accurate description of a keystone species?
a. A keystone species that is a predator controls the herbivore populations, which in turn maintains the plant populations and keeps balance.
b. If the keystone species disappears, the whole ecosystem collapses and nothing survives.
c. Keystone species are always predators.
d. Keystone species are the largest-bodied species in a community.

Which statement is correct concerning the process of ecological succession?
a. Primary succession begins with soil that was once inhabited by plants.
b. A population will always be succeeded by another population.
c. After a disturbance, the community goes through a somewhat predictable set of changes until reaching a final state.
d. Planting pines in an abandoned farm field mimics what would normally happen in succession.

If you wanted to predict which biome you would find in an area, what two things would you would need to know about that area?
a. the annual daytime high and nighttime low temperatures
b. the annual levels of light and length of day
c. the annual soil nutrient levels and relative humidity
d. its annual rainfall and temperature

Which of the following biomes has the least annual rainfall?
a. the tropical rain forest
b. the tropical dry forest
c. the tundra
d. the chaparral

Which biome is correctly matched with its description?
a. The temperate deciduous forest is dominated by conifers, has long cold winters, and is home to moose.
b. A temperate grassland biome has a hot, dry summer and fall, has few to no trees, and contains large grazing animals like bison.
c. The rain forest biome has permafrost.
d. The taiga or boreal forest has heavy year-round rainfall and consists of dense growth of conifers, ferns, and mosses.

The type of biome that has been converted most frequently by humans for agricultural use is the _____.
a. tundra
b. temperate grassland
c. desert
d. savanna

While driving through an area in October you notice that most of the trees are full of beautiful autumn-colored leaves. When you return to the area again in December you notice that the trees have lost their leaves and are bare. Which of the following ecosystems might this be?
a. a temperature deciduous forest
b. a desert
c. a temperate grassland
d. a boreal forest

Which of the following types of graphs would a scientist reference when determining the biome of an area?
a. a food pyramid
b. a climatograph
c. a biomass pyramid
d. a biome calculator graph

When looking at the distribution of the world’s biomes, there is a predictable pattern that results when starting at the equator and moving north or south (a longitudinal change). Where else do we see the same sort of predictable pattern?
a. starting at the base of a mountain and climbing up to the top
b. starting at zero degrees latitude and moving east or west
c. starting at the source of a river and following it to where it ends
d. starting in an area after a disturbance and following it through time

_____ are secondary consumers.
a. Producers
b. Herbivores
c. Plants
d. Cows
e. Carnivores

Approximately _____% of the energy at one trophic level is passed on to the next highest trophic level.
a. 0-5
b. 5-10
c. 10-15
d. 15-20
e. 90-100

10,000 kcal of producer could support approximately _____ kcal of tertiary consumer.
a. 1,000
b. 100
c. 10
d. 1
e. 0

In an ecosystem, phytoplankton are _____.
a. detritivores
b. producers
c. primary consumers
d. secondary consumers
e. tertiary consumers

An earthworm that feeds on the remains of plants and animals is acting as a _____.
a. primary consumer
b. secondary consumer
c. tertiary consumer
d. producer
e. detritivore

When a human eats a steak, the human is acting as a _____.
a. tertiary consumer
b. detritivore
c. secondary consumer
d. primary consumer
e. producer

A cow eating grass is an example of a _____.
a. secondary consumer
b. producer
c. detritivore
d. primary consumer
e. tertiary consumer

A human who just ate a hamburger is eaten by a shark while swimming. The shark is acting as a _____.
a. secondary consumer
b. producer
c. detritivore
d. tertiary consumer
e. primary consumer

Which of these is a starting point for primary succession?
a. abandoned farmland
b. an abandoned city
c. none of these is a starting point for primary succession
d. a surface exposed by a retreating glacier
e. a neglected yard

Which one of the following is a general characteristic of plants that are early colonizers during primary succession?
a. plants can outcompete other plants that invade the area
b. plants are able to fix their own nitrogen
c. plants are shade-tolerant
d. plants have wind-dispersed seeds

What are the two major factors determining the distribution of terrestrial biomes?
a. temperature and light
b. temperature and rainfall
c. light and rainfall
d. plants and animals
e. temperature and plants

Which of these biomes is characterized by little rainfall?
a. temperate broadleaf forest
b. coniferous forest
c. desert
d. temperate grassland
e. tropical rain forest

Which of these is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth?
a. tundra
b. coniferous forest
c. temperate broadleaf forest
d. temperate grassland
e. desert

Which biome is characterized by an extensive canopy that allows little light to penetrate to the ground and by the presence of epiphytes?
a. temperate grassland
b. coniferous forest
c. tropical rain forest
d. desert
e. tundra

Which biome is characterized by the presence of permafrost?
a. taiga
b. tropical forest
c. tundra
d. coniferous forest
e. desert

Pick the answer that best evaluates the following statement: “It has been said that land animals can’t exist without plants but that plants could exist without animals.”
a. This statement is true because plants are able to convert sun energy into food energy and animals must get their energy from plants or other organisms that eat plants.
b. This statement is incorrect because plants can’t reproduce without the energy of animals, and animals cannot reproduce without the energy of plants.
c. This statement is incorrect because the animals must supply the detritus for the decomposition process that supports plants.
d. This statement is incorrect because animals are the only source of carbon dioxide that plants need for photosynthesis.

Predation is a form of species interaction where:
a) Both species are harmed
b) One species benefits, but the other is harmed
c) Both species benefit
d) One species excludes another from a particular area

The phenomenon where one species completely excludes another species from access to a resource is called:
a) Amensalism
b) Intraspecific competition
c) Competitive exclusion
d) Species coexistence

An example of coevolution would be:
a) Predators killing their prey
b) One species moving out of an area to find new resources
c) A host species becoming more vulnerable to parasitism
d) A pine tree evolving thicker pinecones to reduce consumption by squirrels after the squirrels evolved stronger jaws to eat the pinecones

Which statement is NOT true about trophic levels?
a) Plants are autotrophs and occupy the first trophic level.
b) Detritivores consume waste products or dead bodies.
c) Biomass and energy increase going up the food chain.
d) There are fewer predators than prey in an area.

Secondary succession would take place on all of the following EXCEPT:
a) The slopes of a newly formed volcanic island
b) Wetlands in Texas following Hurricane Rita
c) Forests growing on an abandoned farm
d) Vegetation regrowing in Yellowstone National Park after a major fire

Which biome has extreme temperature differences between winter and summer, may contain prairie dogs, and has been extensively converted to agriculture?
A) Tropical rainforest
B) Temperate grasslands
C) Temperate rainforest
D) Taiga

Which biome has year-round warm temperatures and rainfall, lush vegetation, but very poor soils?
a) Tropical rainforest
b) Temperate grasslands
c) Temperate rainforest
d) Taiga

The word trophic refers to:
a. food or feeding.
b. one of two phases of photosynthesis.
c. the consumption of plant material by animals and other non-photosynthetic life forms.
d. the transformation of other forms of energy into chemical bond energy.

Primary consumers are also known as
A. carnivores.
B. scavengers.
C. decomposers.
D. herbivores.
E. top carnivores

On average, how much energy is passed on to the next trophic level when an organism is consumed?
a. 75%
b. 10%
c. 100%
d. 20%

Which of the following is not a type of trophic level grouping?
a. Herbivores
b. Producers
c. Consumers
d. Reducers

Food webs are series of interconnected ____________ in an ecosystem.
a. living organisms
b. food chains
c. abiotic factors
d. energy factors

Photosynthesizing organisms in an ecosystem are called primary producers.
a. True
b. False

What is a trophic level?
a. The amount of biomass available in an ecosystem.
b. An organism’s feeding level within an ecosystem.
c. All the world’s ecosystems of a particular type.
d. None of the above.

A zebra and an elephant are living in the same territory and are using some of the same resources. The best way to classify this interaction is as:
a. mutualism
b. intraspecific competiton
c. interspecific competition
d. symbiosis
e. commensalism

The ______________ are opportunistic species which can quickly colonize open, disturbed, or bare ground.
a. climax
b. shrubs
c. pioneers
d. trees

Any organism that feeds directly on another living organism is termed a _____________.
a. prey
b. parasitism
c. predator
d. mutualism