Bio 112 Ecology: Final Study Guide Below is an outline of the topics and concepts covered on the final exam. This packet also includes a practice test, along with answers to questions 1-44. You may submit responses for questions 45-50 for extra credit. 1) Topics: a) Trophic levels i) primary producers, ii) primary consumer, iii) secondary consumer etc. b) Energy flow i) One-way flow of energy from the sun through trophic levels ii) Know the two laws of thermodynamics c) Material cycles i) Know the carbon, water and nitrogen cycles d) Communities- interacting populations i) Types of interactions (1) Predation, competition (2) Symbiotic (a) Mutualism- both organisms benefit (b) Commensalism- symbiont benefits, no harm to host (c) Parasitism- symbiont benefits, harms host ii) Niche- specific task in community or ecosystem e) Community Dynamics i) Keystone species- exert a strong influence on community structure ii) Ecological Succession (1) Primary - clean slate occurs in new environments and involves foundation species (2) Secondary- recovery of disturbed habitat; soil intact, no foundation species f) Populations i) Size, Density, carrying capacity, biotic potential ii) J- shaped and S- shaped curves iii) Density-dependent and density-independent factors iv) Population survivorship curves 1
Bio112PracticeFinal Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. Carbon is introduced into the atmosphere by all EXCEPT which of the following means? a. volcanic eruptions b. wind erosion c. combustion d. respiration e. burning of fossil fuels 2. Photoautotrophs are a. primary consumers. b. primary producers. c. secondary producers. d. secondary consumers. e. tertiary consumers. 3. When plotting the number of individuals in a population against time the data yield a J-shaped curve, indicating which of the following? a. carrying capacity b. exponential growth c. biotic potential d. environmental resistance e. logistic growth 4. Which of the following are NOT heterotrophs? a. herbivores b. decomposers c. primary carnivores d. detritivores e. All of these are heterotrophs. 5. In which of the following locations does carbon remain for the shortest time? a. marshes b. peat bogs c. sea shells d. tropical forests e. fossil fuels 6. Each trophic level in a food chain or food web contains a certain amount of organic matter, called a. organisms b. energy c. food d. biomass e. decomposition 7. Herbivores represent the a. primary producers. b. primary consumers. c. secondary consumers. d. secondary producers. e. tertiary consumers. 2
8. Which of the following is not one of the major processes of the water cycle? a. lunar tides b. evaporation c. precipitation d. transpiration e. all of these are major processes 9. Which of the following is said to occur when an interaction benefits one species but has little, if any, effect on the other? a. commensalism b. interspecific competition c. parasitism d. mutualism e. predation 10. The primary consumer is also a. the second link in a food chain. b. most likely an animal. c. a herbivore. d. the second link in a food chain, and likely, an herbivorous animal. e. a herbivore and an animal. 11. Which of the following exhibits secondary ecological succession? a. newly cooled lava b. abandoned parking lot c. a crumbled concrete building d. newly constructed reservoir e. recently flooded land 12. When populations of two different species interact over long periods of time, changes in the gene pool of one species can lead to changes in the gene pool of the other. This is called a. commensalism b. coevolution c. coincidence d. competition e. predation 13. Which of the following is a way that humans harmfully impact the water cycle? a. change natural flood control by disturbing wetlands b. increasing runoff by clearing vegetation from the land c. increased runoff due to crops, buildings, and pavement d. overpumping of aquifers e. all of these 14. Which of the following survivorship curves applies to long-lived, large mammals? a. Type II b. Type III c. Type I d. Type IV e. None of these apply 3
15. Wastes would accumulate and the recycling of most nutrients would stop if the _?_ in the ecosystem died. a. decomposers b. flatworms, roundworms, and earthworms c. recomposers d. insects e. plants 16. A secondary consumer usually eats a. decomposers. b. only herbivores. c. only primary producers. d. primary carnivores. e. anything "below" it in the food web. 17. An array of organisms together with their physical environment is which of the following? a. species b. community c. biosphere d. ecosystem e. population 18. Which of the following terrestrial ecosystems or life zones produces the lowest net primary productivity per year? a. temperate grassland b. extreme desert c. taiga d. agricultural land e. desert scrub 19. At the top of a pyramid of biomass are the a. secondary producers. b. secondary consumers. c. primary producers. d. primary consumers. e. tertiary consumers (third level). 20. The process by which some bacteria turn atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form is called... a. ammonification. b. decomposition. c. denitrification. d. nitrification. e. nitrogen fixation. 21. The hydrologic cycle is the movement of a. water b. hydrogen c. carbon d. carbohydrates e. hydrocarbons 4
22. Complex networks of interconnected food chains are a. food chains b. trophic chains c. food webs d. trophic levels e. pyramids of energy Matching Match each term with its most suitable description. a. maximum rate of increase per individual under ideal conditions b. group of individuals born during the same period of time c. population growth plots out as an S-shaped curve d. largest number of individuals sustainable by the resources in a given environment e. population growth plots out as a J-shaped curve f. essential resource that restricts population growth when scarce 23. carrying capacity 24. logistic growth 25. exponential growth 26. biotic potential 27. limiting factor 28. cohort Match the terms with suitable descriptions. a. feed on plants b. feed on small bits of organic matter c. degrade organic wastes and remains to inorganic forms d. capture sunlight energy 29. producers 30. herbivores 31. decomposers 32. detritivores 5
Completion Complete each statement. 33. A group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time is a(n). 34. Destruction of tropical rain forests will help accelerate. 35. Organisms that cannot produce their own food and, therefore, must eat other organisms, are called. 36. A sequence of organisms, each of which serves as a source of food or energy for the next, is called a(n). 37. The major reservoir for nitrogen is the. 38. Decomposers are mainly bacteria and. 39. Nitrogen fixation is accomplished by specialized in the soil and in aquatic environments. 40. Ecologists assign every type of organism in an ecosystem to a feeding level or. 41. Carbon cycles through the biosphere and depends on the process of and. 42. from the sun is captured, converted into chemical energy, and stored as biomass in the tissues of the producer. 43. The rate at which an ecosystem's producers convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass is called. 44. Organisms that convert simple inorganic compounds into nutrients, without sunlight, are called organisms. 6
Name Date Extra Credit Questions 45. In the figure above, notice that the fox (secondary consumer) is in the process of pouncing on the rabbit. If humans were to remove that predator (fox), what would be the effects on the rest of the ecosystem? Be as specific as possible. 7
Name Date 46. In the figure above, notice that heat is lost by each component of the ecosystem, and that the sun is shown entering at only one point in the system. Explain how this is representative of the two laws of energy (two laws of thermodynamics). 8
Name Date 47. Examine the figure above. Notice the amount of average net primary productivity gets smaller and smaller as you move down the list of terrestrial ecosystems and, similarly, in the list of aquatic ecosystems. What is the common factor in the terrestrial system that causes the decline? What is the common factor in the aquatic system that causes the decline there? 9
Name Date Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s). 48. Why is heat shown as being lost to the environment? 49. Why would there be fewer organisms at level A than at any level below it? 50. Indicate the letter at which humans would be found? 51. How many kilocalories have been lost between level A and level D? 52. What group is indicated by letter E, to which all organisms in the pyramid eventually succumb? 53. Letter D, at the base of the pyramid given above, represents what group of organisms? 10
Bio112PracticeFinal Answer Section MULTIPLE CHOICE MATCHING 1. B 2. B 3. B 4. E 5. D 6. D 7. B 8. A 9. A 10. D 11. E 12. B 13. E 14. C 15. A 16. E 17. D 18. B 19. E 20. C 21. A 22. C 23. D 24. C 25. E 26. A 27. F 28. B 29. D 30. A 31. C 32. B COMPLETION 33. population 34. global warming 35. heterotrophs consumers 36. food chain 37. atmosphere 38. fungi 39. bacteria 40. trophic level 41. photosynthesis; respiration respiration; photosynthesis 42. Energy 43. gross primary productivity GPP 44. chemosynthetic 11