Topic 6 Ecology Test

The changes that occur in a plant community where one population gradually replaces another over a period of a few centuries are usually called

• ecological succession

• mutations

• evolution

• food chains

Because many organisms occupy a niche in more than one food chain, the nutritional pattern of an ecosystem is best represented by a

• series of parallel chains

• complex web

• continuous straight line

• pyramid

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The chart represents characteristics necessary for the maintenance of a self-sustaining ecosystem. Which characteristic is most likely represented by letter X?

• lack of abiotic factors

• cycling of materials

• few biotic factors

• parasitic relationships

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In which level would you find the greatest numbers of consumers?

• A

• B

• C

• D

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Which statement is best supported by the diagram below of the carbon-oxygen cycle?

• Decomposers add oxygen to the atmosphere and remove carbon dioxide

• Combustion adds oxygen to the atmosphere and removes carbon dioxide.

• Producers generate oxygen and utilize carbon dioxide.

• Consumers generate oxygen and consume carbon dioxide.

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In New York State, bluebirds and house sparrows inhabit nearly the same ecological niche. In many areas, bluebirds are being replaced by the house sparrows as a result of

• equilibrium

• competition

• predation

• decomposition

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The elements stored in living cells of organisms in a community will eventually be returned to the soil for use by other living organisms. The organisms which carry out this process are

• producers

• herbivores

• carnivores

• decomposers

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Which statement best describes a self-sustaining ecosystem?

• Consumers produce most of the oxygen.

• Consumers eventually outnumber producers.

• Energy is created and then stored.

• Organisms interact with their environment.

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If a farm in NY State is abandoned and left without any human intervention for many years, the changes in that environment over several hundred years would most likely include:

• A gradual return to a forested ecosystem through natural succession.

• The land remaining exactly as it was when abandoned.

• A rapid transformation into a desert environment.

• The immediate appearance of large animal populations.

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Almost all food chains begin with photosynthetic organisms because:

• they produce their own food using sunlight, forming the base of the food chain.

• they are the only organisms that eat other animals.

• they decompose dead matter to recycle nutrients.

• they rely on consuming other organisms for energy.

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