Ecology Quiz Which example shows a relationship between a living thing and a nonliving thing?

Transcription

1 Ecology Quiz 1 Name: Date: 1. In a desert environment, cactus wrens often build their nests in cholla cacti to avoid predators. This behavior does not hurt the cacti. Which type of relationship do cactus wrens and cholla cacti demonstrate? A. competitive B. commensalism C. mutualism D. parasitism 3. Which example shows a relationship between a living thing and a nonliving thing? A. An insect is food for a salmon. B. Water carries a rock downstream. C. A tree removes a gas from the air. D. A flower makes food for a butterfly. 2. The graph below shows the population of mice living in a certain area over a fifteen-year period. 4. Salt concentration, water temperature, plankton, and the whale shark might all be used in a description of an ocean A. climate. B. food web. Which numeral on the graph points to a time when the birth rate exceeded the death rate of the mice? C. ecosystem. D. population. A. I B. II C. III D. IV page 1

2 5. The graph below shows changes in a caribou population over time. 7. Rabbits introduced into Australia over 100 years ago have become a serious pest to farmers. Rabbit populations increased so much that they displaced many native species of plant eaters. What is the most logical explanation for their increased numbers? A. Rabbits have a high death rate. B. There are few effective predators. C. Additional rabbit species have been introduced. D. There is an increase in rabbit competitors. Based on the graph, which of the following is a possible explanation for the stabilization of the caribou population? A. an equal number of deaths and births B. an unequal number of deaths and births C. an equal number of immigrants and births D. an unequal number of immigrants and deaths 6. Scientists found that, over a period of 200 years, a mountain pond was transformed into a meadow. During that time, several communities of organisms were replaced by different communities. Which of these best explains why new communities were able to replace older communities? A. The original species became extinct. 8. If a paleontologist finds fossils of many different species existing in the same area at approximately the same time, the paleontologist can conclude that the ecosystem in this area had a high degree of A. climatic variation. B. episodic speciation. C. biological diversity. D. geographic isolation. B. Species in the older community died from old age. C. The abiotic characteristics of the habitat changed. D. Diseases that killed the older organisms disappeared. page 2 Ecology Quiz 1

3 9. In the longstanding war between coyotes and sheep ranchers in New Mexico, studies show that coyotes kill sheep and the percentage of sheep lost from herds in areas where coyotes have been exterminated is about the same as the percentage lost in areas where coyotes are still present. What is the most likely explanation for the similarity in the percentage of sheep lost in both areas? 11. Jack Rabbit Fox Bear What kind of habitat would all of these animals live in? A. Forest B. City C. Ocean A. Coyotes were protecting sheep. B. The sheep died from overcrowding. C. Another predator was killing sheep. D. Coyotes were preying on sick or weak sheep. 12. If farmers cleared a large forest and planted grass, the squirrels that had lived in the forest would most likely A. move to other areas that had trees. B. learn to live in the long grass. 10. Plants and animals are alive and have characteristics that make them different from each other and non-living things. C. find seeds and nuts to plant more trees. D. build their nests on the ground. 13. A wetland was drained to build a mall. Two years later, there were no more toads in that area. Why did the toads disappear? In the chart below, list three living things and three non-living things to this picture. Living Non-living A. The toads were destroyed by the construction equipment. B. The toads died because toads cannot breathe out of water. C. The toads were frightened and went into the woods. D. The toads got their food from the wetland ecosystem. page 3 Ecology Quiz 1

4 14. How does too much fishing in an area affect its ecosystem? 15. Use the pictures below to answer the following question. A. The fish will lay many more eggs to replace the fish that were caught. B. Organisms that eat the fish could become endangered due to starvation. C. Organisms that the fish eat will become endangered. D. People could eat too many fish and become ill. Which ecological process is illustrated in this sequence of pictures? A. migration B. succession C. nitrification D. precipitation page 4 Ecology Quiz 1

5 16. A wetland was drained to build a mall. Two years later, there were no more toads in that area. Why did the toads disappear? A. The toads were destroyed by the construction equipment. B. The toads died because toads cannot breathe out of water. C. The toads were frightened and went into the woods. D. The toads got their food from the wetland ecosystem. 18. Which relationship is mutualistic? A. an insect that lives and feeds on the body of an alligator B. an ant that lives on a plant and defends the plant from other insects C. a bird that migrates to follow the movements of the butterflies that it eats D. a deer that eats one kind of plant, which allows another kind of plant to grow in its place 17. Use the desert picture below to answer the question. 19. An ocean, a forest, and a grassy meadow are each examples of a complete ecosystem. Complete ecosystems contain only A. animals. B. rocks and water. Which factor most likely limits the desert s carrying capacity for plant life? C. living and nonliving things. D. populations of plants and animals. A. the number of herbivores B. the amount of sunlight C. the availability of water D. the availability of land page 5 Ecology Quiz 1