Ecology and Ecosystems QBA Exam 1 Practice Test

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• An organism that eats primary consumers is a ...
• Beta diversity measures what aspect of biodiversity?
• An organism that gets its energy requirements by consuming other organisms.
• An organism that eats dead matter to return nutrients to the soil, air and water to be used.
• Ecological stoichiometry studies the balance of energy and multiple chemical elements in organisms; why are C:N:P ratios important in ecosystems?
• Which term describes a period of the year characterized by particular weather and temperature conditions?
• Which term describes all populations living together in a given area?
• Which term refers to the shallow freshwater zone where light reaches the bottom and supports aquatic plants?
• A simple model that shows how energy flows through an ecosystem.
• Which prefix means life?
• How do invasive species affect ecosystem processes and resilience?
• Movement of individuals into a population is called:
• Which statement about pioneer species is true?
• Explain a keystone species and provide an example and its ecological role.
• How does fragmentation influence species richness according to the island biogeography framework?
• Which organism would live in the intertidal zone as it can survive both in water and outside of the ocean?
• How do disturbance regimes influence ecosystem structure and species diversity?
• Explain how carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles are integrated in ecosystems.
• An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms.
• An organism that eats secondary consumers is called a ...
• An organism that uses sunlight or inorganic substances to produce food?
• Which term best describes a population whose size stays about the same because births equal deaths?
• The term for any living part of the environment with which an organism might interact is:
• Which term describes the long-term average pattern of weather in a region?
• Outline the major steps of the carbon cycle in ecosystems and how human activities modify it.
• In a stratified lake, which layer contains the cold, deep water with the least light penetration?
• Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil is called?
• An organism that eats both autotrophs and heterotrophs, such as a bear or human.
• Explain what a BACI experimental design is and how it helps detect ecological effects of disturbances.
• Which of the following is a classic density-dependent factor?
• The narrow band of coastline between the levels of high tide and low tide is:
• Conditions in the environment that put limits on where an organism can live are called:
• Permanently dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone:
• An organism that feeds on producers and occupies the second trophic level is called a ...
• Which statement best distinguishes species richness from species evenness?
• The term for physical, nonliving factors that shape an ecosystem is:
• Which of the following is an example of a density-independent factor?
• This organism would live in the photic zone of the open ocean
• Which zone has little to no light and organisms adapted to darkness?
• Which statement correctly matches the four major types of species interactions with an example?
• What is the first species to populate an area during primary succession?
• Which statement about soils and oceans in carbon storage is most accurate?
• Which statement best describes a real-world example of a trophic cascade?
• Approximately what percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
• Which term is used to describe the number of individuals born in a given time period?
• Which statement best explains the ecological implications of generalists and specialists when environmental change occurs?
• State the competitive exclusion principle and one ecological implication.
• What drives a detrital (saprotrophic) food web?
• The largest population that an environment can support at any given time is known as:
• Which density-dependent factor involves the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources and often leads to population decline due to starvation?
• An organism that eats secondary consumers is a ...
• According to island biogeography theory, what factors influence species richness on islands or fragments?
• What term denotes the maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely?
• What term describes a change in an ecosystem that occurs when one community replaces another due to changing abiotic and biotic factors?
• Which term best describes organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms?
• What property quantifies the amount of dissolved salts in water?
• Which abiotic factor directly affects visibility and decreases with ocean depth?
• A material deposited by water, wind, or glaciers is called ...
• Which process converts N2 to bioavailable NH4+?
• Co-limitation means what in ecological growth?
• Each step in a food web or chain.
• Which of the following is an example of a pioneer species?
• Which of the following is an example of a density-independent factor?
• The prefixes 'a-' or 'an-' denote what meaning?
• Why are wetlands important for carbon storage and biodiversity?
• Which process involves uptake of nitrogen by plants from the soil?
• What is the term for the number of individual organisms per defined unit area?
• What is a trophic cascade?
• If a community has S = 8 species and Shannon index H' = 2.0, what is Pielou’s evenness J' = H'/log(S)?
• Which of the following is an example of secondary succession?
• Which formula defines the Shannon diversity index, and what does a higher value indicate?
• A measure of how clear water is.
• Transect/quadrat sampling is used to estimate population size by counts along fixed lines or plots and can account for detection probabilities.
• What term describes the number of deaths that occur in a population during a given time period?
• Which term best describes an organism that preys on other heterotrophs?
• Bottom of an aquatic ecosystem; consists of sand and sediment and supports its own community of organisms--includes both freshwater and marine ecosystems:
• Which term describes an organism that collects energy from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce food?
• An organism that eats primary consumers is called a ...
• Pielou’s evenness J' = H'/log(S). What does a value near 1 imply?
• The death rate is best described as the...
• Which statement best describes gamma diversity?
• Which term describes a freshwater wetland habitat that is saturated and supports wildlife?
• Which cycle has no gaseous phase and moves mainly via weathering and runoff?
• Which of the following is a classic example of an ecosystem engineer?
• An organism that preys on other heterotrophs, such as wolves, lions and lynxes.
• Which process returns nitrogen to the atmosphere as N2?
• Phenology is the timing of seasonal life cycle events; how does climate change influence it?
• Compare exponential and logistic population growth models, and define carrying capacity and density dependence.
• What remote sensing metric is commonly used to proxy chlorophyll and vegetation health?
• Define a limiting factor in population growth.
• Which measure indicates how clear water is and can affect light penetration?
• Which soil horizon is primarily associated with leaching of minerals?
• Which term describes the living components of the environment that interact with organisms?
• Define limnology and differentiate the epilimnion, metalimnion, and hypolimnion.
• Which nutrient is often the limiting factor in freshwater ecosystems?
• What measure describes how hot or cold water is, generally decreasing with depth?
• Which statement correctly matches alpha, beta, and gamma diversity?
• Which horizon is typically characterized by the accumulation of clay and other minerals, forming the subsoil?
• Which unit is used to quantify energy in ecological studies?
• Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) equals what?
• Which zone is the deepest, dark, and experiences high pressure on the deep ocean floor?
• A lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture:
• What is the rule called that states only 10% of the energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next, with 90% lost as heat?
• What is biotic homogenization, and which processes contribute to it?
• Portion of the marine biome shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate:
• Which term describes a constant population size despite changes in births and deaths, often due to limits from resources?
• Compare stochastic disturbances and deterministic disturbances and their ecological consequences.
• How is NPP defined?
• Which density-dependent factor tends to occur when population size is high, such as disease?
• Why are there typically only a few trophic levels in ecosystems?
• Define energy transfer among trophic levels and the implications of the 10% rule.
• A long-term pattern of weather in a region is called:
• Which of the following pairs correctly describe two common methods to estimate animal population size?
• All the different populations that live together in an area
• A model most often used to represent the feeding relationships in an ecosystem because there are many pathways, it shows a complex flow of energy through an ecosystem.
• In ecosystem carbon budgeting, which statement best describes GPP?
• Which term describes a population that remains unchanged for long periods, with births and deaths balancing each other?
• Which term refers to a period when the population does not increase because resources cap growth?
• Which term describes the pattern of spacing among individuals within the population's boundaries?
• What does the prefix 'bio-' mean?
• What is the primary mechanism by which phosphorus moves through ecosystems?
• Movement of individuals out of a population is called:
• Which of the following is not a type of ecological succession?
• In a stable population where births equal deaths, the population is in which state?
• What does carrying capacity represent in ecological models?
• The term that means life is:
• Which factor is a primary driver of terrestrial primary productivity?
• The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place is known as what?
• Which statement best distinguishes a food chain from a food web?
• Which statement best distinguishes a generalist from a specialist in ecology?
• Overall weather in an area over a long period of time is referred to as what?
• An organism that eats producers is called a ...
• Provide an example of climate warming affecting phenology, distribution, and productivity.
• What term describes a number that explains how fast a given population grows, positive or negative, and is calculated using immigration and emigration fluctuations?
• A change in season from winter to spring is an example of:
• Which type of succession occurs on surfaces where no soil previously existed?
• An organism that floats on the water is:
• Which of the following is NOT a regulator of aquatic primary productivity?
• In a lake, the well-lit, open surface waters farther from shore are called:
• Which type of succession would occur after the melting of a glacier or a volcanic eruption?
• The phrase 'It's raining or snowing outside' is an example of which atmospheric concept?
• Which principle states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed?
• Which zone receives enough light for photosynthesis?
• Which type of succession occurs after a disturbance that destroys a community but leaves the soil intact?
• Which item is not a type of ecological succession?
• Which term describes an organism that eats both plants and animals?
• Which type of limiting factor is abiotic and tends to be independent of population size (examples include forest fires and hurricanes)?
• If a population grows quickly and then levels off as resources become scarce, this growth is described as?
• Which zone in a lake is the nearshore area where light reaches the bottom?
• Which term describes the living components of the environment that organisms interact with?
• Differentiates density-dependent and density-independent population regulation with examples.
• Which term refers to a rapid population increase caused by an abundance of resources?
• What habitat occurs where freshwater meets seawater?
• A stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species over time, a true climax community is unlikely to occur due to ongoing disturbances in communities is called what?
• Which growth pattern arises when resources are plentiful and unlimited, leading to rapid increases?
• Which term describes organisms that drift or float in the water column and form the base of many aquatic food webs?
• What is the unit of measurement used to represent energy in ecological contexts?
• Define a biome and identify primary factors that determine its distribution.
• Define ecosystem respiration and how it differs from photosynthesis.
• What term is a synonym for an autotroph, an organism that makes energy using sunlight?
• The portion of the ocean floor where light does not penetrate and where temperatures are cold and pressures intense. Although it touches the bottom of the ocean, it does not include sediment or the benthic zone:
• What does a positive Net Ecosystem Production indicate regarding carbon balance?
• An organism that eats only plants, such as a cow or a rabbit.
• In population dynamics, which measure is used to describe the number of deaths per year?
• Which term best describes population growth that increases as population size increases, producing an exponential pattern?
• Define resource partitioning and give a terrestrial example.
• What word best describes a period with no net change in population size?
• Which of the following is an example of a density-dependent factor?
• Provide an example of temporal niche partitioning among birds.
• In mark-recapture studies, what do these methods estimate?
• What are the main goals and approaches of restoration ecology?
• Which term describes nonliving environmental factors like temperature and light?
• In a lake, which zone is defined by light reaching the bottom and supporting rooted aquatic plants?
• This organism would live in the aphotic zone, has large eyes to see better with and is able to survive with limited availability of nutrients
• Which processes are part of the hydrological cycle, and how do infiltration vs runoff influence nutrient transport?
• What term describes the total mass of living matter at each trophic level, which decreases as trophic level rises?
• If NEP is negative, what does it indicate about the ecosystem's carbon balance?
• Which set of factors best describes the drivers of biotic homogenization across landscapes?
• Which zone is characterized by regular immersion and exposure due to tides?
• Describe primary vs secondary succession.
• Which term refers to the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level?
• Which parameter indicates how acidic or basic a solution is?
• What is the difference between resistance and resilience in an ecological system?
• NEP is defined as?
• Which type of limiting factor is often biotic and density-dependent (examples include predation, disease, parasites, and competition)?
• What term refers to the maximum population size that an ecosystem can sustain indefinitely?
• The living components of an environment that affect organisms are called:
• Which ecosystem service category includes provisioning goods like food and water?
• Which methods are used to estimate GPP and NEP at the ecosystem scale?
• Which process oxidizes NH4+ to NO3-?
• Which model represents how energy flows through an ecosystem with many pathways?