AP BIO Chapter 15 Ecology Flashcards
The high level of pesticides in birds of prey is an example of A) the principle of exclusion B) cycling of nutrients by decomposes C) exponential growth D) biological magnification
D) organisms at higher trophic levels have a greater concentration of accumulated toxins. The principle of exclusion has to do with the competition that arises when two organisms share a niche. Ecological succession is the sequential rebuilding of an ecosystem after it has been destroyed by some natural or human-made disaster.
Which of the following best explains why there are usually no more than five tropic levels in a food chain?
A) there are not enough organisms to fill more than 5 levels
B) there is too much competition among the organisms at the lower levels to support more animals at higher levels
C) the statement is not true; there can be unlimited tropic levels
D) energy is lost at each tropic level
D) only about 10 percent of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next level. The other choices do not make sense.
Which of the following is NOT an important characteristic of the marine biome? A) the largest biome B) provides most of the earth's food C) temperatures vary tremendously D) the largest source of oxygen
C) because water has a very high heat capacity, it requires a lot of time to heat up and cool down. Therefore, the temperature of the oceans remains relatively constant and moderates the nearby land.
The most important factors affecting the distribution of biomes are
A) temperature and rainfall
B) amount of sunlight and human population size
C) latitude and longitude
D) altitude and water supply
A) the amount of rainfall and temperature are most important in distribution of biomes. Choice (b) must be eliminated because it is irrelevant. Altitude does not, in itself determine climate.
Which of the following is NOT an abiotic factor? A) air B) water C) decomposes D) temperature
C) decomposes are bacteria, living things. All the others are abiotic factors, not living.
Which of the following encompasses all the others? A) ecosystem B) community C) population D) individual
A) from the most specific to the most general: individual, population, species, community, and ecosystem
Which of the following lists the biome as they appears as you move from the equator to the North Pole in the northern hemisphere?
A) tropical rain forest-desert-temperature deciduous forest-taiga-tundra
B) desert-tundra-taiga-temperate deciduous forest-tropical rain forest
C) taiga-temperature deciduous forest-tundra-desert-tropical rain forest
D) tundra-taiga-temperature deciduous forest-desert-tropical rain forest
A) as you go toward the North Pole or up in elevation from the equator, the temperature decrease
A species described as r-strategist would definitely NOT have which of the following characteristics? A) clumped population pattern B) much parenting C) many offspring D) random population pattern
B) population pattern is not tied to r-strategists or k-strategists. Think of r as standing for “risky”. There is little or no parenting and high mortality of the young in the r-strategists.
Which of the following is a density-independent factor limiting human population growth? A) famine B) disease C)competition for food D) naturally occurring fires
D) fires are natural occurrence and are independent of population
What would most likely be the cause of bushes of one species growing in one area in a uniform spacing pattern?
A) random distribution of seeds
B) interactions among individuals in the population
C) chance
D) the varied nutrient supplies in that area
B) plants may secrete toxins that keep others plants from growing nearby. It’s minimizes competition for limited resources
Animals from two different species utilize the same source of nutrition in one area. It is most accurate to say that the animals
A) will learn to get along
B) will compete for food
C) will die because there will not be enough food for both of them
D) will learn to eat different foods
B) this is a restatement of Gause’s principle of exclusion
Two animals live together in close association. One benefits, while the other is unaware of the first animal. The relationship is best described as A) parasitism B) mutualism C) commensalism D) predation
C) an example of commensalism is the barnacle that attaches to the bottom of the whale. The whale is unaware of the barnacle, which gains a varied food source as the whale swims to different areas.
Describe the process of ecological succession
Ecological succession is a sequential building or rebuilding of an entire ecosystem. The process is called primary succession if it begins in a virtually lifeless area where soil has yet to form. The first organisms to inhabit a barren area are pioneer organisms like lichens (a symbionts consisting of algae and fungi) and mosses, which are introduced into the area as spores by the wind. Soil develops gradually as rocks weather and organic matter accumulates from the decomposed remains of the pioneer organisms. Once soil is present,pioneer organisms are overrun by other larger organisms: grasses, bushes,and then trees, the prevalent form of vegetation for that community. Primary succession can take hundreds or thousand of years to reach the climax community, the final stable community that develops. Secondary succession occurs when an existing community has been severely damaged by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact. Examples are the fire in Yellowstone park in 1988 or the massive volcanic explosion of Mount Saint Helen’s in 1980 or the clear-cutting of forests that is ongoing in the Pacific Northwest, where all trees removed. This process does not take as long as primary succession. Often, though, the same community does not return because the new environment is very from the way it was when the climax community formed years before.
Name five properties of populations and explain what they tell us about a population
Key words/topics: Size Density Dispersion Survivorship curves Age structure diagrams
Explain the water, nitrogen, and carbon cycles
Key words/topics: Interdependence of organisms on earth Water-evaporation, condensation Photosynthesis-requires CO2 and releases O2 Cellular respiration-requires O2 and releases CO2 Bacteria of decay Nitrogen-fixing bacteria Nitrifying bacteria Denitrifying bacteria
