Terrestrial Ecology Study Guide
Name: _______________________
Test Date: 9/27 & 9/28
Chapter 4: Ecosystems
Chapter 5 (5.3 & 5.4): Biodiversity, Niches
Chapter 6: Biogeography
Chapter 8: Community Ecology
Chapter 9: Population Dynamics (review)
Vocabulary:
Autotroph
Heterotroph
Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore
Scavenger
Decomposer
Primary Consumer
Niche
Coriolis Effect
Resource Partitioning
Species Richness
Distribution
Photosynthesis
Biotic Potential
pH scale
Biodiversity
Energy
Secondary Consumer
Weather
Biome
Symbiosis
Productivity
Keystone Species
Indicator Species
Native Species
Nonnative Species
Biomass
Trophic Level
Producer
Climate
Community
Ecosystem
Multiple Choice:
1. Which of the following is the correct equation for photosynthesis?
a. Energy + 6H2O + 7CO2  C6H12O6 + 8O2
b. Energy + 6H2O + 6CO2  C6H12O6 + 6O2
c. Solar Energy + 6H2O + 8CO2  C6H12O6 + 8O2
d. Solar Energy + 8H2O + 8CO2  C6H12O6 + 12O2
e. Solar Energy + 6H2O + 6CO2  C6H12O6 + 6O2
2. Which is the correct flow of energy in an ecosystem?
a. Producer  Herbivore  Carnivore  Scavenger
b. Producer  Scavenger  Herbivore  Carnivore
c. Scavenger  Carnivore  Herbivore  Producer
d. Carnivore  Scavenger  Herbivore  Producer
e. Scavenger  Producer  Herbivore  Carnivore
3. An ecosystem has an ecological efficiency of 10 percent. If the tertiary consumer level has 1 kcal of energy, how much
energy sis the producer level contain?
a. 100 kcal
b. 1,000 kcal
c. 10,000 kcal
d. 90 kcal
e. 900 kcal
4. The prevailing wind systems of the world are produced by
a. convection currents and the Coriolis effect.
b. convection currents and adiabatic cooling.
c. convection currents and adiabatic heating.
d. The Earth’s roatation and the Coriolis effect.
e. Ocean circulation and the Coriolis effect.
5. Which of the following would be an example of the tragedy of the commons?
a. Air pollution caused by a factory
b. Deforestation on private land
c. A school converting their football field into a parking lot
d. A farmer draining a lake on his land
e. Multiple farmers letting their sheep graze on publically owned land
6. The concentration of H+ ions in a solution with a pH value of 3 is how many times as great as the concentration of H+ ions
in a solution with a pH value of 6?
a. 1
b. 10
c. 100
d. 1,000
e. 10,00
7. Which of the following is an example of an indicator species?
a. Elephant
b. Oak Tree
c. Bald Eagle
d. Leopard Frog
e. Box Turtle
8. The Earth is tilted at approximately 23 degrees. The causes
a. the seasons.
b. the tides.
c. the solar lights.
d. the Coriolis effect
e. hurricanes
9. All weather on Earth is found in which layer of the atmosphere?
a. Troposphere
b. Stratosphere
c. Mesosphere
d. Thermosphere
e. Exosphere
10. Which biome has permafrost?
a. Tundra
b. Grassland
c. Tropical rainforest
d. Temperate rainforest
e. Desert
11. All of the following are characteristics of invasive species except:
a. they are a threat to biodiversity
b. they often do not have natural enemies
c. they outcompete native species
d. they do not spread over wide areas
e. they can often reproduce quickly
12. There are two different communities each with 100 organisms.
- Community 1 has 10 different species with 10 of each species
- Community 2 has 5 different species with the following numbers: Species 1 has 40, species 2 has 20, species 3
has 20, species 4 has 10, and species 5 has 10
What can we tell about community 1 compared to community 2?
a. Community 1 has more richness than community 2
b. Community 2 has more richness than community 1
c. Community 2 is more even than community 1
d. Community 1 has been more disturbed than community 2
e. Community 1 is more stable than community 2
Match the following:
13. _____ Nitrification
14. _____ Assimilation
15. _____ Denitrification
16. _____ Ammonification
17. _____ Nitrogen fixation
a. Nitrogen is assimilated into plant tissues
b. Nitrogen is released as gas
c. Ammonia is converted into nitrite and nitrate
d. Bacteria concert ammonia into ammonium
e. Decomposers use waste as a food source and excrete ammonium
Short Answer/ Make sure you know…
18. How is energy measured?
19. What is meant by energy flow?
20. What is thermodynamics? List the two laws.
21. State and explain the law of conservation of matter.
22. What happens to biological production and biomass as energy flows up a food chain?
23. What does it mean to “eat lower in the food chain?”
24. What is ecological succession?
25. List examples of ecological disturbances both natural and human caused.
26. What is primary succession? How does it differ from secondary succession?
27. What are pioneer or early successional species? Examples
28. What is a climax community?
29. What are macronutrients? Micronutrients? (include examples)
30. How can nutrients be limiting factors?
31. How does the carbon cycle function?
32. How does the nitrogen cycle function?
33. How does the phosphorous cycle function?
34. What is the difference between an ecological niche and a habitat?
35. What is exponential growth?
36. What is doubling time?
37. What is sustainability?
38. What is the carrying capacity of the environment?
39. Why is the Black Death unique in recorded human history?
40. What is the Gaia Hypothesis?
41. Why is it difficulty to tell the boundaries of an ecosystem?
42. What is a food web and how is it different from a food chain?