Questions on ecology

1- What is a community?
A. A group of producers and consumers living and interacting in an area
B. A group of species living and interacting in an area
C. A group of populations living and interacting in an area
D. A group of organisms living and interacting in an area
E. None of the above definitions
Questions 2-3
A. Decomposers (e.g., bacteria)
B. Producers (e.g., grasses)
C. Primary consumers (e.g., mice)
D. Secondary consumers (e.g., snakes)
E. Tertiary consumers (e.g., hawks)

2. An autotrophic organism capable of producing complex organic

compounds from simple inorganic molecules through the process of
photosynthesis.
3. An organism whose ecological function involves the recycling of
nutrients by performing the natural process of decomposition as it feeds
on decaying organisms.
4. The scarlet cup fungus, Sarcoscypha coccinea, obtains its nutrition from
decaying wood by releasing digestive enzymes into the wood and
absorbing the digested products. Which of the following terms describe(s)
the fungus?
A. autotroph
B. heterotroph
C. saprotroph
D. autotroph, heterotroph, and saprotroph
E. saprotroph and heterotroph

5. A sample of living tissue from a human who makes a living by fishing

was found to have a specific heavy metal concentration of 800,000 ppt
(parts per trillion). Note that fish represent the main dish of this
fisherman. What is the best inferential explanation you could make based
on the given data?
A. Air pollution may have caused this fisherman to inhale dangerous
amounts of heavy metals while fishing.
B. The entire population of fishermen, from which this sample was taken,
died.
C. The population exploded, causing an ecosystem imbalance.
D. Pollutants tend to collect in areas of land where this fisherman lives.
E. This fisherman is at a high trophic level on the food chain.
6. Which of the following nutrient cycles has its largest reservoir in the
atmosphere?
A. carbon cycle
B. nitrogen cycle
C. potassium cycle
D. phosphorus cycle
E. oxygen cycle

7.All of the following living organisms are autotrophs EXCEPT

A. cyanobacteria.
B. algae.
C. zooplankton.
D. grass.
E. trees.

8. A food chain consists of producers, primary consumers, secondary

consumers, and tertiary consumers. If the producers produce 10,000 kcal
of energy, how many kcal are theoretically available to the secondary
consumers based on normal trophic efficiencies?
A. 10000
B. 1000
C. 100
D. 10
E. 5
Questions 9-10
A. Marine biome
B. Desert
C. Taiga
D. Temperate grasslands
E. Tundra
9. It is an environment characterized by the presence of salt water. It is
found in all of Earth's oceans.
10. It is a snow forest characterized by coniferous trees such as spruce
and fir.

11. Eukaryotic organisms that play an important role in recycling nutrients

are
I. Protists
II. Fungi
III. Plants
IV. Bacteria

A. I only
B. II only
C. I and III
D. II and IV
E. I II and IV
12. If an energy pyramid has 4 step trophic levels and the first step has
700 Kcal energy, then the amount of energy available at the highest
trophic level is
A. 700 kcal
B. 70 kcal
C. 7 kcal
D. 0.7 kcal
E. 0.07 kcal

13. Nitrogen fixation is

A. The process by which nitrogen fixing bacteria remove nitrogen from
the atmosphere
B. The process by which consumers convert nitrogen gas to amino acids
C. The process by which primary producers release nitrogen to the
atmosphere
D. The process by which bacteria convert nitrogen gas to amino acids
E. The process by which primary producers convert ammonia to nitrogen
gas

14. The clownfish live among the sea anemone tentacles. The clownfish
protects the sea anemone by chasing away the attackers, in turn, the sea
anemone protects the clownfish from predators. This type of symbiosis is
A. Parasitism
B. Commensalism
C. Mutualism
D. Predation
E. Speciation

15. The first carnivore in the food chain is

A. One step from the primary producer
B. Two steps from the primary producer
C. Three steps from the primary producer
D. Two steps from the herbivore
E. Three steps from the herbivore

16. Which is NOT true about Tundra?

I. It includes wide variety of animal species
II. It is called permafrost
III. It is dominated by conifers
IV. It is located in far northern parts of North America, Europe and Asia

A. I only
B. III only
C. I and III
D. II and IV
E. I , III and IV
17. In spring and winter, the food of the fox is mostly small rodents due to
the lack of fruits. By contrast, in summer and autumn, its food consists of
50% fruit. So the diet of fox, as function of seasons, is:
A. Herbivorous
B. Zoophagous
C. Insectivorous
D. Carnivorous
E. Omnivorous

18. Eutrophication refers to:

A. The process that causes the depletion of the ozone layer
B. Global warming
C. The process that happens to a lake that absorbs too many nutrients
D. The invasion of new species that causes damage to an ecosystem
E. The process whereby one species outcompetes another species

Questions 19-21:
Choose from the terms below about the nitrogen cycle
A. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
B. Denitrifying bacteria
C. Nitrifying bacteria
19. Convert the ammonium into nitrates
20. Convert nitrates into free nitrogen in the atmosphere
21. Convert free nitrogen from the atmosphere into the ammonium ion

22. Humans eat beef from cattle that were corn fed. Cattle and humans
occupy which of the following trophic levels?
A. Producer and primary consumer
B. Primary consumer and secondary consumer
C. Secondary consumer and tertiary consumer
D. Tertiary consumer and quaternary consumer
E. Both are primary consumers

Answer key:
1- C
2- B
3- A
4- C
5- E
6- B
7- C
8- C
9- A
10- C
11- B
12- D
13- A
14- C
15- B
16- C
17- E
18- C
19- C
20- B
21- A
22- B