1.

Which of the following gases contribute to warming of the Earth's surface through the greenhouse
effect?

A. carbon dioxide

B. methane

C. water vapor

D. nitrous oxide

E. All of the above

2. The number of trophic levels in an ecosystem is limited by

A. the number of tertiary consumers.

B. the loss of energy with each transfer between trophic levels.

C. the gain of energy with each transfer between trophic levels.

D. the rate at which organisms can recycle energy within the ecosystem.

E. the rate at which secondary consumers consume their prey.

3. Ozone plays an important role in shaping the environment for life on Earth because it

A. absorbs visible radiation.

B. emits ultraviolet radiation.

C. absorbs ultraviolet radiation.

D. reflects visible radiation.

E. dissolves more readily than oxygen gas in seawater.

4. Birds on oceanic islands have highest diversity on

A. small islands of recent geologic origin.

B. large islands far from the mainland.

C. small islands close to the mainland.

D. small islands far from the mainland.

E. large islands close to the mainland.

5. For most groups, species diversity most often

A. is low at the equator and the poles, and peaks at temperate latitudes.

B. is high at the equator and the poles, and lowest at temperate latitudes.

C. increases from tropics to the poles.

D. increases from the poles to tropics.

E. shows no clear relationship with latitude.

6. The "trophic cascade hypothesis" emphasizes the role of

A. nutrients in controlling primary productivity.

B. nutrients in controlling primary consumptiom.

C. consumers in controlling primary consumption.

D. grazing by herbivores in controlling ecosystem nutrient levels.

E. primary productivity in controlling primary and secondary consumption.

7. When measuring the coastline of Taiwan, which of these rulers would give you the longest estimate of
coastline length?

A. 1 cm

B. 10 cm

C. 1 m

D. 10 m

E. 1 km

8. According to the facilitation hypothesis, pioneer species modify the environment in ways theat

A. make it more suitable for their own survival, and less suitable for other species.

B. make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of other pioneer species.

C. make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of late-successional
species.

D. make it less suitable for survival of all species.

E. make it more suitable for survival of all species.

9. The rate of decomposition of leaf litter in woodlands can be strongly influenced by

A. moisture.

B. nitrogen content.

C. leaf toughness.

D. All of the choices are correct.

E. None of the choices is correct.

10. The terrestrial ecosystem with highest primary production are usually that are

A. warm and wet.

B. warm and dry.

C. cool and wet.

D. cool and dry.

E. intermediate in both temperature and moisture.

11. The rate of primary production on the Serengeti grassland is positively correlated with

A. rainfall.

B. moderate grazing.

C. high-intensity grazing.

D. both rainfall and moderate grazing.

E. both rainfall and high-intensity grazing.

12. The largest reservoir of phosphorus in most ecosystems is phosphorous

A. in the atmosphere.

B. dissolved in water.

C. in rocks and sediments.

D. bound in animal tissues.

E. bound in plant tissues.

13. "Nitrogen fixation" refers to the conversion of

A. carbon compounds to nitrogen compounds.

B. nitrogen gas (N2) to ammonia.

C. ammonia to nitrogen gas (N2).

D. ammonium to nitrate.

E. ammonium to nitrite.

14. A major perturbation of the carbon cycle by human activity is associated with

A. release of carbon from carbonate rocks.

B. release of carbon from fossil fuel deposits.

C. removal of carbon from the atmosphere in the industrial production of fertilizers.

D. accelerated removal of carbon from the atmosphere by forests.

E. respiratory production of CO2 by the large human population.

15. In aquatic ecosystems, the major agents of decomposition are

A. aquatic fungi.

B. bacteria.

C. algae.

D. detritivorous fish.

E. piscivorous fish.

16. A community in which secondary succession is very rapid has

A. high resistance.

B. low resistance.

C. high resilience.

D. low resilience.

E. high replication.
17. "Primary succession" is succession that

A. involves establishment of primary producers where there were none.

B. leads to establishment of a climax community dominated by primary producers.

C. occurs on newly exposed geologic substrates, not organic soil.

D. occurs where organic soils have been exposed but not destroyed by disturbance.

E. occurs after fire or agriculture abandonment.

18. In the "transition phase" of forest succession,

A. biomass increases rapidly as the community recognizes.

B. biomass declines from an early peak.

C. biomass stays constant, but species composition turns over rapidly.

D. nutrient export increases dramatically and soils become depleted.

E. one climax community gives way to another.

19. According to the inhibition hypothesis, pioneer species modify the environment in ways that

A. make it less suitable for other species.

B. male it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of other pioneer species.

C. make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of late-successional
species.

D. make it more suitable for survival of all species.

E. in this model, pioneer species do not modify the environment.

20. __________ is the ability of a community or ecosystem to maintain structure in the face of potential
disturbance.

A. Resilience

B. Elasticity

C. Resistance

D. Plasticity

E. Flexibility
21. Actual evapotranspiration for an ecosystem refers to the amount of water that

A. is taken up from soils by plant roots.

B. evaporates from soils.

C. is transpired by plants.

D. evaporates from soils plus the amount transpired by plants.

E. could evaporates from soils, if they were kept wet at all times.

22. Actual evapotranspiration rates are highest in __________ climates.

A. warm, moist

B. cold, moist

C. warm, dry

D. cold, dry

E. actual evapotranspiration rate is not affected by climate

23. Carnivores that feed on herbivores(or on detritivores) are referred to as

A. primary producers.

B. primary consumers.

C. secondary consumers.

D. parasitoids.

E. keystone species.

24. The low productivity of arctic tundra ecosystems results

A. entirely because tundra has low evapotranspiration.

B. entirely because tundra soils are low in nutrients.

C. entirely because tundra soils retain water poorly.

D. because tundra soils have low nutrients and retain water poorly.

E. entirely because tundra has low evapotranspiration and low-nutrients soils.

25. The major source of nutrients in surface waters of the open ocean is

A. mixing of subsurface with surface waters.

B. deposition from the atmosphere.

C. addition by ocean currents bringing nutrients from nearshore waters.

D. decomposition of dead organic material.

E. photosynthesis by planktonic.

26. Primary production is lowest in which ecosystem?

A. creosote bush desert

B. annual grassland

C. subalpine forest

D. temperate deciduous forest

E. tropical forest

27. In aquatic ecosystems, leaves with high lignin content decompose

A. rapidly because lignin is a nutrient-rich compound.

B. rapidly because lignin enhances colonization by decomposing fungi.

C. slowly because lignin reduces colonization by decomposing fungi.

D. slowly because lignin is a carbon-poor compound.

E. slowly because lignin-containing leaves sink rapidly.

28. Pocket gophers change the nitrogen cycle in prairies because they

A. excavate nitrogen-rich subsoil to the surface.

B. selectively remove nitrogen-fixing legumes from plant communities.

C. bury nitrogen-rich organic material in their burrows.

D. cultivate nitrogen-fixing bacteria in burrow chambers.

E. excavate nitrogen-poor subsoil to the surface.

29. Nitrogen enrichment of ecosystems by human activity is largely driven by

A. addition of nitrogen fertilizers.

B. nitrogen pollution from burning of fossil fuels.

C. nitrogen fixation by bacteria in landfills.

D. both addition of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen pollution from burning of fossil fuels.

E. both addition of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen fixation by bacteria in landfills.

30. Which statement about changing ecosystem properties during succession is false?

A. biomass increases

B. community respiration increases

C. primary production increase

D. soil depths decrease

E. stream spiraling lengths decrease

31. For Glanville fritillary butterflies in Finland, larger habitat patches (compared to smaller
ones)support

A. higher population sizes and higher population densities.

B. higher population sizes but equal population densities.

C. higher population sizes but lower population densities.

D. equel population sizes, due to higher population densities.

E. equel population sizes and equal population densities.

32. The equilibrium model of island biogeography explains diversity on islands as a balance between

A. speciation and extinction.

B. immigration and extinction.

C. speciation and emigration.

D. immigration and emigration.

E. speciation and immigration.

33. A large value of the patch shape index, S=P/(2√πA), indicates a

A. shape near a circle, with a high perimeter-to-area ratio.

B. shape near a circle, with a low perimeter-to-area ratio.

C. very elongated shape, with a low perimeter-to-area ratio.

D. very elongated shape, with a high perimeter-to-area ratio.

E. None of the above.

34. Recent conversion of forests to beaver ponds and wet meadows

A. is producing a novel landscape structure, because beavers have never been as numerous as they
are now.

B. is producing a novel landscape structure, because beavers previously exploited natural wetlands.

C. is restoring prehistoric landscape structure.

D. decreases nutrient levels in areas affected by beaver damming.

E. increases nutrient levels in remaining forests, but not in beaver ponds.

35. MacArthur and Wilson hypothesized that larger islands would experience more extinction events
because more species present means

A. more chances for extinctions.

B. more likelihood of competitive exclusion.

C. smaller population size of each.

D. All of the choices are correct.

E. only more chances for extinctions and smaller population size of each.

36. A positive relationship between area and species diversity is commonly for

A. oceanic islands.

B. lakes.

C. wooded mountaintops in the American Southwest.

D. All of the choices are correct.

E. None of the choices are correct.