44) Fire suppression by humans
A) will always result in an increase in species diversity in a given biome.
B) can change the species composition within biological communities.
C) will result ultimately in sustainable production of increased amounts of forest products for human
use.
D) is necessary for the protection of threatened and endangered forest species.
E) is a management goal of conservation biologists to maintain the healthy condition of forest
communities.
45) Which of the following statements best describes the interaction between fire and ecosystems?
A) The likelihood of a wildfire occurring in a given ecosystem is highly predictable over the short term.
B) Many kinds of plants and plant communities have adapted to frequent fires.
C) The suppression of forest fires by man has prevented certain communities, such as grasslands, from
reaching their climax stage.
D) Chaparral communities have evolved to the extent that they rarely burn.
E) Fire is unnatural in ecosystems and should be prevented.
46) In which community would organisms most likely have adaptations enabling them to respond to
different photoperiods?
A) tropical forest
B) coral reef
C) savanna
D) temperate forest
E) abyssal
47) The growing season would generally be shortest in which of the following biomes?
A) savanna
B) temperate broadleaf forest
C) temperate grassland
D) tropical rain forest
E) coniferous forest
48) Trees are not usually found in the tundra biome because of
A) insufficient annual precipitation.
B) acidic soils.
C) extreme winter temperatures.
D) overbrowsing by musk ox and caribou.
E) permafrost.
49) Studying species transplants is a way that ecologists
A) determine the abundance of a species in a specified area.
B) determine the distribution of a species in a specified area.
C) develop mathematical models for distribution and abundance of organisms.
D) determine if dispersal is a key factor in limiting distribution of organisms.
E) consolidate a landscape region into a single ecosystem.
Art Questions
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and left vertical axis) and
precipitation (bar graph and right vertical axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth.
Choose the climograph that best answers the question or completes the statement. Climographs may be
used once, more than once, or not at all.
50) Which climograph shows the climate for location 1?
A) A
B) C
C) E
D) G
E) H
51) Which climograph shows the climate for location 2?
A) B
B) C
C) D
D) F
E) H
52) Which climograph shows the climate for location 3?
A) B
B) C
C) D
D) E
E) F
53) Which climograph shows the climate for location 4?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) E
E) G
54) Which climograph shows the climate for location 5?
A) A
B) C
C) D
D) E
E) H
55) Which of the following best substantiates why location 3 is an equatorial (tropical) climate?
A) It has a monsoon season during the winter months.
B) It has consistent monthly averages for rainfall.
C) The temperature is high for each monthly average.
D) The temperatures reach 100°F during some months.
E) The temperatures are lower in June, July, and August.
with letters. Choose the letter that best answers the question. Letters may be used once, more than once,
or not at all.
56) Which zone has a condition of constant temperature?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
57) Which zone produces the most global oxygen gas?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
58) Which zone is comprised largely of detritus-feeding organisms?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
59) Which zone has the lowest biomass per unit of area?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
60) Which zone experiences the most abiotic change over a 24-hour period?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
Use the following diagram from the text showing the spread of the cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis, since its
arrival in the New World, to answer the following question.
61) How would an ecologist likely explain the expansion of the cattle egret?
A) The areas to which the cattle egret has expanded have no cattle egret parasites.
B) Climatic factors, such as temperature and precipitation, provide a suitable habitat for cattle egrets.
C) There are no predators for cattle egrets in the New World, so they continue to expand their range.
D) A habitat left unoccupied by native herons and egrets met the biotic and abiotic requirements of the
cattle egret transplants and their descendants.
E) The first egrets to colonize South America evolved into a new species capable of competing with the
native species of herons and egrets.
Scenario Questions
Use this description to answer the following question.
Experts in white-tailed deer ecology generally agree that population sizes of deer that live in temperate
climates are limited by winter snow. The deer congregate in “yarding” areas under evergreen trees
because venturing out to feed in winter is energetically too expensive when snowfall depths accumulate
to above 40 cm. Deer often stay yarded until the spring thaw. Snow depth over 40 inches for more than
60 days results in high mortality due to starvation.
62) This observation best illustrates which of the following principles about factors that limit
distribution of organisms?
A) Abiotic factors, such as weather extremes, ultimately limit distribution.
B) Organisms will face extinction unless they adapt to conditions or evolve new mechanisms for
survival.
C) Environmental factors are limiting not only in amount but also in longevity.
D) Daily accumulations in snow depth gradually add up to cause increased deer mortality.
E) Temporary extremes in weather conditions usually result in high mortality in the deer population.
Use this description to answer the following question.
In areas of permafrost, stands of black spruce are frequently observed in the landscape, while other tree
species are noticeably absent. Often these stands are referred to as “drunken forests” because many of
the black spruce are displaced from their normal vertical alignment.
63) What might be the adaptive significance of these unusual forests growing the way they do in this
marginal habitat?
A) Needles are adapted to withstand cold arctic temperatures.
B) Branches are adapted to absorb more CO2 with this displaced alignment.
C) Taproot formation is impossible, so trees developed shallow root beds.
D) Trees are tilted so snow prevents them from breaking or tipping over.
E) Trees tip so that they do not compete with each other for sunlight.
End-of-Chapter Questions
The following questions are from the end-of–chapter “Test Your Understanding” section in Chapter 52
of the textbook.
64) Which of the following areas of study focuses on the exchange of energy, organisms, and materials
between ecosystems?
A) population ecology
B) organismal ecology
C) landscape ecology
D) ecosystem ecology
E) community ecology
65) Which lake zone would be absent in a very shallow lake?
A) benthic zone
B) aphotic zone
C) pelagic zone
D) littoral zone
E) limnetic zone
66) Which of the following is true with respect to oligotrophic lakes and eutrophic lakes?
A) Oligotrophic lakes are more subject to oxygen depletion.
B) Rates of photosynthesis are lower in eutrophic lakes.
C) Eutrophic lake water contains lower concentrations of nutrients.
D) Eutrophic lakes are richer in nutrients.
E) Sediments in oligotrophic lakes contain larger amounts of decomposable organic matter.
67) Which of the following biomes is correctly paired with the description of its climate?
A) savanna–low temperature, precipitation uniform during the year
B) tundra–long summers, mild winters
C) temperate broadleaf forest–relatively short growing season, mild winters
D) temperate grasslands–relatively warm winters, most rainfall in summer
E) tropical forests–nearly constant day length and temperature
68) Which of the following is characteristic of most terrestrial biomes?
A) annual average rainfall in excess of 250 cm
B) a distribution predicted almost entirely by rock and soil patterns
C) clear boundaries between adjacent biomes
D) vegetation demonstrating vertical layering
E) cold winter months
69) The oceans affect the biosphere in all of the following ways except
A) producing a substantial amount of the biosphere’s oxygen.
B) removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
C) moderating the climate of terrestrial biomes.
D) regulating the pH of freshwater biomes and terrestrial groundwater.
E) being the source of most of Earth’s rainfall.
70) Which statement about dispersal is false?
A) Dispersal is a common component of the life cycles of plants and animals.
B) Colonization of devastated areas after floods or volcanic eruptions depends on dispersal.
C) Dispersal occurs only on an evolutionary time scale.
D) Seeds are important dispersal stages in the life cycles of most flowering plants.
E) The ability to disperse can expand the geographic distribution of a species.
71) When climbing a mountain, we can observe transitions in biological communities that are analogous
to the changes
A) in biomes at different latitudes.
B) at different depths in the ocean.
C) in a community through different seasons.
D) in an ecosystem as it evolves over time.
E) across the United States from east to west.
72) Suppose that the number of bird species is determined mainly by the number of vertical strata found
in the environment. If so, in which of the following biomes would you find the greatest number of bird
species?
A) tropical rain forest
B) savanna
C) desert
D) temperate broadleaf forest
E) temperate grassland
73) If the direction of Earth’s rotation reversed, the most predictable effect would be
A) no more night and day.
B) a big change in the length of the year.
C) winds blowing from west to east along the equator.
D) a loss of seasonal variation at high latitudes.
E) the elimination of ocean currents.