Ecosystem Development and Relationships
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AP Environmental Science › Ecosystem Development and Relationships
What describes a "stable population?"
A population in which the number of children is approximately the same as the number of reproducing adults
A population in which carrying capacity is well above the current number of individuals
A population that uses resources in an effective manner, such as resource partitioning
A population in which the offspring have a low mortality rate
A population in which member numbers do not fluctuate in a given time period
Explanation
A stable population is described as one in which birth rate equals to death rate, and the number of children is about equal to the number of reproducing adults.
Which of the following is not a type of species interaction?
Parallelism
Interspecific competition
Predation
Parasitism
Mutualism
Explanation
Parallelism can describe a type of evolution, but does not represent a type of species interaction. On the other had the other choices—interspecific competition, predation, parasitism, and mutualism—are types of species interactions. Interspecific competition occurs when members of species compete for the same resource or niche. Predation happens when one species (predator) feeds on another species (prey). Parasitism takes place when one organism lives off the body of another. This organism is a parasite and usually lives inside or on the host. Mutualism refers to interaction between multiple species for the benefit of all species members.
Which of the following is a habitat and way of life to which a particular organism is adapted?
Niche
Habituation
Biome
Community
TerritorialityTerr
Explanation
A niche is a habitat and way of life to which a particular organism is adapted. It is the role of a particular species within an ecosystem, including all aspects of its interaction with the living and nonliving environments. Habituation is a common form of simple learning, defined as a decline in response to a repeated stimulus. The ability to habituate is adaptive. Humans habituate to many stimuli: city dwellers to traffic sounds, and country dwellers to the sounds of nature. A biome is a terrestrial ecosystem that occupies an extensive geographical area and is characterized by a specfic type of plant community. A community is all the interacting populations within an ecosystem. Terrioriality is the defense of an area in which important resources are located.
Giraffes use their incredibly long necks and tough, prehensile tongues to expertly remove acacia leaves from their spiky branches. Honey badgers are opportunistic and will chase other predators away from carcasses to eat carrion. They will also destroy beehives with their huge claws to reach honey. Additionally, they can use their claws to dig burrows and find yams. Gerenuks will stand on their back legs to reach the tops of grassland shrubs, which is a unique trait among grass eating antelope. Last, aardvarks have immense nails and sticky tongues that they use to open termite mounds and consume thousands of termites and ants in a given night.
Using this information, which of the following species would best be described as a niche generalist?
Honey badger
Giraffe
Aardvark
Gerenuk
Explanation
A species generalist can survive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and make use of varying resources. Honey badgers are generalists because they eat proportionally smaller amounts of many types of food over their lifetime. The other species listed are specialists and eat a proportionally large amount of one or few types of food over their lifetimes.
Giraffes use their incredibly long necks and tough, prehensile tongues to expertly remove acacia leaves from their spiky branches. Honey badgers are opportunistic and will chase other predators away from carcasses to eat carrion. They will also destroy beehives with their huge claws to reach honey. Additionally, they can use their claws to dig burrows and find yams. Gerenuks will stand on their back legs to reach the tops of grassland shrubs, which is a unique trait among grass eating antelope. Last, aardvarks have immense nails and sticky tongues that they use to open termite mounds and consume thousands of termites and ants in a given night.
Using this information, which of the following species would best be described as a niche generalist?
Honey badger
Giraffe
Aardvark
Gerenuk
Explanation
A species generalist can survive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and make use of varying resources. Honey badgers are generalists because they eat proportionally smaller amounts of many types of food over their lifetime. The other species listed are specialists and eat a proportionally large amount of one or few types of food over their lifetimes.
Which of the following is a habitat and way of life to which a particular organism is adapted?
Niche
Habituation
Biome
Community
TerritorialityTerr
Explanation
A niche is a habitat and way of life to which a particular organism is adapted. It is the role of a particular species within an ecosystem, including all aspects of its interaction with the living and nonliving environments. Habituation is a common form of simple learning, defined as a decline in response to a repeated stimulus. The ability to habituate is adaptive. Humans habituate to many stimuli: city dwellers to traffic sounds, and country dwellers to the sounds of nature. A biome is a terrestrial ecosystem that occupies an extensive geographical area and is characterized by a specfic type of plant community. A community is all the interacting populations within an ecosystem. Terrioriality is the defense of an area in which important resources are located.
In relation to an energy pyramid, which of the following trophic levels would have the most energy stored in it?
Producer
Primary consumer
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumer
Decomposers
Explanation
An energy pyramid shows maximum energy at the base and steadily diminishing amounts at higher levels. The predominant organisms in an ecosystem are plants. Plants have the most energy available to them, because they trap it directly from sunlight. Far more people can be fed on grain than on meat. Primary consumers (herbivores) that feed on plants store less energy. Secondary consumers that feed on the primary consumers store even less energy and tertiary consumers (usually carnivores) store even less. Decomposers liberate nutrients for reuse that return to the atmosphere, soil, and water.
In relation to an energy pyramid, which of the following trophic levels would have the most energy stored in it?
Producer
Primary consumer
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumer
Decomposers
Explanation
An energy pyramid shows maximum energy at the base and steadily diminishing amounts at higher levels. The predominant organisms in an ecosystem are plants. Plants have the most energy available to them, because they trap it directly from sunlight. Far more people can be fed on grain than on meat. Primary consumers (herbivores) that feed on plants store less energy. Secondary consumers that feed on the primary consumers store even less energy and tertiary consumers (usually carnivores) store even less. Decomposers liberate nutrients for reuse that return to the atmosphere, soil, and water.
What describes a "stable population?"
A population in which the number of children is approximately the same as the number of reproducing adults
A population in which carrying capacity is well above the current number of individuals
A population that uses resources in an effective manner, such as resource partitioning
A population in which the offspring have a low mortality rate
A population in which member numbers do not fluctuate in a given time period
Explanation
A stable population is described as one in which birth rate equals to death rate, and the number of children is about equal to the number of reproducing adults.
Which of the following is not a type of species interaction?
Parallelism
Interspecific competition
Predation
Parasitism
Mutualism
Explanation
Parallelism can describe a type of evolution, but does not represent a type of species interaction. On the other had the other choices—interspecific competition, predation, parasitism, and mutualism—are types of species interactions. Interspecific competition occurs when members of species compete for the same resource or niche. Predation happens when one species (predator) feeds on another species (prey). Parasitism takes place when one organism lives off the body of another. This organism is a parasite and usually lives inside or on the host. Mutualism refers to interaction between multiple species for the benefit of all species members.