Practice Ecology Test

1. A fundamental concept of ecology is that living

organisms

A) are independent and do not interact with

each other or with the physical environment.
B) do not interact with other living organisms,
but do interact with the physical
environment
C) interact with each other, but do not interact
with the physical environment
D) interact with other living organisms and
interact with the physical environment

2. Base your answer to the following question on

the diagram below and on your knowledge of
biology. The diagram represents a food web in an
ecosystem.

Missing from the diagram of this ecosystem are

the

A) biotic factors and decomposers

B) abiotic factors and decomposers
C) autotrophs, only
D) heterotrophs, only
 Practice Ecology Test

3. The chart below shows three ecological terms used to describe levels of organization on
Earth.

Which diagram best represents the relationship of these ecological terms?

A) B)

C) D)

4. The science of ecology is best defined as the 6. An earthworm lives and reproduces in the soil. It
study of aerates the soil and adds organic material to it.
The earthworm is a source of food for other
A) the classification of plants and animals
organisms. All of these statements together
B) the interactions of living organisms and
best describe
their environment
C) technology and its effects on society A) a habitat

D) weather and its effects on food production B) autotrophic nutrition

in the ocean C) an ecological niche
D) competition
5. Due to overfishing, the number of fish in the
ocean could drastically decrease. This will cause

A) an increase in the stability of the oceans

B) an increase in the salt content of the oceans
C) a decrease in the stability of the oceans
D) a decrease in the oxygen available in the
oceans
 Practice Ecology Test

7. Which statement most accurately predicts what 10. Which statement best describes an ecosystem
would happen in the aquarium shown below if it maintaining a state of approximate equilibrium?
were tightly covered and maintained in natural
A) Nutrients from decayed organisms are
light for one month?
recycled in a forest ecosystem.
B) All the frog species in a South American
rain forest become extinct.
C) A mutation spreads through a species of
bacterium, making them unable to
decompose wastes.
D) Mice are released into a field ecosystem as
food for a declining predator population

11. A scientist was studying a population of fish in a

pond over a period of 10 years. He observed
that the population increased each year for 3
A) The water temperature would rapidly
years, and then remained nearly constant for
decrease.
the rest of the study. The best explanation for
B) The process of respiration in the snail would
this observation is that the population had
decrease.
C) The rate of reproduction of the fish would A) stopped reproducing
be affected. B) reached carrying capacity
D) The organisms would probably survive C) mutated into a different species
because materials would cycle. D) run out of food and migrated to a different
pond
8. A stable ecosystem would not contain
12. A limiting factor unique to a field planted with
A) materials being cycled
corn year after year is most likely
B) consumers without producers
C) decomposers A) temperature B) sunlight
D) a constant source of energy C) water D) soil nutrients

9. For a natural ecosystem to be self-sustaining, 13. Abiotic factors that could affect the stability
many essential chemical elements must be of an ecosystem could include

A) converted to energy A) hurricanes, packs of wolves, and

temperature
B) changed into fossil fuels such as oil and coal
B) blizzards, heat waves, and swarms of
C) permanently removed from the environment
grasshoppers
D) cycled between organisms and the
C) droughts, floods, and heat waves
environment
D) species of fish, number of decomposers,
and supply of algae
 Practice Ecology Test

14. One biotic factor that affects consumers in an

ocean ecosystem is

A) number of autotrophs
B) temperature variation
C) salt content
D) pH of water

15. Which statement regarding the ecosystem shown in the diagram below is correct?

A) The community within this ecosystem consists of seven guppies and one catfish.
B) The energy source for this ecosystem is the gas from the air stone.
C) A population within this ecosystem is the three snails.
D) Cycling of materials is not necessary in this self-sustaining ecosystem.

16. All the red foxes inhabiting a given forest 18. Base your answer to the following question on
constitute a An aquarium ecosystem is shown below.

A) population B) community
C) biome D) biosphere

17. In order for an ecosystem to remain stable

there must be

A) drastic modifications to the environment

B) interrelationships and interdependencies
among organisms A community in this aquarium consists of the

C) limited biodiversity A) plants and gravel

D) gradual changes in the climate B) fish, water, and snails
C) fish, plants, and snails
D) water and gravel
 Practice Ecology Test

19. A moss-covered log is overturned by a hungry 22. Which graph best shows the relationship
bear looking for insects to eat. The bear between the amount of biodiversity and the
disturbs an ant colony, and some chipmunks number of different populations in an
leave the hollow log to search for another home ecosystem?
in the forest. Which relationship do these
A)
organisms have with each other?

A) They are all of the same species.

B) They all require the same type of food.
C) They are part of a community.
D) They are abiotic factors in a forest.

20. When two different bird species temporarily

occupy the same niche, they would most likely

A) change their nesting behaviors B)

B) not affect one another
C) interbreed to form a new species
D) compete with one another

21. Two species of animals with a similar

appearance live in the same habitat but do not
compete for food. This is because they most
likely

A) reproduce at different times of the year C)

B) are the same size
C) occupy different ecological niches
D) are active at night

D)
 Practice Ecology Test

23. Researchers have reported that the number of Base your answers to questions 25 and 26 on
different species of fish found in certain areas the map below, which shows the general location
of the ocean has been greatly reduced over the of some major biomes of Earth, and on your
past 50 years. This situation is an example of knowledge of biology. A different biome is
represented by each of the following symbols:
A) a loss of biodiversity
B) an increase in ecological succession
C) a lack of differentiation
D) an increased carrying capacity

24. Cutting down a rain forest and planting

agricultural crops, such as coffee plants, would
most likely result in

A) a decrease in biodiversity
B) an increase in the amount of energy
recycled
C) a decrease in erosion
D) an increase in the amount of
photosynthesis

25. Permanently frozen subsoil is characteristic of

which biome?

A) B) C) D)

26. Which symbol indicates an area with coniferous

trees; long, severe winters; and black bears?

A) B) C) D)
 Practice Ecology Test

Base your answers to questions 27 and 28 on 30. Base your answer to the following question on
the biomes below. For each statement in the diagram below of a biome and on your
questions select the biome, chosen from the list knowledge of biology.
below, that is best described by that
statement.

Biomes
(1) Tundra
(2) Desert
(3) Tropical forest
(4) Taiga
(5) Temperate deciduous forest
27. Plants that grow here, such as mesquite and
saguaro cactus, develop extensive root systems
Why are most of the organisms that live in
for absorbing water and have water storage
region A heterotrophs?
cells in their stems and roots.
A) Large quantities of salt are dissolved at
A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4 E) 5
this depth
28. A coniferous forest growing just below the B) Oxygen does not dissolve in the water at
tree line and mountains is densely populated by this depth
climax communities of spruce and fir trees.
C) Water temperature varies greatly at this
A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4 E) 5 depth
D) Sunlight cannot penetrate to this depth
29. Which type of biome occupies the largest area
31. In which areas does the greatest amount of
of Earth?
photosynthesis occur?
A) marine
A) mountains B) oceans
B) grassland
C) deserts D) tundras
C) tropical rain forest
32. A new island formed by volcanic action may
D) temperate deciduous forest
eventually become populated with biotic
communities as a result of

A) a decrease in the amount of organic

material present
B) decreased levels of carbon dioxide in the
area
C) the lack of abiotic factors in the area
D) the process of ecological succession
 Practice Ecology Test

33. Changes in an ecosystem over a long period of

time are shown in the diagram below.

These changes will most likely lead to a

A) stable ecosystem that can last for many

years
B) loss of heterotrophs that cannot be
recovered
C) long-term rise in environmental
temperatures
D) forest consisting of only producers and
decomposers

34. Which statement concerning the climax stage

of an ecological succession is correct?

A) It changes rapidly.
B) It persists until the environment
changes.
C) It is the first community to inhabit an
area.
D) It consists entirely of plants.
 Practice Ecology Test

35. An ecological process is represented below.

Which statement describes an event in this process?

A) Community B modifies the environment, making it suitable for community C .

B) Community D modifies the environment, making it suitable for community C.
C) Community E will develop into community A, if the environment remains stable.
D) Community A organisms will develop directly into community D organisms.

36. Which two processes are responsible for

keeping the percentage of atmospheric oxygen
at relatively constant levels?

A) circulation and coordination

B) respiration and coordination
C) respiration and photosynthesis
D) photosynthesis and circulation
 Practice Ecology Test

37. Base your answer to the following question on 39. Many families now use compost to make the soil
Processes involved in the water cycle are in their gardens more fertile. They collect
represented by letters in the diagram below. vegetable scraps and yard trimmings, place
them in a compost pile or special container, and
let them decompose. The organisms primarily
responsible for decomposing the vegetable
scraps and yard trimmings are

A) plant parasites
B) autotrophs
C) bacteria and fungi
D) scavengers and viruses

40. Decomposers are necessary in an ecosystem

because they

In which group are these processes correctly A) produce food for plants by the process of
identified? photosynthesis
B) provide energy for plants by the process
A) A-deamination; B-transpiration; C
of decay
-condensation; D evaporation
C) can rapidly reproduce and evolve
B) A -transpiration; B -evaporation; C
D) make inorganic materials available to
-condensation; D -precipitation
plants
C) A-condensation; B-precipitation; C
-transpiration; D evaporation 41. Which organisms directly help to reduce
D) A-transpiration; B-deamination; C overpopulation in a deer herd?
-condensation; D-precipitation A) parasites and predators
38. Which term refers to the ecological niche of B) parasites and scavengers
many bacteria and fungi in an ecosystem? C) decomposers and predators
A) decomposer B) herbivore D) decomposers and consumers
C) producer D) scavenger 42. During its annual migration, the red knot, a
medium-size shorebird, flies the entire length
of North and South America. During one
critical stop to feed on the eggs of horseshoe
crabs, the birds nearly double their body mass.
The relationship between the red knot and the
horseshoe crab is that of

A) parasite–host
B) consumer–producer
C) scavenger–producer
D) predator–prey
 Practice Ecology Test

43. Deer ticks are responsible for spreading Lyme Base your answers to questions 47 and 48 on
disease. This organism, which feeds on the the information below and on your knowledge of
blood of warm-blooded organisms like mice, biology.
deer, and humans, is best described as a
Lichens are composed of two organisms, a
A) predator B) scavenger
fungus that cannot make its own food and
C) parasite D) host
algae that contain chlorophyll. Lichens may
44. The relationship that exists when athlete’s live on the bark of trees or even on bare
foot fungus grows on a human is an example of rock. They secrete acids that tend to break
up the rock they live on, helping to produce
A) predator/prey
soil. As soil accumulates from the broken
B) producer/consumer
rock and dead lichens, other organisms, such
C) parasite/host as plants, may begin to grow.
D) decomposer/autotroph
47. The ability of lichens to alter their
45. A symbiotic relationship exists between two environment, enabling other organisms to grow
organisms of different species. If only one and take their places in that environment, is
organism benefits from the relationship and one step in what process?
the other is not harmed, the relationship is
A) biological evolution
known as
B) ecological succession
A) commensalism B) mutualism C) maintenance of cellular communication
C) parasitism D) saprophytism D) differentiation in complex organisms
46. Microorganisms living in the intestines of 48. What is the role of the algae component of a
termites break down cellulose, providing food lichen in an ecosystem?
for both the termites and the microorganisms.
A) decomposer B) parasite
This nutritional relationship is known as
C) herbivore D) producer
A) predation B) mutualism
C) parasitism D) commensalism
 Practice Ecology Test

49. The diagram below represents an energy 51. Base your answer to the following question on
pyramid. The diagram below represents a food web.

Which organisms would most likely be found at

Two of the herbivores represented in this food
level A?
web are
A) birds B) worms
A) toads and snakes
C) mammals D) algae
B) deer and mice
50. The diagram below represents a woodpecker C) wolves and raccoons
finch. D) grasshoppers and toads

52. The removal of nearly all the predators from an

ecosystem would most likely result in?

A) an increase in the number of carnivore

species
B) a decrease in new predators migrating into
the ecosystem
C) a decrease in the size of decomposers
D) an increase in the number of herbivores
This bird may best be described as

A) a decomposer that most likely feeds on

nectar (a sugary liquid) from flowers
B) a heterotroph that may eat insects and
is more closely related to a robin than
to an earthworm
C) a scavenger that feeds on animals and
reproduces asexually
D) an autotroph that probes tree bark for
insects and is pathogenic
 Practice Ecology Test

53. The diagram below represents a food web. 55. Scientists have been concerned about the
reduction of shark populations due to
overfishing off the east coast of the United
States. Sharks feed on rays, which feed on
scallops. Scallops feed on microscopic algae,
which they filter from seawater. Without
sharks, the rays consume and eliminate scallop
beds, harming the scallop fishing industry. This
situation demonstrates that

A) sharks are not important for the stability

of this ecosystem
B) reducing the shark population increases
the quantity of scallops that can be
Which statement regarding organisms in this
harvested
food web is correct?
C) humans can upset ecosystem stability by
A) There would be more snakes than pocket removing species
gophers. D) humans improve ecosystem diversity by
B) There would be more coyotes than rabbits. removing predators
C) There would be more insects than insect
eating birds.
D) There would be more hawks than seed
eating birds.

54. In lakes that are exposed to acid rain, fish

populations are declining. This is primarily due
to changes in which lake condition?

A) size B) temperature
C) pH D) location
 Practice Ecology Test

56. Base your answer to the following question on

the food chain and information below. The food chain involves organisms in Yellowstone
National Park.

Grasses Elk Wolves

Wolves in the park were killed or driven off by humans in the 1920s and 1930s. In
the winter of 1995, humans released 17 wolves from Canada into the park. A year later,
14 more wolves were released.
After the wolves were released, the populations of some scavengers increased. This was
most likely due to

A) a reduction in predator populations

B) a decrease in the number of grasses
C) an increase in the number of dead elk
D) an increase in water supplies

57. Which farming practice causes the least harm 59. DDT and other pesticides used over 50 years
to the environment? ago are still affecting the environment today.
Scientists have found these substances in
A) using natural predators to reduce insect
recent glacier runoff. Glacier runoff occurs
numbers
during the summer, when precipitation that has
B) adding chemical fertilizers to all the crops
fallen on glaciers during the winter is released.
in the area
Ice layers from existing glaciers have been
C) planting the same crop for 1 year on all the analyzed. The results of this analysis show that
fields in the area the concentrations of DDT and other
D) planting the same crop in the same field pesticides were highest about 10 years after
each year for 10 years the use of these substances was banned.
58. Environmentalists are hoping to protect
endangered organisms by calling for a
reduction in the use of pesticides, because loss This information shows that
of these organisms would A) DDT and other pesticides cause glacier
A) increase the mutation rate in plants runoff during the summer

B) cause pesticides to become more toxic to B) it takes humans over 50 years to analyze a
insects glacier

C) reduce biodiversity in various ecosystems C) precipitation helps to break down

pesticides
D) decrease the space and resources available
to other organisms D) the decision of one human generation
may have an impact on future
generations
 Practice Ecology Test

60. Damage to the ozone shield over the United 62. Which graph best illustrates the change in the
States is likely to cause human population over the past 2000 years?

A) increased warming of local ecosystems A)

B) increased exposure to ultraviolet light
C) reduction in the pH of acid precipitation
D) reduction in the frequency of floods and
droughts

61. In New York State, cars are inspected to be

sure they are not releasing excessive amounts B)
of several gases into the atmosphere. This is
done in an effort to

A) recycle more nutrients

B) reduce biodiversity
C) reduce global warming
C)
D) increase the growth rates of forests

D)

63. In which row in the chart below is a human

action correctly paired with its environmental
impact?

A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4
 Practice Ecology Test

64. Windmills that generate electricity are being 67. Which action will result in the greatest
built in coastal areas. The main benefit of decrease in rain forest stability?
these windmills is that they
A) removing one species of plant for medicine
A) produce finite resources B) harvesting nuts from some trees
B) reduce dependency on fuels that cause C) cutting down all the trees for lumber
air pollution D) powering all homes with wind energy
C) absorb the noise of passing boats
68. A serious threat to biodiversity is
D) maintain the salt concentration in the
ocean A) habitat destruction
B) maintenance of food chains
65. New fuels are being produced by converting
corn and grasses into compounds containing C) competition within a species
alcohols that can be broken down for energy in D) a stable population size
various engines. The purpose of this research 69. Deforestation will most directly result in an
is to immediate increase in
A) reduce the use of finite resources A) atmospheric carbon dioxide
B) increase the rate of air pollution B) atmospheric ozone
C) reduce the rate of homeostasis in C) wildlife populations
organisms
D) renewable resources
D) cause a loss of biodiversity in the rain
forests 70. Which practice will help conserve soil
resources?
66. Ethanol-fueled vehicles have increased in
popularity as people try to be more A) filling in wetlands with construction waste
environmentally responsible. Ethanol can be B) planting cover crops on slopes along
made from corn. Some farmers are clearing highways
forests and planting large expanses of corn to C) opening more forests to unregulated
meet the rising demand. Which statement hunting
describes a likely result of this increased corn D) increasing the expansion of urban areas
production?

A) There will be a reduction in the

biodiversity of areas that are converted
to grow corn.
B) The corn will produce more carbon dioxide
than it uses, contributing to global
warming.
C) Insect biodiversity in the area will
increase.
D) Growing more corn will increase the
nutrient content of the soil.
 Answer Key
Practice Ecology Test Regents

1. D 32. D 63. C
2. B 33. A 64. B
3. A 34. B 65. A
4. B 35. A 66. A
5. C 36. C 67. C
6. C 37. B 68. A
7. D 38. A 69. A
8. B 39. C 70. B
9. D 40. D
10. A 41. A
11. B 42. D
12. D 43. C
13. C 44. C
14. A 45. A
15. C 46. B
16. A 47. B
17. B 48. D
18. C 49. D
19. C 50. B
20. D 51. B
21. C 52. D
22. A 53. C
23. A 54. C
24. A 55. C
25. A 56. C
26. B 57. A
27. B 58. C
28. D 59. D
29. A 60. B
30. D 61. C
31. B 62. A