Question 1
Which of the following best describes the relationship between a species’ ecological niche and its habitat?
A. A species’ niche is the same as its habitat, describing the physical location where it lives. B. A species’ niche includes its role in the ecosystem, while its habitat is the physical environment in which it lives. C. A species’ niche only describes what it eats, while its habitat describes where it reproduces. D. A species’ niche includes only its interactions with other species, while its habitat describes its interactions with abiotic factors.
Question 2
In an ecosystem, which of the following best explains how the availability of a key abiotic factor can influence the distribution of species?
A. The availability of sunlight primarily influences the distribution of herbivores, as they depend on it directly. B. The availability of water can limit the distribution of both plant and animal species, as it is essential for survival. C. The availability of predators is an abiotic factor that influences the distribution of prey species. D. The availability of decomposers determines the distribution of producers, as decomposers recycle nutrients.
Question 3
Which of the following best illustrates how energy flow in an ecosystem is governed by the laws of thermodynamics?
A. Energy flows through ecosystems in a cyclic manner, returning to producers after reaching top consumers. B. Energy is lost as heat at each trophic level, resulting in less energy available at higher trophic levels. C. Energy is completely conserved as it moves through an ecosystem, with no losses between trophic levels. D. Energy input from decomposers at the end of the food chain replenishes energy lost at higher trophic levels.
Question 4
Which of the following best explains why a species’ realized niche is often smaller than its fundamental niche?
A. The realized niche is smaller because the species’ fundamental niche only includes biotic factors, while the realized niche includes abiotic factors. B. The realized niche is smaller because competition with other species and biotic interactions restrict the species to a narrower set of conditions and resources. C. The realized niche is smaller because it only includes the habitat, while the fundamental niche includes both habitat and behavior. D. The realized niche is smaller because it represents the potential conditions a species could occupy in the absence of predators.
Question 5
Consider an ecosystem where a decrease in the population of a top predator leads to an increase in the population of herbivores. Which of the following best describes the likely effect on the primary producers?
A. The primary producers will likely increase in abundance due to the decrease in the top predator. B. The primary producers will likely decrease in abundance due to the increased grazing pressure from the herbivores. C. The primary producers will remain unaffected because they do not interact directly with the top predator. D. The primary producers will increase initially and then decrease as the herbivore population stabilizes.
