MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS FOR

UNIT 4: Ecosystems
(Taken from Barron's AP Environmental Science, 2
nd
Edition)

For Questions 1-3, choose from the following items:

(A) Tropical Rain Forest
(B) Temperate Deciduous forest
(C) Savanna
(D) Taiga
(E) Tundra

1. Forests of cold climates of high latitudes and high altitudes.

2. Warm year-round; prolonged dry seasons; scattered trees.

3. Low biodiversity due to lots of shade, which limits food for herbivores. Major resource
for timber.

4. The annual productivity of any ecosystem is greater than the annual increase in biomass
of the herbivores in the ecosystem because..
(A) plants convert energy input into biomass more efficiently than animals
(B) there are always more animals than plants in any ecosystem
(C) plants have a greater longevity than animals
(D) during each energy transformation, some energy is lost
(E) animals convert energy input into biomass more efficiently than plants do

5. A Type I survivorship curve would apply to..
(A) humans
(B) redwoods
(C) bacteria
(D) flies
(E) tapeworms

6. All of the following are factors that increase population size EXCEPT..
(A) ability to adapt
(B) specialized niche
(C) few competitors
(D) generalized niche
(E) high birthrate

7. A specialist faces _______ competition for resources and has _____ ability to adapt to
environmental changes. A generalist faces _____ competition for resources and has
______ ability to adapt to environmental changes.
(A) less, greater, great, less
(B) greater, less, less. greater
(C) less, less, greater, greater
(D) greater, greater, less, less
(E) none of the above

8. Whether a land area supports a deciduous forest or grassland depends primarily on..
(A) changes in temperature
(B) latitude north or south of the equator
(C) consistency of rainfall from year to year and the effect that it has on fires
(D) changes in length of the growing season
(E) none of the above

9. The main difference between primary and secondary succession is that..
(A) primary succession occurs in the year before secondary succession
(B) primary succession occurs on barren, rock areas and secondary succession does
not..
(C) secondary succession ends in a climax species and primary succession ends in a
pioneer species..
(D) secondary succession occurs on barren, rocky areas and primary succession does
not..
(E) all of the above statements are true

10. The biggest threat to a species is..
(A) low reproductive rates
(B) disease
(C) alien, invasive species
(D) collecting, hunting, and poaching
(E) loss of habitat

11. Darwin noted that the Patagonian hare was similar in appearance and had a niche similar
to the European hare. However, the Patagonian hare is not a rabbit. It is a rodent related
to the guinea pig. This example illustrates the principle known as..
(A) allopatric speciation
(B) adaptive radiation
(C) divergent evolution
(D) co evolution
(E) convergent evolution


For questions 12-15, choose from the following items:
(A) Adaptive radiation
(B) Isolation
(C) Natural selection
(D) Stable gene pool
(E) Convergent evolution

12. Members of the same species of moths are prevented from interbreeding because they
live on opposites sides of a mountain range.

13. Darwin's finches are a good example of this biological principle.

14. Members of a large population mate at random.

15. In the evolutionary history of the horse, the early horse (Eohippus) was replaced by
the modern one-toed horse.

16. Species that serve as early warnings of environmental damage are called..
(A) keystone species
(B) native species
(C) specialist species
(D) indicator species
(E) generalist species

17. Which one of the following statements is false?
(A) When environmental conditions are hanging rapidly, a generalist is usually better
off than a specialist.
(B) The fundamental niche of a species is the full range of physical, chemical, and
the biological factors it could use if there were no competition.
(C) The competitive exclusion principle states that no two species with the same
fundamental niche can indefinitely occupy the same habitat.
(D) Interspecific competition is competition between two members of the same
species.
(E) Resource partitioning limits competition by two species using the same scarce
resource at different times, in different ways, or in different places.

18. Which of the following best describes a non-anthropogenic secondary succession?
(A) Plants and other vegetation die gradually due to drought
(B) Wildflowers grow in an area that was previously destroyed by fire
(C) A farmer removes weeds using a herbicide
(D)Lichens and mosses secrete acids that allow other plants to grow
(E) None of the above

19. The location of where an organism lives would be best described as its..
(A) Niche
(B) Habitat
(C) Range
(D) Biome
(E) Ecosystem

20. Mount San Jacinto at almost 11,000 feet elevation is only a few miles from Palm
Springs, California, located in the lower Mojave-Colorado Desert in southern California.
Temperatures in Palm Springs have been recorded as high as 120F. If you were to take
the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the very top of Mount San Jacinto, what type of
biome would you find?
(A) Desert
(B) Temperate forest
(C) Taiga
(D) Tundra
(E) Grassland


Multiple-choice answers and explanations
1. (D) Refer to the page of biome descriptions (pages 76-79)
2. (C) Refer to the page of biome descriptions (pages 76-79)
3. (B) Refer to the page of biome descriptions (pages 76-79)
4. (D) Less energy is available at each trophic level because energy is lost by organisms through cellular
respiration and incomplete digestion of food sources.
5. (A) Type I survivorship curves are for species that have a high survival rate of the young, live out most
of their expected life span, and die in old age. Humans are a good example of a species with a type I
survivorship curve. Type II survivorship curve are corals, squirrels, honeybees, and many reptiles. Type
III survivorship curves are found in species that have many young, most of which die very early in their
life. Plants, oysters, and sea urchins are examples of species that have Type III survivorship curves.



6. (B) Specialized niches are more susceptible to environmental changes and have a direct effect on the
stability of populations (population size).
7. (C) Specialists species are adapted to a narrow range of habitats and conditions, while generalist
species are able to live in a variety of habitats.
8. (C) The question of determining whether it is a deciduous forest or grassland is dependent on yearly
patterns of rainfall since both biomes can exist over similar temperature ranges. Frequent fires are an
important factor in determining grasslands.
9. (B) Primary succession occurs on bare rocks and starts with lichens. Secondary succession occurs in
areas where there is intact topsoil.
10. (E) Scientists warn that human activities may be bringing about the sixth mass extinction of species in
the world's history.
11. (E) Convergent evolution describes the process whereby organisms not closely related independently
acquire similar characteristics while evolving in separate and sometimes varying environments.
12. (B) "Species" is defined as a group of organisms that look similar, have the ability to interbreed, and
produce fertile offspring. Two forms of isolation that prevent interbreeding are geographic isolation and
reproductive isolation.
13. (A) Adaptive radiation is the development of many species that are derived from a single, ancestral
population.
14. (D) This question relates to the Hardy-Weinberg theory and the concept of a stable gene pool. It
assumes a large population, random mating, no mutations, no migration between populations, and no
selection
15. (C) Natural selection is the process by which only the organisms that are best adapted to their
environment tend to survive and transmit their genes to successive generations.
16. (D) An indicator species is a species whose presence, absence, or relative wellbeing in a given
environment is indicative of the health of the ecosystem as a whole.
17. (D) Interspecific competition is competition among members of different species.
18. (B) Ecosystems undergo secondary succession following some artificial or natural disturbance such as
a forest fire or farming. The question included the word "non-anthropogenic" which would rule out choice
(C) since anthropogenic refers to something caused by humans.
19. (B) A habitat is the location where a particular species lives and grows. A microhabitat is the
immediate surroundings and other physical factors of an individual plant or animal within its habitat.
Habitat destruction is a major factor in causing a species population to decrease, eventually leading to it
being endangered or becoming extinct. A biome is the set of flora and fauna that lives in a habitat and
occupy certain geography.
20. (D) Every 300 feet (91 meters) of elevation is equivalent to 62 miles (100 km) north in latitude in
biome similarity. At close to 11,000 feet (3.3 km) in elevation, the biome would be evergreen forests
similar to those found in the southern regions of the tundra and corresponds to about 52 north latitude
(southern Canada).