Local Ecosystem - Topic Test

THE LOCAL ECOSYSTEM – TOPIC TEST. PART A : KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. Q 1-11 are multiple choice. Circle the best answer. 1. The distribution of a species refers to the: a) change in the number of that species over time. b) area over which the species is found. c) factors that affect where an organism will be found. d) number of organisms in a particular area. 2. The place where an organism lives in its environment is called its: a) habitat. b) community. c) ecosystem. d) population. 3. An ecosystem may defined as a community of organisms interacting with one another, plus the environment in which they also interact. According to this definition an example of an ecosystem would be: a) a snail eating plant leaves. b) a pond. c) the atmosphere. d) the organisms forming a pyramid of numbers in a natural community. 4. Sharks and other large fish often have smaller fish called remoras attached to their external surface behind the lower jaw. The remora feed on the food scraps expelled from the mouth of the larger fish. This relationship is an example of: a) parasitism b) predation c) competition d) commensalism\ 5. Coral polyps often contain algae living within their tissues, which contribute to their spectacular colour. The algae do not survive outside the polyps and the coral grows more slowly if the algae are not present. This association could be best described as: a) competition. b) commensalism c) allelopathy. d) mutualism. 6. In an ecosystem: a) matter and energy are recycled. c) only energy is recycled.

b) only matter is recycled. d) neither matter nor energy is recycled.

7. The main role of bacteria in an ecosystem is to: a) recycle energy b) provide a food source for plankton-feeding aquatic animals. c) prevent over population by causing disease. d) make minerals in dead organisms available to plants. 8. The process of respiration is described as a chain of biochemical reactions. What is missing from the equation below? a) nothing b) sunlight c) chlorophyll d) water 9. The shape of most fish is an adaptation to which of the following: a) the type of food it eats. B) the concentration of oxygen in the water. c) the viscosity of water. D) the temperature variation in water. 10. The living parts of an ecosystem are best described as: a) consumers b) producers. c) abiotic d) biotic.

315690478.doc

p. 1

PW- 2005

11. Competition must occur between two species when: a) plant and animal species in the same habitat are present in the same numbers. b) one species preys upon the other c) limited supplies of the same space and food are used by both species d) one species is much larger or its population is far greater than the other.

Short answer questions 10. Jayden made the following observation about a mangrove tree. (i) I licked one of the leaves, it tasted salty. (ii) there are roots sticking out of the ground around each tree. Explain how each feature described by Jayden is an adaptation that helps the mangrove tree survive in its environment. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. [2] 11. Three adaptations of the red kangaroo are described below. Classify each adaptation as structural, physiological or behavioural: (i) The red kangaroo lies in the shade on hot days. ……………………………………………… (ii) The red kangaroo has large powerful hind legs. ……………………………………………… (iii) The red kangaroo only sweats when exercising. …………………………………………. [3] 12. Some environments are listed below: rain forest, desert, open ocean, fresh water lake, rock platform. a) Which of the environments listed would experience: i) The highest temperature variations. …………………………………………………………[1] ii) The highest pressure variations. …………………………………………………………… [1] b) Which of the aquatic environments listed experiences the greatest variation in salinity. ………………………………. [1]

315690478.doc

p. 2

PW- 2005

PART B : PROBLEM SOLVING. Q 13-15 are multiple choice. Place an Circle the best answer. 13. The food web below shows the feeding relationships in a Blue Mountains forest. peregrine falcon

grey thrush

rainbow bee-eater

spider Yellow-tailed black cockatoo scale insect

native bee blue gum

wattle

Which pair of organisms are competitors? (A) (B) (C) (D)

blue gum and scale insect scale insect and native bee native bee and yellow-tailed cockatoo yellow tailed cockatoo and rainbow bee-eater

14. As part of an ecological study, the biomass of organisms R, S, T, U, V and W was estimated. The results are shown below: Organism Biomass (kg)

R 5 0

S 1 0

T 35 0

U 20 0

V 300 0

W 7 5

From this data we can conclude that one probable food chain would be: a) S  W  U  V b) T  V  R  S c) U  T  W  R d) V  T  W  S 15. The capture – recapture method was used to estimate the abundance of scrub wrens in an area. Initially 4 wrens were captured and tagged. A month later, 8 wrens were captured. Of those 2 were had tags. From this data we can say that the abundance of scrub wrens is approximately: a) 4 b) 3 c) 16 d) 24.

315690478.doc

p. 3

PW- 2005

Short answer questions

16. Charlotte used the quadrat method to estimate the abundance of clovers in the playground. The area of the playground is 200m2. The quadrat Charlotte used had an area of 0.4m2. Charlotte’s results are shown below: Quadrat No

1

2

3 4

5

6

7

8

9 1

No of

2

3

0 2

2

1

1

2

0 3 1

clovers

0

5

3

1

7

8

a) Estimate the total number of clovers in the playground. Show all working.

[3]

17. The diagrams below show a food web and a biomass pyramid. ding o

fox Dingo fox

possu m

sheep

rabbit

Possum, sheep, rabbit Tree

tre e

grass

grass

a) List the producers in the ecosystem. ………………………………………………………………………… b) List the second order consumers. ……………………………………………………………………………. c) What information is shown in the food web but not in the biomass pyramid? …………………….. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. d) If all the rabbits were shot, what would be the impact on: (Explain your answers) (i) the fox population? …………………………………………………………………………………..

315690478.doc

p. 4

PW- 2005

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… (ii) the sheep population ? …………………………. ………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. [8} 19. The abundance of shark species varies with the temperature of the surrounding water. Some sharks are not found in areas where water is too cold, or too warm. Below are data on the abundance of three different shark species collected during five separate scuba dives in the one year in the same area. Temperature (oC) 15 18 20 25 30

Number of sharks sighted Great Hammerhead white 22 5 18 12 10 18 9 4 2 2

Tiger 8 11 15 25 22

a) Identify one specific relationship between

abundance and water temperature suggested by the above data. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… [1] b) Name ONE biotic environmental factor that could effect the abundance of one or more of the three shark species. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… [1] c) Explain how the reliability of the data collected on the abundance of the three sharks in the area could be improved. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[2]

315690478.doc

p. 5

PW- 2005