1 Every ecosystem carries out the basic processes of:
energy flow and matter cycling

photosynthesis and nitrification

solar energy capture and re-radiation

evaporation and precipitation



2 The biological role played by a species in its environment is called a:

ecosystem

habitat

niche

population


3 Predators rarely kill and eat all available prey because:

predator and prey species often occupy the same trophic level in an ecosystem

prey species often lack protective mechanisms to deter being eaten

many predator and prey species have a commensalistic relationship

predator species often will switch its prey as one prey species becomes less abundant



4 _____ is an overabundance of nutrients that leads to excessive plant growth and

reduction of oxygen in an ecosystem.

denitrification

eutrophication

nitrification

phosphorylation


5 Which of these biomes receives the greatest amount of yearly rainfall?

boreal forest

grasslands

temperate forests

tropical forests


6 An organism's position within a food web is known as its:

ecosystem

habitat

niche

trophic level


7 Which of the following describes organisms in a pelagic zone?

plankton floating near the ocean surface

bottom-dwellers on the ocean floor

barnacles glued to stone in an intertidal zone

frogs in a pond close to the pond's edge


8 Which of the following is NOT an example of secondary succession?

farmland is abandoned

a forest is clear cut

a lava flow covers the landscape

a wildfire burns away the vegetation on a hillside


9 In a lake, the epilimnion is the:

environment found close to shore in a lake

environment found at the lake bed

lower, colder layer

upper surface layer