Ecosystems and Interdependence Quiz
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5 questions, one answer each
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1. Which of the following correctly defines a niche?
- A. The physical space where an organism lives
- B. The role an organism plays in its environment, including what it eats and where it lives
- C. All the organisms of one species living in an area
- D. The interaction between a predator and its prey
2. In a food chain: grass → rabbit → fox → decomposer, what is the role of the fox?
- A. Primary consumer
- B. Secondary consumer
- C. Tertiary consumer
- D. Producer
3. A pond ecosystem contains several species of fish, insects, and aquatic plants. If all the dragonfly nymphs (aquatic insects) were suddenly removed due to pollution, which organisms would initially be most negatively affected?
- A. The aquatic plants, because they would have no herbivores
- B. The fish species that feed on dragonfly nymphs, because a food source is removed
- C. The decomposers, because there would be more dead organisms
- D. The birds around the pond, because plants would overgrow
4. A food web in a meadow includes: grass, clover, rabbits, mice, foxes, hawks, and bacteria. Which statement accurately describes the interdependence in this ecosystem?
- A. The fox population depends only on rabbits for survival
- B. Grass and clover have no interdependence because they are both producers
- C. If the rabbit population declined, the fox and hawk populations would both likely decline because rabbits are a shared food source
- D. Decomposers are independent of all other organisms in the food web
5. When examining a predator-prey population graph over several years, you observe that the lynx population peaks approximately 1-2 years after the snowshoe hare population peaks. Which explanation best accounts for this time lag?
- A. The hares reproduce faster than the lynxes
- B. It takes time for the increased hare population to provide enough food for lynxes to reproduce and increase in numbers
- C. The lynxes prefer to hunt other prey when hares are abundant
- D. The hares migrate away from the lynxes during peak hare years