Ecology questions

By Interwoven Maths

Ecology question collection

Review Ecology questions for Biology, with correct answers shown and coverage across communities and ecosystems; sampling methods; biodiversity and human impacts.

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Question 1

What is meant by a community in ecology?
  1. All the populations of different species living in a habitat
  2. All abiotic factors in one ecosystem
  3. All individuals of one species only
  4. All decomposers in a food web

Question 2

Which is a biotic factor in an ecosystem?
  1. Competition for food
  2. Light intensity
  3. Soil pH
  4. Temperature

Question 3

Which is an abiotic factor in an ecosystem?
  1. Moisture level
  2. Predation
  3. Disease-causing microorganisms
  4. Availability of prey species

Question 4

Why are microorganisms important as decomposers?
  1. They break down waste and dead material, recycling nutrients
  2. They produce oxygen by photosynthesis in all habitats
  3. They remove all carbon dioxide from air
  4. They prevent any disease transmission

Question 5

In food chains, about what percentage of biomass is typically transferred to the next trophic level?
  1. Around \(10\%\)
  2. Around \(1\%\)
  3. Around \(50\%\)
  4. Around \(90\%\)

Question 6

Why does biomass usually decrease at higher trophic levels?
  1. Not all biomass is transferred because energy is lost at each stage
  2. Predators do not respire
  3. Producers never die
  4. Top consumers make glucose by photosynthesis

Question 7

What is the main purpose of a quadrat in fieldwork?
  1. To estimate abundance or distribution of organisms in a sample area
  2. To measure pH in blood
  3. To trap fast-moving predators
  4. To sterilise soil before counting

Question 8

Why is random sampling used with quadrats?
  1. To reduce sampling bias
  2. To guarantee every species is counted
  3. To increase competition between species
  4. To make decomposition faster

Question 9

What is a transect used for in ecology?
  1. To study how organisms change across a habitat gradient
  2. To identify blood groups in a population
  3. To separate biotic and abiotic factors chemically
  4. To measure oxygen uptake in athletes

Question 10

Decay by microorganisms is generally fastest in which conditions?
  1. Warm, moist and aerobic
  2. Cold, dry and anaerobic
  3. Cold, moist and acidic only
  4. Warm, dry and no oxygen

Question 11

What happens to decomposition rate if temperature falls a lot?
  1. It usually decreases
  2. It usually increases sharply
  3. It stays exactly the same
  4. It becomes independent of microorganisms

Question 12

In composting, which organisms mainly carry out decomposition?
  1. Bacteria and fungi
  2. Red blood cells
  3. Viruses only
  4. Root hair cells

Question 13

Which gas produced by decomposition in landfill contributes to global warming?
  1. Methane
  2. Nitrogen
  3. Hydrogen
  4. Oxygen

Question 14

What often triggers eutrophication in freshwater?
  1. Nitrate and phosphate ions
  2. Dissolved oxygen
  3. Glucose and amino acids
  4. Carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide

Question 15

Why can eutrophication kill fish?
  1. Decomposition of dead algae uses up dissolved oxygen
  2. Extra nutrients stop all algae growth
  3. Fish cannot respire in warm water
  4. Carbon dioxide concentration falls to zero

Question 16

How can deforestation reduce biodiversity?
  1. It destroys habitats and food sources for many species
  2. It increases habitat variety immediately
  3. It prevents climate change completely
  4. It eliminates all competition between organisms

Question 17

Why can peat bog destruction increase atmospheric carbon dioxide over time?
  1. Stored carbon is released when peat is drained or burned
  2. Peat bogs absorb no carbon
  3. Peat formation is faster than burning
  4. Carbon dioxide turns into oxygen in dry peat

Question 18

Which method helps conserve biodiversity?
  1. Maintaining seed banks and breeding programmes
  2. Clearing old forests for monoculture farming
  3. Releasing untreated sewage into rivers
  4. Increasing landfill use instead of recycling

Question 19

Why is maintaining high biodiversity often linked to ecosystem stability?
  1. More species and interactions can make systems more resilient to change
  2. High biodiversity removes all pathogens
  3. High biodiversity prevents all abiotic stress
  4. High biodiversity means no natural selection

Question 20

Why is fish stock management needed in some seas?
  1. To prevent overfishing and allow populations to recover
  2. To eliminate predator species
  3. To raise ocean temperature for faster growth
  4. To increase eutrophication for plankton blooms

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Review Ecology questions for Biology, with correct answers shown and coverage across communities and ecosystems; sampling methods; biodiversity and human impacts.

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