Title: Unit 12 Quiz
Course: BIS 205 Field Ecology - Copy > Section: BIS 205 Field Ecology - Copy

Q: The Great Plains of North America once supported bison herds numbering in the tens of millions. How did the near extermination of the bison likely affect nutrient cycling on the Great Plains?

Q: Which of the following factors increase the rate of decomposition of leaves?
- increased moisture
- increased temperature
- increased lignin content
- increased nitrogen content
- increased leaf toughness
A: increased moisture; increased temperature; increased nitrogen content

Q: Which nutrient does not cycle globally?
- carbon
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
- sulfur
- water
A: phosphorus

Q: Human activity has dramatically altered the carbon cycle by
- releasing carbon from carbonate rocks
- releasing carbon from fossil fuel deposits
- removing carbon from the atmosphere for fertilizer production
- producing CO_2 from respiration
- long-term sequestration of carbon in agricultural fields
A: releasing carbon from fossil fuel deposits

Q: In low nutrient ecosystems, plants tend to
- grow quickly and allocate more resources to shoots than roots
- grow quickly and allocate more resources to roots than shoots
- grow slowly and allocate more resources to shoots than roots
- grow slowly and allocate more resources to roots than shoots
- grow quickly but stay short
A: grow slowly and allocate more resources to roots than shoots

Q: Fish and amphibians with high body N:P ratios have high N:P excretion ratios.
- True
- False
A: False

Q: Anthropogenic nitrogen enrichment of environments of ecosystems is driven by
- addition of nitrogen fertilizers
- nitrogen fixation by bacteria in landfills
- nitrogen pollution from burning fossil fuels
- both addition of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen pollution from burning fossil fuels
- all of the above
A: both addition of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen pollution from burning fossil fuels

Q: Nitrogen export is greatest in streams from which type of watershed?
- forested
- suburban
- urban
- agricultural
- savanna
A: agricultural

Q: Nitrogen fixation refers to which process?
- nitrogen gas (N_2) to ammonia (NH_3)
- ammonia (NH_3) to nitrogen gas (N_2)
- ammonium (NH_4^+) to nitrate (NO_3^-)
- ammonium (NH_4^+) to nitrite (NO_2^-)
- nitrogen incorporated into proteins
A: nitrogen gas (N_2) to ammonia (NH_3)

Q: Nutrient enrichment leading to an overgrowth of algae and subsequent decline in water quality is known as [_____].
A: eutrophication

Q: In stream ecosystems, nutrient retentiveness is
- positively correlated with nutrient spiraling
- inversely correlated with nutrient spiraling
- a logarithmic function of nutrient spiraling
- not related to nutrient spiraling
A: inversely correlated with nutrient spiraling

Q: The release of nutrients from organic matter to the inorganic form that is available to plant is called [_____].
A: mineralization

Q: In most ecosystems, the largest reservoir of phosphorus is found
- dissolved in water.
- in the atmosphere.
- in animal biomass.
- in rocks and sediments.
- in plant biomass.
A: in rocks and sediments.

Q: Most of Earth's phosphorus is found in sedimentary rocks.
- True
- False
A: True

Q: Pocket gophers alter prairie nitrogen levels by
- transporting nitrogen-rich subsoil to the surface
- transporting nitrogen-poor subsoil to the surface
- burying nitrogen rich material in their burrows
- grazing exclusively on nitrogen fixing plants
- stimulating growth of nitrogen fixing bacteria in their burrow
A: transporting nitrogen-poor subsoil to the surface

Q: High soil nutrients tends to decrease decomposition rates because soil organisms have less need for organic nutrient sources.
- True
- False
A: False