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PCAT Biology Ecology

Subjects : pcat, biology
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Have cold winters - warm summers - and moderate rainfall -found in the Northeast and Central-Eastern United States and Central Europe






2. Determine by the amount of decaying plant and animal life in the soil






3. Include saprophytic organisms and organisms of decay






4. Recycle water - oxygen - and phosphorus






5. Chief animal inhabitant is the moose; however - the black bear - wolf - and some birds






6. Rivers - lakes - ponds - and marshes






7. Affect the type of vegetation that can be supported






8. Every energy transfer involves a loss of energy and each level of the food chain uses some of the energy it obtains from the food for its own metabolism and loses some additional energy in the form of heat






9. Each member of a food chain uses some of the energy it obtains from its food for its own metabolism and loses some additional energy in the form of heat






10. Without a constant input of energy from the sun - an ecosystem would soon run down - as food is transferred from one level of the food chain to the next - a transfer of energy occurs






11. Determines water holding capacity






12. Nutrients - water - and sunlight limitations aid in maintaining populations at relatively constant levels






13. The nitrogen locked up in the wastes and dead tissues is released by the action of the bacteria of decay - which convert the proteins into ammonia






14. Live in burrows had few birds and mammals are found except those which have developed adaptations for maintaining constant body temperatures






15. Individual unit of an ecological system - but the organism itself is composed of smaller units -organs >tissues >cells >molecules >atoms > subatomic particles






16. Individuals belonging to the same species use the same resources and if a particular resource is limited - then these organisms must compete with one another






17. Because organisms at the upper levels of the food chain derive their food energy from organisms at lower levels - and because energy is lost from one level to the next - each level can support a successively smaller biomass






18. When a parasite benefits at the expense of the host






19. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 3: Freshwater biomes - except very large lakes - are affected by variations in _________. temperature of freshwater bodies varies considerably; they may freeze or dry up - and mud from their floors may be stirred up by






20. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 2: In rivers and streams - strong swift currents exist - and thus fish that have developed strong muscles and plants with _____________ have survived






21. Evolve toward a balance in which the predator is a regulatory influence on th prey but not a threat to its survival






22. Autotrophic green plants and chemosynthetic bacteria that use the energy of the sun and simple raw materials to manufacture carbohydrates - proteins - and lipids






23. The vegetation that becomes dominant and stable after years of evolutiionary development






24. When one organism is benefited by the association and the other is not affected






25. Elemental nitrogen is chemically inert and cannot be used by most organisms. Lightning and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots of legumes change the nitrogen into the usable - soluble nitrates






26. The major component of the internal environment of all living things






27. The metabolically produced CO2 is released to the air. The rest of the orgnaic carbon remains locked whthin an organism until its death (except for wastes given off) - at which time decay processes by bacteria return the CO2 to the air






28. Animals that consume dead animals






29. Animals that feed on secondary consumer






30. Made into nitrites by chemosynthetic bacteria and then to usable nitrates by nitrifying bacteria






31. Sunlit layer of the open sea extending to a depth of 250-600ft






32. Two fates await the ammonia (NH3). some are nitrified or dentrified






33. Contains plankton - passively drifting masses of microscopic photosynthetic and heterotrophic organisms - and nekton - and algae






34. Ammonia (NH3) is broken down to release free nitrogen - which returns to the beginning of the denitrifying






35. Includes all portions of the planet that support life -the atmosphere - the lithosphere - and the hydrosphere






36. The orderly process by which one biotic community replaces or succeeds another until a climax community is established






37. Encompasses all that is external to the organism and is necessary for its existence






38. Adaptations for maintaining their internal osmolarity and conserving water






39. Consists of populations of different plants and animal species interacting with each other in a given environment






40. Animals that only eat other animals -possess pointed teeth and fang-like canine teeth for tearing flesh -have shorter digestive tracts because the easier digestibility of animal food






41. Body temperature is very close to that of their surroundings -as temperature rises - these organisms become more active






42. Receive less rainfall than the temperate forests - have long - cold winters - and are inhabited by single coniferous tree-the spruce -extreme northern parts of Canada and Russia






43. Include those protists and fungi that decompose dead organic matter externally and absorb the nutrients - they consistitute a vital link in the cycling of material within the ecosystem






44. Animals eat plants and use the digested nutrients to form carbohydrates - fats - and proteins characteristic of the species. a part of these organic compounds is used as fuel in respiration in plants and animals






45. Used to include only the population and not their physical environment






46. Regiong beneatht he photic zone that receives no light






47. Deer - fox - woodchuck - and squirrel






48. Animals that consume only plants or plant foods






49. Any group of similar organisms that are capable of reproducing






50. First to resettle a virgin area