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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. Receive less than ten inches of rain each year; the rain is concentrated within a few heavy cloudbursts -ex: Sahara in Africa and Gobi in Asia






2. 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






3. (living) includes all living things that directly or indirectly influence the life of the organism including the relationships that exist between organisms






4. Vegetation such as vines and eppiphytes






5. Community in an ecological succession is identified by a dominant species






6. Organisms that manufacture their own food






7. Have cold winters - warm summers - and moderate rainfall -found in the Northeast and Central-Eastern United States and Central Europe






8. Composed of populations that are able to exist under the new conditions






9. Treeless - frozen plain found between the taiga lands and the northern ice sheets - very short summer and thus a very short growing season during which time the ground becomes wet and marshy






10. The ultimate source of energy for all organisms






11. Include saprophytic organisms and organisms of decay






12. 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






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






14. 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






15. 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






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






17. 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






18. Oceans connect to form one continuous body of water - which controls the earth's temperature by absorbing solar heat






19. Animals that consume primary consumers (carnivores)






20. The oceans






21. Two species may rapidly evolve in divergent directions under the strong selection pressure resulting from intense competition. thus - the two species would rapidly evolve greater differences in their niches






22. Cold - dry - and inhabited by fir - pine - and spruce trees -much vegetation has evolved adaptations for water conservation such as needle-shaped leaves -Extreme Northern Part of the US and in Southern Canada






23. Recycle water - oxygen - and phosphorus






24. Crawling and sessile organsms






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






26. Evolved physical mechanisms that allow them to make Use of the heat produced as a consequence of respiratiion






27. Conserve water actively






28. Have adaptations enabling them to survive in very cod water - with high pressures - and in complete darkness






29. Algae - crabs - crustacea - and many different species of fish






30. 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






31. Includes climate - temperature - availability of light and water - and the local topology






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






33. Nitrates are absorbed by plants are used to syntheisze nucleic acids and plant proteins






34. Food chain is not a simple linear chain but an intricate web






35. Integrated system of species that are dependent upon one another for survival






36. Region typical of the open seas and can be divided into photic and aphotic zones






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






38. Defines the functional role of an organism in its ecosystem -described what the organism eats - where and how it obtains its food - what climatic factors it can tolerate and which are optimal - the nature of its parasites and predators - where and ho






39. The chief disruptive force






40. Animals that eat both plants and animals






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






42. Lichens and moss






43. Trees such as beech - maple - oaks - and willows shed their leaves during cold winters months






44. Animals that consume dead animals






45. Consumer organisms that are higher in hte food chain are usually larger and heavier than those further down






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






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






48. 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






49. 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






50. Polar bears - musk oxen - and arctic hens