2. Based on the data below, which group of animals is genetically diverse?
# of different types of species in the world
Birds | 9,000+
Bears | 8
Horses | 350+
Whales | 90
A. birds
B. whales
C. horses
D. bears
3. The Northern Pacific seastar is a particularly successful invasive species. Which of the following explains why it is so successful in the waters of southeastern Australia, outside of its native environment?
A. It is accustomed to a cold climate.
B. It can cling to the bottom of ships and other vessels.
C. It breeds rapidly and has no predators in this environment.
D. It consumes the eggs of the spotted handfish.
4. Aside from killing native species, what other negative issue might an invasive species present?
A. They might increase the diversity of native species.
B. They might provide economic benefit.
C. They might avoid interacting with other organisms.
D. They might introduce other organisms, like viruses and bacteria.
5. What happens after coral is bleached?
A. The coral is susceptible to starvation.
B. The coral releases algae into the ocean.
C. The coral dies immediately.
D. The coral produces peroxides.
6. The most biodiverse ecosystem in the world is likely a
A. tundra.
B. cold desert.
C. taiga.
D. coral reef.
7. The Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado are home to several massive redwood stumps that were subjected to a special kind of fossilization millions of years ago. What service could these fossilized stumps most likely provide?
A. lumber
B. tourism
C. soil creation
D. shelter
8. Marine biologist Dr. James Estes researched sea otters and their habitats in the Aleutian Islands of the North Pacific Ocean. Sea otters feed on animals such as crabs and urchins. Islands with sea otters contained a lot of kelp, a seaweed that is an important food source for fish and other sea animals. However, Islands without otters had large populations of urchins but no kelp since sea urchins feed on this seaweed. Since sea otters are able to control the population of urchins, this allows for kelp to freely grow in those areas. Given this information, what term best describes the otter in the Aleutian Islands ecosystem?
A. apex predator
B. keystone species
C. producer
D. decomposer
9. Your friend John is having trouble with his compost bin. The material in his compost pile doesn’t seem to be decomposing well. You take a sample of the pile and check for the presence of microorganisms under the microscope. You see that there are indeed microorganisms; however, they don’t appear to be growing very fast. John says that he regularly mixes his compost pile to expose it to oxygen but has noticed the pile feels cold. What is the most likely explanation for this problem?
A. The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".
B. The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.
C. The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
D. The compost pile was sufficiently moist.
10. “Green” material has high amounts of
A. magnesium.
B. phosphorus.
C. nitrogen.
D. carbon.
11. Some students decide to plant their own garden. They want to eat a more plant-based diet. For meat, they will buy locally from a butcher. Any remaining plant-based scraps will be composted and used as fertilizer for their garden.
Which part of this plan represents recycling to reduce their waste?
A. buying locally
B. composting scraps
C. planting a garden
D. eating a plant-based diet
13. Beavers, large members of the rodent family in North America, are often referred to as “ecosystem/keystone engineers” by wildlife managers. Ecosystem engineers are described as animals that create, alter, or destroy a habitat. Beavers contribute to river ecosystems by bringing down old and dead trees along riverbanks. They use these trees to make their dams. Although these dams are primarily used for protection and food storage, scientists report that these dams change the surrounding environment in different ways.
Given this information, in three to five sentences, describe a potential benefit that beavers contribute to the ecosystem as keystone engineers and describe a plausible impact that the removal of beavers could have on the surrounding ecosystem.
14. Some students are trying to convince their parents to let them raise backyard chickens. They want to present a logical argument on how raising your own chickens reduces food waste. In three to five sentences, construct an argument for how raising livestock yourself can help you reduce, reuse, and recycle waste.
2. A. Birds
3. C. It breeds rapidly and has no predators in this environment.
4. D. They might introduce other organisms, like viruses and bacteria.
5. A. The coral is susceptible to starvation.
6. D. Coral reef.
7. C. Soil creation.
8. B. Keystone species.
9. A. The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".
10. C. Nitrogen.
11. B. Composting scraps.
13. Beavers contribute to their ecosystem as keystone engineers because they create habitats for many other species, including wetlands, which are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. For example, a beaver dam can help maintain a steady water level in rivers, which in turn helps keep other aquatic species alive. Additionally, beaver dams can protect downstream areas from flooding. If beavers were removed from an ecosystem, there would be an impact in the physical habitat and also changes in the microbial and plant communities. Without beavers, the characteristics of the stream community would shift so that the high levels of productivity in lakes and wetlands would not occur.
14. Raising backyard chickens can help reduce food waste. Leftover vegetable scraps and produce can be fed to the chickens instead of being thrown away, which means less waste in landfills. Additionally, chickens produce manure that can be composted and used to fertilize a garden or plants, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Finally, raising chickens at home can help reduce transportation emissions from the transportation of store-bought eggs and poultry. Therefore, raising chickens yourself can help reduce, reuse, and recycle waste in multiple ways.