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?(1 point)
Responses
shelter
shelter
soil creation
soil creation
lumber
lumber
tourism
tourism
tourism
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?(1 point)
Responses
producer
producer
keystone species
keystone species
apex predator
apex predator
decomposer
keystone species
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?(1 point)
Responses
The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.
The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.
The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
The compost pile was sufficiently moist.
The compost pile was sufficiently moist.
The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".
The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns".
“Green” material has high amounts of (1 point)
Responses
magnesium.
magnesium.
carbon.
carbon.
phosphorus.
phosphorus.
nitrogen.
nitrogen.
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?
(1 point)
Responses
planting a garden
planting a garden
buying locally
buying locally
eating a plant-based diet
eating a plant-based diet
composting scraps
composting scraps
Plants, bison, elk, and wolves are all members of an ecosystem. The bison and elk are both primary consumers in this ecosystem, while the wolves are a predator. Over time, the bison completely disappear. Give an example of how the ecosystem may respond to this change, and explain how this relates to both resiliency and biodiversity. (4 points)
One possible example of how the ecosystem may respond to the disappearance of bison is that the elk population may increase due to the reduced competition for resources. This increase in elk population can lead to overgrazing of certain vegetation, leading to changes in plant species composition and possibly affecting other species that rely on those plants for food or habitat.
In terms of resilience, a diverse ecosystem is more likely to be resilient to changes and disturbances. In this case, the disappearance of bison reduces the biodiversity in the ecosystem because a key species is lost. This reduction in biodiversity can weaken the ecosystem's ability to withstand further changes or disturbances. It can compromise the ecosystem's resilience because it may lack the flexibility or redundancy to adapt to new conditions or recover from further disturbances.
Therefore, the ecosystem's response to the disappearance of bison can highlight the interconnectedness of species within an ecosystem, the importance of biodiversity for resilience, and the potential cascading effects of the loss of a key species like the bison.