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117 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is the goal of ecology?
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To learn about connections in nature
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All of the following are examples of kinetic energy except...
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A stick of dynamite
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A new kitten is added to a home with an established older cat. You observe the older cat hiss and swat at the younger kitten in the kitchen where they are fed. This behavior is best described as
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interference competition
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Out on a fishing boat, a sword fish is caught. You would most likely classify this species as a member of the
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nekton
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Ecology is the study of
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relationships between organisms and their environment
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Root causes of environmental problems include
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rapid population growth
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According to biologist E.O. Wilson, most people feel a sense of affinity toward the natural world that he calls
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biophilia
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The two most important factors determining the climate of an area are
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temperature and precipitation
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Nonpoint sources of pollution include all of the following except
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a smokestack from a power plant
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Which of the following is a specialist?
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giant panda
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An environmentally sustainable society
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all of these answers
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In a 1998 survey, 70% of the biologists polled believe
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we are in the midst of a mass extinction and that this loss of species will pose a major threat to human existence in the next century
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If there are 100 million different species, the background rate of extinction is about _____ species per year
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30
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The hydrologic cycle is driven primarily by
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solar energy and gravity
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Which of the following is an example of low-quality energy?
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heat in the ocean
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Which of the following is true?
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The most common element in the center of the earth's core is iron.
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Most of the wetlands that are lost are used for
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agriculture
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A shark is least likely to be killed
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by a predator
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Compared to conventional tillage, conservation tillage
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reduces fuel and tillage costs
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Carrying capacity refers to
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the maximum size of population the environment will support
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A high-throughput economy sustains economic growth by
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maximizing the rate of energy and matter resource use
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All of the following are considered to be cultural hazards except
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drought
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Which of the following statements is false?
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Inorganic nutrients such as fertilizers have no adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems
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All of the following probably characterized the first agricultural communities except
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specialized farming of one crop
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The basic unit of life is the
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cell
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On the outskirts of a municipality lies a forest on public property. A person applying the precautionary principle might suggest
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harvesting trees below their estimated sustainable yield
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Autotrophs
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can live without heterotrophs
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Which of the following terms best describes the type of population change you would expect to find for a monkey in an undisturbed section of the Brazilian rain forest?
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stable
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The greatest source of water pollution in terms of total mass is
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sediments
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Matter is anything that
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has mass and occupies space
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Aquatic life zones are the aquatic equivalent of
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biomes
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All of the following are abiotic factors except
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bacteria
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If the world's population grew by 2% in 1998 and continued at that rate, how long would it take Earth's population to double?
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35 years
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Which of the following best describes the survivorship curve you would expect to find for a fish?
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early loss
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The size of the Earth
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has enough mass to gravitationally attract the atmosphere
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Which of the following types of radiation is most penetrating?
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gamma
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Upwellings characteristically occur
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on steep western sides of continents
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Dose-response curves
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show the effects of various doses of toxic agents on a group of test organisms
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Animal testing
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extrapolates from test animals to humans
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The form of nitrogen most usable to plants is
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nitrates
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Which of the following substances are removed to the greatest extent by combined primary and secondary water treatment?
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organic oxygen-demanding wastes
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Ecosystem services include
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all of these answers
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The only effective way to protect groundwater is to
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prevent contamination
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Over the course of time, the change in the gene pool of one species may lead to the change of the gene pool of another species. This process is called
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coevolution
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Tectonic plates move in opposite but parallel directions along a fault at a(n)
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transform fault
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Which of the following ecosystems has the highest average net primary productivity?
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swamps and marshes
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Computer models suggest that adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere could
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raise sea level
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Life on earth depends on interaction of gravity and
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one-way flow of energy
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Since Europeans first settles in North America, ___% of the tall-grass prairies in the United States have been destroyed
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98
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Which of the following is a nonpoint source of water pollution?
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logged forest
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Which of the following are a point source of water pollution?
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offshore oil wells
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The phosphorous cycle is an example of a(n)
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sedimentary cycle
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Vectors are
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agents of disease transmission
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A threshold dose-response model
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implies there is a dose below which no detectable harmful effects occur
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The lithosphere is made of
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crust and upper mantle
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A relationship in which both species benefit is best labeled
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mutualism
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The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy occurs in
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photosynthesis
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Earth is essentially a closed system for
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matter
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In terms of biodiversity, the tropical rain forest is to land environments as ____ is to water environments
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the coral reef
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The zones that compose a mature soil are known as
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horizons
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Fossil fuels and minerals are found in the
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lithosphere
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The most important factor in determining which biome is found in a particular area is
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climate
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Desert ecosystems are threatened least by
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a nomadic lifestyle
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To which of the following cycles is guano an important component?
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phosphorous
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Sea otters, dung beetles, and gopher tortoises are generally considered to be
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keystone species
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A population will increase if
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the biotic potential increases
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You glance up at the sky and observe a giant thunderhead. You predict the arrival of a
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cold front
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Identification and listing of endangered species is done by the
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Fish and Wildlife Service
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Which of the following would be representative of an environmental wisdom worldview?
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Energy and materials efficiency must continually be improved
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Which of the following statements is false?
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Air at the lower latitudes tends to cool and fall or sink downward
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The introduction of nonnative species often results in unforeseen consequences. This experience indicates that when introducing nonnative species, we would be well-advised to apply the
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precautionary principle
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The Agricultural Revolution is characterized by all of the following except increased
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respect for the environment
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When natural selection results in a shift toward the average of a range of genetic expressions for a particular trait, an evolutionary biologist would credit
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stabilizing natural selection
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In forests maintained by intermittent fires
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some species release seeds only after exposure to intense heat
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Theodore Roosevelt established the
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first federal wildlife refuge
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Which of the following sources of iron would be of the highest quality?
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a large, scrap metal junkyard
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Which of the following is the source of most nonrenewable resources we use?
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crust
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How long does it take natural processes to produce fertile soil?
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several centuries to several thousands of years
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The sun is composed primarily of
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hydrogen
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Which president appointed industrialists [...] energy sources?
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Reagan
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Which of the following statements is false?
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Interspecific competition is competition between two members of the same species
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An ecological niche includes all of the following except
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the location where a species lives
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The leading nonpoint source of water pollution is
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agriculture
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The energy of the sun is primarily
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nuclear fusion
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Earth's supply of concentrated, usable energy is being steadily
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depleted
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The whooping crane is vulnerable to extinction because of
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its low reproduction rate
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Which of the following statements is false?
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Rivers are more vulnerable than lakes to contamination by plant nutrients, oil, toxins, and pesticides
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A rain shadow is most likely to be produced by a
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mountain
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If you eat cashews, avocados, or bananas, you can thank a
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bat
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All organic compounds are characterized by the presence of
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carbon
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Natural capital includes all of the following except
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sunlight
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A relationship in which a member of one species obtains its nourishment by living on, in, or near a member of another species over an extended time is best labeled
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parasitism
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EPA science advisers consider all of the following to be high-risk ecological problems except
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groundwater pollution
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Of the following human activities, the one which probably contributes least to soil erosion is
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sustainable agriculture
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Heat, inorganic wastes, and inorganic plant nutrients may all deplete dissolved ___ from water
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oxygen
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The nitrogen cycle is an example of a(n)
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atmospheric cycle
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The Agricultural Revolution is characterized by
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cultivating wild plants
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The Industrial Revolution is characterized by all of the following except increased
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social concern for workers
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You are a field ecologist. In an ecosystem under study [...] Which stage of succession are you most likely to report for this ecosystem?
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mature
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The major plant nutrient most likely to be a limiting factor is
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phosphorous
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Biodiversity emerges from
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all of these answers
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All of the following characteristics would make a species more prone to extinction except
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small body size
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K-strategists
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are generally less adaptable to change than r-strategists
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Based on the theory of island biogeography, you would predict that large islands near the mainland would have relatively
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high immigration and low extinction rates
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Organisms that complete the final breakdown and recycling of organic materials from the remains or wastes of all organisms are called
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decomposers
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An endangered species is any species that can
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soon become extinct in all or part of its range
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Which of the following is false?
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The amount of oxygen in rivers increases as the water's temperature rises.
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Which of the following is false? Habitat islands
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are wildlife preserves set aside to sustain endangered species
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A mature ___ has the greatest species diversity of all terrestrial biomes
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tropical rain forest
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Estuaries and coastal wetlands are important for all of the following reasons except
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providing coral for limestone production and the tourist trade
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The following choices lists levels of organization of matter that claim the attention of ecologists. Which correctly lists these levels in sequence from narrower to broader focus?
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organisms-pops-communities-ecosystems-ecospheres
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Hydrothermal vents with chemosynthetic-based communities are characteristic of the
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abyssal zone
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If you were to make a census in a temperate deciduous forest in the US, the most likely dominant mammal species would be
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deer
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Aerobic respiration requires
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glucose and oxygen
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The immediate effects of a natural disturbance include
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changing conditions and releasing resources
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Large ecological regions with characteristic types of natural vegetation are called
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biomes
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The type of model most useful in helping us to perceive and predict events in the environmental arena is a
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mathematical model
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