Team ___________________ _________ Answer Key___________ Team Number _________________________

Names_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ecology

2017 Gopher Invitational (Division B)

Instructions● This exam is worth 75 points and consists of 5 sections. Questions are 1 point unless otherwise noted.

Points are earned for correct responses and partial credit may be awarded for the longer response questions. Show your work for all calculations. The tiebreaker questions will be used only in the event of a tie and each has a value of 0.1 points. If further tiebreakers are needed, they will start at the end of the test, and work backwards.

● You may separate the pages of the test, but make sure to reattach the test before turning it in. Otherwise, you risk the test getting separated.

● You have 50 minutes to complete the test. Completion will not be used as a tiebreaker, so make the most of it and plan your time wisely!

● Any cheating, ringing cell phone, or use of electronic device aside from your calculators will result in immediate disqualification.

Section Points Possible Points Earned1: General Ecology Principles 252: Terrestrial Ecosystems 203: Human Impacts on the Environment 204: Synthesis 105: Tie-breakers 0.5

1- General Principles of Ecology________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Directions: answer questions 1-4 based on the food web provided below. Image Source: http://www.sciencequiz.net/jcscience/jcbiology/ecology/mcq/images/food_web01.png

1.) Which of the following represents the primary consumer shown in the diagram? a. Berries b. Frog c. Ladybird d. Butterfly e. Cricket2.) Which of the following best represents the role of the Titmouse shown in the diagram? a. Primary consumer b. Secondary consumer c. Tertiary consumer d. Both a and b e. Both a and c3.) What percent of energy is transferred through each trophic level? a. 10 b. 1 c. 100 d. 50 e. None of the above4.) Based on the previous question, what is the amount of energy that the fox will receive if each of the producer contains 150,000 kcal of energy? a. 15 b. 150,000

c. 1,500 d. 75,000 e. 50,0005.) Which of the following best describes the relationship between penicillium and black walnut trees? a. Amensalism b. Commensalism

c. Mutualism d. Parasitism e. Neutral6.) Organisms use different resources in the same habitat, and in this way avoid competition. This is referred to as: a. The Law of Tolerance b. Hunting and gathering c. Predator-prey relationship d. Resource partitioning e. Commensalism7.) Which of the following element’s cycle includes long-term storage in rocks and a short storage time in the atmosphere? a. Sulfur b. Carbon c. Nitrogen d. Calcium e. Uranium8.) When two species live in the same habitat and use exactly the same resources, which of the following will probably occur? a. The two species can live together indefinitely b. One of the species will eventually go extinctc. One species will evolve into a parasited. The two species do not interacte. This competition does not occur in nature

Questions 9-13 refer to the process of succession. Choose from choices A-E for each question.

A.) Inertia B.) DisturbanceC.) Primary successionD.) Secondary SuccessionE.) Tolerance

9.) When early succession plants are not disturbed by late succession plants. Tolerance E

10.) When succession starts from an area where humans once farmed. Secondary Succession D

11.) When a community starts from bare rock. Primary Succession C

12.) The tendency of a system to maintain its overall structure. Inertia A

13.) An event that will instigate the process of succession. Disturbance B

14.) A population has a growth rate of 2 percent per year. How long will it take for this population to double? a. 70 years b. 40 years c. 35 years

d. 15 years e. 2 years 15.) Populations have all the following characteristics except: a. Densityb. Dispersion c. Gene poold. Size e. All of the above can be used to describe populations

Questions 16-17 refer to an island off the coast of Costa Rica where 500 birds of a particular species live. Population biologists determined that this bird population was isolated with no immigration or emigration. After one year, the scientists were able to count 60 births and 10 deaths.

16.) The net growth for this population was: a. 0.5 b. 0.9 c. 1.0 d. 1.1 e. 1.5 17.) The doubling time for this population would be: a. 10 years b. 13.3 years c. 24.2 years d. 63.6 years e. 126 years18.) The greatest threat to the success of a species is: a. Environmental pollution b. Loss of habitat c. Poaching d. Hunting e. Introduction of new predators into the natural habitat19.) Adjacent habitats have overlapping boundaries called:a. Wetlandsb. Topography c. Ecotonesd. Succession zonese. Both d and e 20.) In biological communities, primary succession of development creates all of the following except: a. Soilb. Coverc. Shaded. Both a and c e. Habitat loss

For questions 21-25, refer to the diagram below and fill in the missing components of the Nitrogen Cycle:

21.) ___________________________________Precipitation

22.) ____________________________________Dentrification

23.) ____________________________________Ammonium

24.) ____________________________________Nitrification

25.) ____________________________________Leaching

2- Terrestrial Ecosystems________________________________________________________________________________________________________

26.) Whether a land area supports a deciduous forest or grassland depends primarily on: a. Changes in temperatureb. Latitude north or south of the equatorc. Consistency of rainfall from year to year and the effect that it has on firesd. Amount of rainfall per yeare. Both a and b27.) The annual productivity of any ecosystem is greater than the annual increase in biomass of the herbivores in the ecosystem because: a. Plants convert energy input into biomass more efficiently than animals b. There are always more animals than plants in any ecosystem c. Plants have a greater longevity than animals d. During each energy transformation, some energy is lost e. Animals convert energy input into biomass more efficiently than plants do

28.) Describe two characteristics of arctic tundra that make it fragile and explain how these two characteristics make the tundra particularly susceptible to damage from human impacts (4 points)

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For questions 29-31, choose from the following items: a. Tropical rain forest b. Temperate deciduous forest c. Savanna d. Taiga e. Tundra

29.) Forests of cold climates of high latitudes and high altitudes. Taiga D

30.) Major carbon dioxide sink; Cold, harsh, long winters Tundra E

31.) Low biodiversity due to lots of shade, which limits food for herbivores. Major source for timber. Temperate Deciduous forest B

32.) Biomes exhibit _____________ patterns in habitat characteristics. a. Latitudinal b. Longitudinal c. Altitudinal d. Topographical e. More than one choice is correct

33.) Which of the following biome contains the greatest biodiversity out of all? a. Grasslandb. Temperate Deciduous forestc. Tropical Rainforest

d. Taigae. Tundra34.) The most important factor in determining the type of biome to develop in an area is: a. Soil typeb. Amount of sunlightc. Precipitation d. Glaciation patternse. Altitude 35.) Conifers are associated with all but:

a. Boreal forestb. Temperate rainforestc. Taiga d. Tundra e. Both b and d

36.) Which of the follow organism(s) is(are) most likely to be found in taiga biome? a. Lynxes b. Bears c. Mosses d. Only a and b e. All of the above37.) The largest biome in the world isa. Taigab. Tundrac. Grasslandd. Deserte. Prairie

38.) Using the word bank on the right, fill in the type of vegetation corresponding to the increase in latitude. (5 points) Image adapted from Living in the Environment : Principles, Connections, Solutions

Tropical Deciduous Coniferous Tundra Polar

3- Human Impact on the Environment ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

39.) Which of the following forms of energy is a renewable resource?

Tropical Forest

Polar Ice and Snow

Temperate Rainforest

Coniferous Forest

a. Synthetic soilb. Breeder fissionc. Biomassd. Oil shalee. Synthetic natural gas40.) Which of the following alternatives would NOT lead to a sustainable energy future? a. Phase out nuclear power subsidies b. Create policies to encourage government to purchase renewable energy devices c. Assess penalties or taxes on continuous use of coal and oil d. Decrease fuel-efficiency standards for cars, appliances, and HVAC systems e. Create tax incentives for independent power producers41.) A typical coal burning plant uses 4500 tons of coal per day. Each pound of coal produces 5000 BTU of energy. How many BTU of energy are produced each day by this plant? a. 4.5x10^10 b. 0.45x10^10c. 11.5x10^3 d. 4.5x10^8 e. 0.25x10^6 42.) Energy derived from fossil fuels supplies approximately what percentage of the world’s energy needs? a. 10% b. 33% c. 50% d. 85% e. 99%43.) Describe two practical methods of dealing with long-term storage of radioactive wastes produced by a power plant. (2 points)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Possible answers: radioactive landfills, storage in deep pools of water, storage in steel drums (enclosed in lead and concrete storage containers)

44.) If you were designing a house in the United States, you lived in a cold climate, and you wanted it to be as energy efficient as possible, you would place large windows to capture solar energy on which side of the house? a. North b. South c. East d. West e. It makes no difference which side

45.) An abundance of which of the following creatures (and lack of other creatures) would indicate that water is polluted? a. Trout and other game fishb. Sludge worms, anaerobic bacteria, and fungic. Carp, gar, and leechesd. Salamanders and turtles

e. Insect larvae and nymphs 46.) Which of the following is NOT a direct source of groundwater pollution? a. Automobile exhaust b. Wastewater lagoons c. Underground storage tanks d. Waste injected into deep wells e. Pesticides sprayed on the land47.) All of the following deal with the study of environmental economics EXCEPT: a. The study of the impact of goods on the ecosystemb. Understanding the economic cost of pollutionc. Developing policy alternatives to pollution-based industryd. The relative environmental costs and benefits of proposed policiese. The location of new mineral reserves 48.) Which of the following gases involved in global climate change is increasing in the atmosphere at the fastest rate? a. H2O b. Methane c. Chlorofluorocarbons d. CO2 e. O249.) Which of the following is a secondary pollutant? a. CO b. Soot c. VOCs d. PANs e. CO250.) Which of the following best describes the goal of environmentally sustainable economic growth? a. Allowing rapid population growth so there will be more workersb. Exploration to find more natural resourcesc. Increasing quality of goods without depleting the natural resources needed to make goodsd. Cutting down forests and replacing them with rangelande. Growing more crops by using larger amounts of fertilizer 51.) Acid precipitation is responsible for the following effects EXCEPT: a. Creating a buildup of sulfur and nitrogen ions in soil b. Increasing the aluminum concentration in soil to levels that are toxic for plants c. Lowering the pH of streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes d. Causing human respiratory irritation e. None of the above52.) Which of the following is the most common method of disposing of municipal solid waste? a. Recyclingb. Compostingc. Placing in landfillsd. Burning e. Transporting to other countries

Questions 53-57 refer to the following methods of treating hazardous wastes:

A.) Underground burial

B.) Reduce productionC.) IncinerationD.) NeutralizationE.) Bioremediation

53.) Mixing waste with other chemicals to produce less toxic wastes D

54.) Can cause secondary pollutants in the atmosphere C

55.) Injection into deep wells A

56.) The easiest and cheapest B

57.) Living organisms process waste and remove it from the ecosystem E

4-Synthesis ________________________________________________________________________________________________________For questions 58-59, refer to the following information. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the consumption of natural gas by the United States increases at 8 percent per year. It receives its supplies from a variety of international and domestic locations. Natural gas is used in the home, industry, and in the generation of power. 58.) Calculate the approximate number of years it would take to double the consumption of natural gas in the United States. Show all work. Apply the rule of 70 to calculate the doubling time. The formula is: 70/8=8.75. In other words, it would take about 9 years to double the consumption. (Either an exact or rounded figure would be considered correct.) *0.5 points for correct setup, 0.5 points for correct answer

59.) Describe two benefits to the environment that would occur if the United States switched from coal to natural gas-fired electric power generation. (4 pts) Possible answers:

● Less habitat destruction from the mining of coal● Less acid mine drainage due to fewer mines being dug● Less aesthetic damage done to the environment because fewer mines are dug● Reduced SO2 emissions, which will reduce the levels of acid deposition● Reduced CO2 emissions, which will reduce the levels of climate-changing gases● Reduced soot emissions, which will reduce the formation of industrial(gray) dmog● Less fly ash produced● Less mercury or radioactive materials released by the burning of coal● Longer boiler life because gas produces fewer products that harm the boilers● Less cost in building new generation plants, as gas combustion produces fewer dangerous by-

products* 1 pt for identifying each benefit, 1 pt for each description

To answer questions 60-62, refer to the scenario below:

On a walk around the local wilderness, you pass a lake and notice a massive number of dead fish floating above the water. Furthermore, there is a large amount of algae growing and covering the entire surface of the water. The lake is roughly circular with a surface area of 31,700 square miles, and the algal growth is approximately 1 inch high.

60.) Given that 1 mile is 5280 feet, calculate the volume of algae growing on the lake in cubic inches. (1 point)

31,700 mi^2 * (5280^2 ft^2/mile^2)*(12^2 in / ft^2) = 1.27*10^14 in^3

61.) Identify and explain a probable cause of the phenomenon observed at the lake (2 points)

Eutrophication (1) Use of fertilizer may have caused phosphates to run into the lake, causing growth of algae, which depleted the oxygen content in the lake (1)

*Other answers may be acceptable based on grader discretion; answers should be specific (general answers not acceptable)

62.) Based on your answer to question 61, propose two preventative solutions (2):

Possible Answers: ● Use biodegradable cleaning agents and fertilizers that do not contain phosphates ● Regulate waste dumping into water sources (via laws) ● Ultrasonic Irradiation ● Algae filtration

*other methods of prevention of nutrient leakage are acceptable

5-Tie-Breakers ________________________________________________________________________________________________________These questions will only be used in the event of a tie. Each question is worth 0.1 points.

1.) Rachel Carson described which of the following problems to Americans? a. Pesticide bioaccumulation and poisoningb. The beauty of nature c. Loss of sustainable forestry practicesd. The problem of the tragedy of commons e. America’s diminishing oil reserves 2.) Which of the following established the emissions trading policy? a. Clean Water Actb. Resource Conservation and Recovery Actc. Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act d. The Kyoto Protocole. Clean Air Act 3.) Which of the following can be classified as an NGO?a. World Wildlife Fundb. Bureau of Land Managementc. Fish and Wildlife Commission

d. International Trade Commissione. Department of Defense 4.) The release of CFCs was banned under an international treaty signed in which of the following cities? a. Montrealb. New Yorkc. New Delhi d. Kyotoe. Washington 5.) Which of the following describes conservation easement? a. Process of preventing soil erosionb. Binding agreement that preserves land from further development in exchange for tax write-offsc. Agreement that allows developer to add new land to a housing project with little input from neighborsd. Prevents breakdown of stream bankse. Method of building a landfill that minimizes runoff

Acknowledgements: *Some questions adapted from McGraw Hill Environmental Science: A Global Concern (11th Edition), 5 Steps to a 5 AP Environmental Science (2011, 2015, and 2016), Princeton Review Cracking the AP Environmental Science Exam (2014 and 2015), Barron’s Ap Environmental Science(5th Edition) and various College Board AP Environmental Science exams