Biology 1407 Test Questions with Correct
Answers
Pacific salmon swim up freshwater rivers to breed. The watershed uphill from the
rivers is forested and drains into freshwater streams where the salmon spawn and their
young offspring live and grow. Managers calculated that degradation of a specific
watershed from its pristine condition resulted in a loss of value of $1.6 million, yet the
land was sold for $1 million to developers. This suggests that
the calculated value of the land did not account for the ecosystem services it provided.
The economic value of pollinator services for U.S. agriculture is billions of dollars per
year. Eighty percent of all flowering plant species depend on pollination; insect
pollinators are required for most fruit and vegetable crops. However, many pollinators
are currently declining because of habitat destruction and pesticide use. What
ecosystem-related trade-off has occurred in this situation?
Effective pollination was traded for habitat destruction and pesticide use.
Before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, humans had vastly changed
the area. They had destroyed wetlands, extracted oil and gas (which led to sinking of the
ground), constructed dams and levees, dredged, and built channels for ship traffic. Also,
rising sea levels had caused the death of some cypress swamps. These changes suggest
that development of New Orleans destroyed which major ecosystem service that might
have lessened the hurricane's devastation?
Protection from flooding
Coal burning produces 44 percent of the energy used in the United States and is the
single largest producer of air pollution. Among other pollutants, coal-burning power
, plants are the major source of sulfur dioxide (SO2). What is a major consequence of
this coal burning?
Increases acid rain
According to the figure, how does the amount of nitrogen entering the atmosphere from
human activities compare with the amount entering from land-based natural sources?
(All values are in units of 1012 grams.) (look at image in the chapter quiz)
Human: 81; natural: 158
Refer to the graph showing changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the Northern
Hemisphere beginning in 1960.
What is the overall trend in CO2 concentration, and what causes the yearly seasonal
fluctuations? (look at graph in the chapter quiz)
Increasing; photosynthesis
Rising global temperatures increase the rate of evaporation. The warmer air also holds
more moisture. These changing factors are most likely to directly affect which process
in the hydrologic cycle?
Precipitation
In the process of biogeochemical cycling, what is a key distinguishing factor between
mineralization and decomposition?
Decomposition breaks down detritus into smaller parts; mineralization breaks down organic
compounds into inorganic nutrients.
Answers
Pacific salmon swim up freshwater rivers to breed. The watershed uphill from the
rivers is forested and drains into freshwater streams where the salmon spawn and their
young offspring live and grow. Managers calculated that degradation of a specific
watershed from its pristine condition resulted in a loss of value of $1.6 million, yet the
land was sold for $1 million to developers. This suggests that
the calculated value of the land did not account for the ecosystem services it provided.
The economic value of pollinator services for U.S. agriculture is billions of dollars per
year. Eighty percent of all flowering plant species depend on pollination; insect
pollinators are required for most fruit and vegetable crops. However, many pollinators
are currently declining because of habitat destruction and pesticide use. What
ecosystem-related trade-off has occurred in this situation?
Effective pollination was traded for habitat destruction and pesticide use.
Before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, humans had vastly changed
the area. They had destroyed wetlands, extracted oil and gas (which led to sinking of the
ground), constructed dams and levees, dredged, and built channels for ship traffic. Also,
rising sea levels had caused the death of some cypress swamps. These changes suggest
that development of New Orleans destroyed which major ecosystem service that might
have lessened the hurricane's devastation?
Protection from flooding
Coal burning produces 44 percent of the energy used in the United States and is the
single largest producer of air pollution. Among other pollutants, coal-burning power
, plants are the major source of sulfur dioxide (SO2). What is a major consequence of
this coal burning?
Increases acid rain
According to the figure, how does the amount of nitrogen entering the atmosphere from
human activities compare with the amount entering from land-based natural sources?
(All values are in units of 1012 grams.) (look at image in the chapter quiz)
Human: 81; natural: 158
Refer to the graph showing changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the Northern
Hemisphere beginning in 1960.
What is the overall trend in CO2 concentration, and what causes the yearly seasonal
fluctuations? (look at graph in the chapter quiz)
Increasing; photosynthesis
Rising global temperatures increase the rate of evaporation. The warmer air also holds
more moisture. These changing factors are most likely to directly affect which process
in the hydrologic cycle?
Precipitation
In the process of biogeochemical cycling, what is a key distinguishing factor between
mineralization and decomposition?
Decomposition breaks down detritus into smaller parts; mineralization breaks down organic
compounds into inorganic nutrients.
