BIOL 355 ECOLOGY EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS (DR. LARSON) | 2026/2027 VERSION A
ANSWER KEY | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS. -
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY.
Q1. What is the goal of ecology?
A) To study only individual organisms in isolation
B) To understand the distribution and abundance of organisms influenced by abiotic and
biotic factors in the biosphere
C) To preserve endangered species only
D) To study the chemical composition of soil
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The goal of ecology is to understand the primary distribution and abundance
of organisms influenced by abiotic and biotic factors in the biosphere . Ecology seeks to
explain why organisms live where they do and in what numbers.
Q2. Which of the following levels of ecological organization is arranged in the
correct sequence from most to least inclusive (largest to smallest)?
A) Community, ecosystem, organism, population
B) Ecosystem, community, population, organism
C) Population, ecosystem, organism, community
D) Organism, population, community, ecosystem
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct order from most to least inclusive is: Biosphere → Ecosystem →
Community → Population → Organism. Ecosystems include communities and their
abiotic environment; communities are made of interacting populations; populations are
groups of the same species; organisms are individuals .
Q3. Choose the correct order of the Biological Hierarchy from the smallest to the
largest level:
,A) Biosphere → Ecosystem → Community → Population → Organism
B) Organism → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere
C) Population → Organism → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere
D) Community → Population → Organism → Ecosystem → Biosphere
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The biological hierarchy starts from organisms, then progresses to
Populations (same species in an area), Communities (interacting populations),
Ecosystems (community + abiotic environment), and finally the Biosphere (all
ecosystems on Earth) .
Q4. Which of the following is an example of a community?
A) All ticks in Bridgewater, Vermont
B) Marine copepods in the Atlantic Ocean
C) All organisms living in a forest
D) Mule deer in the southern Rocky Mountains
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A community consists of all the populations of different species living and
interacting in a particular area. The other options (ticks, copepods, mule deer) represent
populations (single species), not communities .
Q5. What is the role of the Biological Hierarchy in understanding nature?
A) It defines the physical properties of ecosystems
B) It helps define emergent properties and provides an evolutionary advantage to the
next higher level by studying appropriate levels within the hierarchy
C) It only applies to terrestrial ecosystems
D) It is a historical concept no longer used in modern ecology
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Biological Hierarchy helps define emergent properties and provides an
evolutionary advantage to the next higher level by studying appropriate levels within
the hierarchy. Each level has properties that emerge from the interactions at the level
below .
,Q6. The study of natural history focuses on:
A) How factors such as climate or evolutionary history influence the organisms in a
particular area
B) The interactions between organisms and the abiotic environment
C) The evolutionary relationships between organisms in a particular area
D) The number of species living in a certain area
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Natural history focuses on how factors such as climate or evolutionary
history influence the organisms in a particular area . It is the observational foundation
upon which ecological hypotheses are built.
Q7. Which statement best describes the difference between ecology and
environmentalism?
A) Ecologists study organisms only; environmentalists study organisms and their
environment
B) Environmentalism is policy advocacy; ecology is science
C) They are the same thing
D) One is a philosophy and the other is a thought process
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their
environment. Environmentalism is a social movement focused on policy advocacy and
protection of the environment .
Q8. Who coined the term "ecology"?
A) Charles Darwin
B) Ernst Haeckel
C) E.P. Odum
D) Alexander von Humboldt
, Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Ernst Haeckel coined the term "ecology" in 1866, defining it as the study of
the relationship of organisms to their environment .
Q9. Who published one of the first textbooks on general ecology?
A) H.C. Cowles
B) Charles Elton
C) E.P. Odum
D) J.E.B. Warming
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: E.P. Odum published "Fundamentals of Ecology" in 1953, which was one of
the first comprehensive textbooks on general ecology .
Q10. Which British scientist published a book on animal ecology?
A) H.C. Cowles
B) Ernst Haeckel
C) Charles Elton
D) Alexander von Humboldt
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Charles Elton published "Animal Ecology" in 1927, establishing many
fundamental concepts of animal ecology, including food chains and niche concepts .
Q11. Who recognized that increases in latitude and altitude had similar effects on
vegetation?
A) H.C. Cowles
B) Ernst Haeckel
C) Charles Elton
D) Alexander von Humboldt
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to recognize that increases in
latitude and altitude had similar effects on vegetation patterns .
ANSWERS (DR. LARSON) | 2026/2027 VERSION A
ANSWER KEY | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS. -
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY.
Q1. What is the goal of ecology?
A) To study only individual organisms in isolation
B) To understand the distribution and abundance of organisms influenced by abiotic and
biotic factors in the biosphere
C) To preserve endangered species only
D) To study the chemical composition of soil
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The goal of ecology is to understand the primary distribution and abundance
of organisms influenced by abiotic and biotic factors in the biosphere . Ecology seeks to
explain why organisms live where they do and in what numbers.
Q2. Which of the following levels of ecological organization is arranged in the
correct sequence from most to least inclusive (largest to smallest)?
A) Community, ecosystem, organism, population
B) Ecosystem, community, population, organism
C) Population, ecosystem, organism, community
D) Organism, population, community, ecosystem
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct order from most to least inclusive is: Biosphere → Ecosystem →
Community → Population → Organism. Ecosystems include communities and their
abiotic environment; communities are made of interacting populations; populations are
groups of the same species; organisms are individuals .
Q3. Choose the correct order of the Biological Hierarchy from the smallest to the
largest level:
,A) Biosphere → Ecosystem → Community → Population → Organism
B) Organism → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere
C) Population → Organism → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere
D) Community → Population → Organism → Ecosystem → Biosphere
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The biological hierarchy starts from organisms, then progresses to
Populations (same species in an area), Communities (interacting populations),
Ecosystems (community + abiotic environment), and finally the Biosphere (all
ecosystems on Earth) .
Q4. Which of the following is an example of a community?
A) All ticks in Bridgewater, Vermont
B) Marine copepods in the Atlantic Ocean
C) All organisms living in a forest
D) Mule deer in the southern Rocky Mountains
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A community consists of all the populations of different species living and
interacting in a particular area. The other options (ticks, copepods, mule deer) represent
populations (single species), not communities .
Q5. What is the role of the Biological Hierarchy in understanding nature?
A) It defines the physical properties of ecosystems
B) It helps define emergent properties and provides an evolutionary advantage to the
next higher level by studying appropriate levels within the hierarchy
C) It only applies to terrestrial ecosystems
D) It is a historical concept no longer used in modern ecology
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Biological Hierarchy helps define emergent properties and provides an
evolutionary advantage to the next higher level by studying appropriate levels within
the hierarchy. Each level has properties that emerge from the interactions at the level
below .
,Q6. The study of natural history focuses on:
A) How factors such as climate or evolutionary history influence the organisms in a
particular area
B) The interactions between organisms and the abiotic environment
C) The evolutionary relationships between organisms in a particular area
D) The number of species living in a certain area
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Natural history focuses on how factors such as climate or evolutionary
history influence the organisms in a particular area . It is the observational foundation
upon which ecological hypotheses are built.
Q7. Which statement best describes the difference between ecology and
environmentalism?
A) Ecologists study organisms only; environmentalists study organisms and their
environment
B) Environmentalism is policy advocacy; ecology is science
C) They are the same thing
D) One is a philosophy and the other is a thought process
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their
environment. Environmentalism is a social movement focused on policy advocacy and
protection of the environment .
Q8. Who coined the term "ecology"?
A) Charles Darwin
B) Ernst Haeckel
C) E.P. Odum
D) Alexander von Humboldt
, Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Ernst Haeckel coined the term "ecology" in 1866, defining it as the study of
the relationship of organisms to their environment .
Q9. Who published one of the first textbooks on general ecology?
A) H.C. Cowles
B) Charles Elton
C) E.P. Odum
D) J.E.B. Warming
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: E.P. Odum published "Fundamentals of Ecology" in 1953, which was one of
the first comprehensive textbooks on general ecology .
Q10. Which British scientist published a book on animal ecology?
A) H.C. Cowles
B) Ernst Haeckel
C) Charles Elton
D) Alexander von Humboldt
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Charles Elton published "Animal Ecology" in 1927, establishing many
fundamental concepts of animal ecology, including food chains and niche concepts .
Q11. Who recognized that increases in latitude and altitude had similar effects on
vegetation?
A) H.C. Cowles
B) Ernst Haeckel
C) Charles Elton
D) Alexander von Humboldt
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to recognize that increases in
latitude and altitude had similar effects on vegetation patterns .
