Pearson Biology Exam 2 Questions and Answers Updated and Verified 2024/2025

1. When sea otters became extremely rare on the California coast, their usual prey (sea urchins) became overabundant and consumed most of the kelp that was the principal habitat for a diversity of fishes and invertebrates. Which statement best describes this situation? - AnsSea otters are a keystone species. 2. When goats were introduced into an island off the California coast, they lived in the same areas and ate the same plants as the native deer. The deer population subsequently dwindled and finally disappeared. This is an example of __________. - AnsCompetition 3. A pathogen is an organism that lives in, and causes disease in, its host. Which is the correct relationship between a pathogen and its host? - AnsParasitism 4. What happens when a keystone species is removed from a community? - AnsThe community could collapse 5. An ecological relationship in which an animal is hunted, captured, and killed is known as __________. - AnsPredation 6. Which interaction does not belong in the +/− category of interactions between species? - Anspollination 7. Different species of insect-eating birds in a forest will hunt for their prey in different parts of the same tree. For example, Myrtle Warblers hunt for insects at the lower levels of a tree, whereas Cape May Warblers hunt for insects at the top of the tree. What does hunting for insects in different parts of the tree accomplish? - AnsIt reduces interspecific competition and allows coexistence of multiple species. 8. What is a climax community? - AnsThe stable community achieved at the end of the process of succession 9. Which of the following is true about a keystone species? - AnsIt has a strong impact on the community, far out of proportion to its abundance 10. Which type of organism weakens, but does not kill, another organism by taking water and nutrients from that organism? - AnsParasites 11. Although most competition is subtle, under which of the following circumstances would interspecific competition be most obvious? - AnsWhen a foreign organism is first introduced into a community 12. Which of the following statements describes a response of predators to prey? - AnsA species of fish hides in a hole until another fish swims past that it can attack and eat. 13. The giant green sea anemone of the Pacific Northwest coast consists of a cnidarian and alga. The alga performs photosynthesis and shares some of its carbohydrates with the cnidarian. The cnidarian provides the alga with some carbon dioxide and ammonia. This is an example of __________. - Ansmutualism 14. Communities undergoing primary succession are __________. - Ansstarted from bare rock 15. A relationship in which both actors may (potentially) be harmed (-/-) is known as __________. - AnsCompetition 16. Which event would not be considered secondary succession? - AnsA landslide causes the removal of the soil and the organisms that live in the area, leaving only exposed rock. 17. Which of the following is not a response to interspecific competition? - AnsAll of these options are possible responses to interspecific competition. 18. When a relationship between species A and species B is described as mutualism, this means that __________. - Ansboth species benefit 19. After a glacier melts, over time, the area may become covered by shrubs and finally a forest. This process is best described as __________. - Ansprimary succession 20. _______ describes a relationship between organisms that live in close physical contact with each other. - AnsSymbiosis 21. Which interaction does not represent mutualism? - AnsCaterpillars living off of milkweed 22. After clear-cutting a forest, timber companies cannot afford to wait for the long process of __________ to occur naturally to regrow the trees, so they usually replant trees right away - AnsSuccession 23. An ecological relationship in which both individuals benefit (+/+) is known as __________. - AnsMutualism 24. Which of the following could be defined as the role an organism plays in an ecosystem? - Ansniche 25. A researcher wanting to learn more about the interactions between bees and the flowers they pollinate would study a(n) __________. - AnsCommunity 26. This biome is a transition between the rainforest and savanna, and can have either tall forests or scrubby woodlands. It has both wet and dry seasons, and plants may lose their leaves during the dry season. Teak and mahogany trees grow in this biome, and are extremely valu