Ecology Final Exam ( Updated 2025-2026 ) 1-
100 Complete Questions & Answers (Solved)
100% Correct Graded A+
Consider a species of fig tree that is pollinated by a single species
of wasp. Without the wasp, the fig tree will not produce seeds.
Without the fig tree, the wasp will not produce offspring. The
relationship between these species is an example of -
✔ANASWER✔-obligate mutualism
A species that interacts with many other species is a -
✔ANASWER✔-generalist
A specialist is a species that - ✔ANASWER✔-interacts with one
of a few closely related species
Which of the following are specialists that form a mutualism?
I. Honeybees pollinate many species of flower.
II. The crayfish snake eats only crayfish.
,III. The yucca plant is pollinated by a single species of moth. -
✔ANASWER✔-III only
When two species provide fitness benefits to each other but do
not require each other to persist, they are - ✔ANASWER✔-
facultative mutualists
Coral and zooxanthellae algae have a mutualism in which coral
provide shelter for algae. What do algae provide for coral? -
✔ANASWER✔-nutrients
Which of the following are benefits that many mutualists provide
one another?
I. shelter
II. protection from predators III. nutrients - ✔ANASWER✔-I, II, III
Which of the following statements about the hyphae of
ectomycorrhizal fungi are correct? I. They provide plants with
minerals and water from the soil.
II. They collect sugars that plants produce by photosynthesis.
III. They grow between root cells. - ✔ANASWER✔-I, II, III
What benefit do Rhizobium bacteria provide to plants that plants
cannot provide for themselves? - ✔ANASWER✔-a conversion of
atmospheric nitrogen to form that plants can use
,Which of the following three interactions are mutualisms?
I: Wasp and butterfly larvae. The wasp lays its eggs inside the
body of a butterfly larva. The eggs hatch and the wasp larvae
feed on the body of the butterfly larva. By the time the wasp
larvae metamorphose from the butterfly larva, the butterfly larva is
killed.
II: Fig and fig wasp: The adult wasps crawl into the cluster of fig
flowers to lay eggs. By moving around, the adult wasp pollinates
the fig flowers, allowing them to produce fruit and seeds. As the
fig fruit develops, it provides shelter for the wasp larvae.
III: Ants and acacias: Acacia plants develop hollow thorns that
provide shelter for ant colonies and produce nectaries on their
leaves that provide food for ants. The ants defend the acacia
plant from herbivores. - ✔ANASWER✔-II, III
What benefit do Pseudomyrmex ants obtain from their mutualism
with acacia trees?
I. shelter in hollow thorns
II. food from nectaries
III. nitrogen from atmospheric sources - ✔ANASWER✔-I, II
If you removed mutualistic ants from acacia trees, there would be
- ✔ANASWER✔-more herbivorous insects on the acacia
(Figure 17.9) Two species of ant that live on acacia are
Pseudomyrmex ferruginea and P. gracilis. The figure shows how
, the presence or absence of each species of ant affects the
abundance of pathogenic bacteria on acacia leaves. What
conclusion can you draw from this figure? - ✔ANASWER✔-only
P. ferruginea is mutualistic with acacia
Which of the following benefits do acacia plants obtain from
mutualisms with ants?
I. Ants kill herbivorous insects.
II. Ants keep competitive plants from growing nearby. III. Ants
spread antibacterial compounds on the plant. - ✔ANASWER✔-I,II,
III
Endophytic fungi - ✔ANASWER✔-live within a plant's tissue
If oxpecker birds went extinct, what would be the most likely
consequence? - ✔ANASWER✔-large african mammals would
have more parasites
What condition of large mammals do oxpecker birds seek out? -
✔ANASWER✔-many parasites
A biologist is studying three species of small fish (sp 1, sp 2, and
sp 3) that cling to the bodies of bigger fish and consume parasites
on the larger fish. He conducts an experiment with three
treatments. In each treatment, he removes a different one of the
small fish species from a large fish and examines the number
offspring produced by the large fish. Which of the following
100 Complete Questions & Answers (Solved)
100% Correct Graded A+
Consider a species of fig tree that is pollinated by a single species
of wasp. Without the wasp, the fig tree will not produce seeds.
Without the fig tree, the wasp will not produce offspring. The
relationship between these species is an example of -
✔ANASWER✔-obligate mutualism
A species that interacts with many other species is a -
✔ANASWER✔-generalist
A specialist is a species that - ✔ANASWER✔-interacts with one
of a few closely related species
Which of the following are specialists that form a mutualism?
I. Honeybees pollinate many species of flower.
II. The crayfish snake eats only crayfish.
,III. The yucca plant is pollinated by a single species of moth. -
✔ANASWER✔-III only
When two species provide fitness benefits to each other but do
not require each other to persist, they are - ✔ANASWER✔-
facultative mutualists
Coral and zooxanthellae algae have a mutualism in which coral
provide shelter for algae. What do algae provide for coral? -
✔ANASWER✔-nutrients
Which of the following are benefits that many mutualists provide
one another?
I. shelter
II. protection from predators III. nutrients - ✔ANASWER✔-I, II, III
Which of the following statements about the hyphae of
ectomycorrhizal fungi are correct? I. They provide plants with
minerals and water from the soil.
II. They collect sugars that plants produce by photosynthesis.
III. They grow between root cells. - ✔ANASWER✔-I, II, III
What benefit do Rhizobium bacteria provide to plants that plants
cannot provide for themselves? - ✔ANASWER✔-a conversion of
atmospheric nitrogen to form that plants can use
,Which of the following three interactions are mutualisms?
I: Wasp and butterfly larvae. The wasp lays its eggs inside the
body of a butterfly larva. The eggs hatch and the wasp larvae
feed on the body of the butterfly larva. By the time the wasp
larvae metamorphose from the butterfly larva, the butterfly larva is
killed.
II: Fig and fig wasp: The adult wasps crawl into the cluster of fig
flowers to lay eggs. By moving around, the adult wasp pollinates
the fig flowers, allowing them to produce fruit and seeds. As the
fig fruit develops, it provides shelter for the wasp larvae.
III: Ants and acacias: Acacia plants develop hollow thorns that
provide shelter for ant colonies and produce nectaries on their
leaves that provide food for ants. The ants defend the acacia
plant from herbivores. - ✔ANASWER✔-II, III
What benefit do Pseudomyrmex ants obtain from their mutualism
with acacia trees?
I. shelter in hollow thorns
II. food from nectaries
III. nitrogen from atmospheric sources - ✔ANASWER✔-I, II
If you removed mutualistic ants from acacia trees, there would be
- ✔ANASWER✔-more herbivorous insects on the acacia
(Figure 17.9) Two species of ant that live on acacia are
Pseudomyrmex ferruginea and P. gracilis. The figure shows how
, the presence or absence of each species of ant affects the
abundance of pathogenic bacteria on acacia leaves. What
conclusion can you draw from this figure? - ✔ANASWER✔-only
P. ferruginea is mutualistic with acacia
Which of the following benefits do acacia plants obtain from
mutualisms with ants?
I. Ants kill herbivorous insects.
II. Ants keep competitive plants from growing nearby. III. Ants
spread antibacterial compounds on the plant. - ✔ANASWER✔-I,II,
III
Endophytic fungi - ✔ANASWER✔-live within a plant's tissue
If oxpecker birds went extinct, what would be the most likely
consequence? - ✔ANASWER✔-large african mammals would
have more parasites
What condition of large mammals do oxpecker birds seek out? -
✔ANASWER✔-many parasites
A biologist is studying three species of small fish (sp 1, sp 2, and
sp 3) that cling to the bodies of bigger fish and consume parasites
on the larger fish. He conducts an experiment with three
treatments. In each treatment, he removes a different one of the
small fish species from a large fish and examines the number
offspring produced by the large fish. Which of the following
