01
Choose one
1 point
Researchers describe several species living and interacting in one area, without including information about soil, water, or climate. What are they describing?
Free Practice Quiz Question List
07 Communities and Ecological Succession Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 07 Communities and Ecological Succession, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
True or false
1 point
In a mutualistic interaction, both species benefit on average.
- A
True
- B
False
03
Written response
1 point
What term describes the number of species in a community?
04
Choose one
1 point
In an interaction, one species gains a benefit while the other is not measurably affected. Which interaction best describes this?
- A
Competition
- B
Commensalism
- C
Mutualism
- D
Parasitism
05
Choose all
1 point
Select all the interactions in which one partner benefits and the other is harmed on average.
- A
Competition
- B
Predation or herbivory
- C
Mutualism
- D
Parasitism
- E
Commensalism
06
Choose one
1 point
A glacier retreats and exposes bare rock with little or no soil. What type of succession can begin there?
- A
Primary succession
- B
Secondary succession
- C
Resource partitioning
- D
Commensalism
07
True or false
1 point
Ecological succession always follows a fixed sequence and ends in one inevitable, stable community.
- A
True
- B
False
08
Written response
1 point
What term describes a species whose effect on community structure is out of proportion to its abundance?
09
Choose all
1 point
Select all the factors that can shape biodiversity in a community.
- A
Physical conditions at a site
- B
Available resources
- C
Disturbance
- D
Dispersal of organisms to the site
- E
Interactions among species
- F
A guarantee that species diversity rises steadily during succession
10
Fill in the blank
1 point
Two species with overlapping needs for limited resources coexist by feeding at different times or in different parts of a habitat. This is called .
11
Choose one
1 point
A reef-building organism creates habitat that many other organisms use. What role best describes this organism?
- A
Foundation species
- B
Keystone species
- C
A parasite
- D
A primary colonist
12
Choose one
1 point
Two communities have the same number of species. In Community A, one species dominates; in Community B, the species have more similar abundances. Which community has greater evenness?
- A
The community dominated by a single species has greater evenness.
- B
The community with more similar abundances among its species has greater evenness.
- C
The community with fewer individuals has greater evenness, regardless of their distribution.
- D
The communities must have equal evenness because their richness is the same.
13
Fill in the blank
1 point
A predator reduces herbivore numbers, and plant abundance then increases. The predator's effect on plants is an .
14
Open ended
1 point
Compare primary and secondary succession by describing the soil conditions where each begins and explaining why secondary succession often proceeds faster. Include one reason the exact course of succession can vary among sites.
15
Choose one
1 point
Researchers list all the populations of different species living and interacting in a wetland, without including water, soil, or climate. What are they describing?
- A
A biological community
- B
An ecosystem
- C
A niche
- D
A species interaction
16
Choose one
1 point
After hawks become more abundant, they reduce the number of herbivorous mice that eat plants. Plant abundance then rises. Which explanation best describes how the hawks affect the plants?
- A
The hawk directly helps the plants reproduce.
- B
The hawk indirectly reduces pressure on the plants by lowering the numbers of plant-eating herbivores.
- C
The hawk and plants compete for the same resource.
- D
The plants benefit because the hawk is a foundation species.
17
Choose one
1 point
Two bird species feed on the same type of insect in the same habitat, but one feeds mainly during the day and the other at night. Which explanation best accounts for their possible coexistence?
- A
The birds have no overlapping resource needs.
- B
One bird must outcompete the other locally.
- C
The birds partition the resource by feeding at different times.
- D
The birds have a mutualistic relationship.
18
True or false
1 point
Ecological succession always proceeds through a fixed sequence and ends in a stable, unchanging community.
- A
True
- B
False
19
Written response
1 point
What ecological term describes the conditions a species tolerates, the resources it uses, and the interactions that shape how it lives?
20
Written response
1 point
A pollinator obtains nectar from a plant while helping the plant reproduce. What type of interaction is this?