01
True or false
1 point
True or false: Marshes can filter some pollutants and excess nutrients from flowing water.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
6 Marine Ecosystems Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 6 Marine Ecosystems, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Fill in the blank
1 point
Estuaries are coastal habitats where mixes with seawater.
03
Choose one
1 point
A coastal restoration project plants mangroves along an eroding shoreline. Which effect of mangrove roots can help protect the shore?
- A
They increase salinity in nearby waters.
- B
They slow water and help stabilize shorelines.
- C
They prevent all sediment from entering coastal waters.
- D
They supply sunlight to organisms living beneath the canopy.
04
Written response
1 point
What is the name of the open-ocean habitat zone made up of the water column rather than the seafloor?
05
Fill in the blank
1 point
The spaces and resources that organisms use in different ways within a habitat are called .
06
True or false
1 point
True or false: Conditions in intertidal habitats remain constant, so organisms there do not need to tolerate exposure to air.
- A
True
- B
False
07
Choose one
1 point
A diagram shows a small fish being eaten by a large fish. In a food web, which direction should the arrow point?
- A
From predator to prey
- B
From decomposer to the dead organism it breaks down
- C
From the organism being eaten to the organism that eats it
- D
From the organism with less energy to the organism with more energy
08
Choose all
1 point
A coastal habitat survey examines a seagrass meadow. Select all functions of seagrass meadows described in the material.
- A
They provide food and shelter for organisms.
- B
They make photosynthesis possible in the deep ocean.
- C
They stabilize sediments.
- D
They stop all movement of nutrients through coastal waters.
- E
They store carbon in plants and sediments.
09
Written response
1 point
What process brings deep, nutrient-rich water toward the ocean surface, potentially stimulating phytoplankton growth?
10
Choose one
1 point
A sunlit surface-water region has ample light but very little nitrogen and phosphorus. Which factor is most likely limiting primary productivity there?
- A
The amount of shelter available to consumers
- B
The supply of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus
- C
The rate at which water evaporates
- D
The number of species living on the seafloor
11
Choose all
1 point
Select all statements that accurately describe how energy and matter move through marine ecosystems.
- A
Energy passes through food webs.
- B
Matter is used once and then permanently leaves the ecosystem.
- C
Matter, including nutrients, is recycled.
- D
Energy and matter are both recycled in exactly the same way.
12
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best explains how light affects photosynthesis in the open ocean?
- A
Photosynthesis occurs throughout the ocean because currents carry light downward.
- B
Deep-sea animals generally make food by photosynthesis.
- C
Photosynthesis is possible only near the seafloor.
- D
Photosynthesis can occur in sunlit waters but not below the sunlit zone.
13
Open ended
1 point
How can a hydrothermal-vent community support a food web without sunlight? Explain the role of chemosynthetic microbes and how their production can support other organisms.
14
True or false
1 point
True or false: A hydrothermal-vent food web can get its primary energy from chemical reactions rather than sunlight.
- A
True
- B
False
15
Choose one
1 point
A food-web diagram includes a small fish eaten by a large fish. Which way should the arrow point?
- A
From the consumer toward the organism it eats
- B
From the organism being eaten toward the organism that eats it
- C
From the decomposer toward every organism in the web
- D
From the largest organism toward the smallest organism
16
Choose one
1 point
Young fish grow in a sheltered estuary and later move offshore as adults. What role does the estuary play in this fish's life cycle?
- A
A permanent habitat for all adult fish
- B
A barrier that prevents fish from reaching coastal waters
- C
A sheltered nursery habitat for young fish
- D
A deep-sea feeding ground without sunlight
17
Written response
1 point
In open-ocean habitat terminology, what is the two-word name for the seafloor zone?
18
Choose one
1 point
A coastal region experiences a rise in phytoplankton growth after deep water moves upward. Which process most directly explains the increase?
- A
Upwelling brings nutrient-rich deep water toward the surface
- B
Stronger sunlight carries nutrients down from the surface
- C
Decomposition permanently removes nutrients from the ocean
- D
Seawater salinity directly supplies phytoplankton with nutrients
19
Written response
1 point
What two-word ecological term means the rate at which producers make organic matter?
20
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best explains how food becomes available to animals in the deep sea?
- A
All deep-sea animals make food using sunlight
- B
Deep-sea animals depend only on nutrients released from seafloor rocks
- C
All deep-sea food webs begin with animals grazing on seagrass
- D
Much deep-sea life depends on organic matter sinking from above, though vent communities can use chemical energy