Ecology

Brown Science Olympiad Div B Invitational

December 2, 2023

Instructions:

1. You may use one 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper with information on one/both sides.
2. You may use stand-alone, non-programmable, non-graphing calculators.
3. You do not have to show your work unless you are explicitly asked to do so. Partial credit may be
awarded if correct work is shown in these cases.

4. Round all calculations to the tenths place, if necessary.

5. Tiebreakers will be given by the quality of short answer responses in numerical order.
6. All questions are worth 1 point unless marked otherwise.
7. Put your team name and team number at the top of all answer sheets.

8. Write all answers on the answer sheets provided; answers written on the exam/image sheets will not
be graded.
9. Use the images in the image sheet in this packet when referred to, eg. Figure A.
10. Good luck!
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Section A: Review of the General Principles of Ecology

Questions 1 to 5 refer to the food web in Figure A:
1. How much energy will a wolverine get if berries contain 40,070 kcal of energy? (1 pt)
(a) 4,007 kcal
(b) 400,700 kcal
(c) 400.7 kcal
(d) 4,007,000 kcal
2. If hawks suddenly went extinct, what would happen (initially) to the population of cottontails? (1 pt)
(a) Their population would decrease since hawks were a predator to minks
(b) Their population would stay the same since they are not directly a↵ected by hawks
(c) Their population would increase since hawks were a predator to minks
(d) Their population would increase since hawks eat cottontails
3. Based on the types of organisms present in the food web, this ecosystem is likely a . (1 pt)
(a) Tundra
(b) Deciduous Forest
(c) Taiga
(d) Temperate Grassland

4. Which of the following would be an animal who could act as a secondary consumer in this ecosystem?
(1 pt)
(a) River otter
(b) Porcupine
(c) Ringtail
(d) Lemming
5. Fill in the blanks: if we were to add the secondary consumer from the previous question to this food
web, we could draw an arrow from to . (2 pts)
6. About what percentage of total solar energy that hits the Earth is trapped by plants? (1 pt)
(a) 20%
(b) 5%
(c) 10%
(d) 1%
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Questions 7 to 10 refer to the image in Figure B:

7. At A, the goes to . (1 pt)
(a) Easterlies, east, west
(b) Trade Winds, east, west
(c) Westerlies, west, east
(d) Trade Winds, west, east
8. What is the name of the circulation cell at B? (1 pt)
9. What is the name of the circulation cell at C? (1 pt)

10. What is the name of the tall, storm bringing cloud referred to by D. (1 pt)
11. Draw a graph of the probability of survival (y-axis) versus time (x-axis) for type I, II, and III organisms
and label accordingly. (3 pts)
12. In recent decades, a species of grass has invaded rice paddies and become a serious pest because it looks
nearly identical to the noninvasive rice seedlings. Using your knowledge of biological competition, you
would identify this species as: (1 pt)
(a) Mullerian mimic
(b) Batesian mimic
(c) Symbiotic parasite
(d) Commensal symbiont
13. Which of the following is not a type of prezygotic isolation of species? (1 pt)
(a) Habitat isolation
(b) Behavioral isolation
(c) Hybrid isolation
(d) Temporal isolation
14. Which of the following is not an assumption under the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium equation? (1 pt)
(a) Nonrandom mating
(b) No mutations
(c) Large populations
(d) No migration
15. Which of the following is an example of a Type III species? (1 pt)
(a) Humans
(b) Birds
(c) Rabbits
(d) Trees
16. Select the correct order of ecological organization from smallest to largest. (1 pt)
(a) Individual, population, community, ecosystem
(b) Individual, community, population, ecosystem
(c) Individual, ecosystem, population, biome
(d) Individual, ecosystem, biosphere, biome
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17. Which of the following is a species that is considered a detrivore? (1 pt)

(a) Cyanobacteria
(b) Jackals
(c) Plants
(d) Fish
18. Scientists observed that some cichlids preferred food present in the water column, while others preferred
food buried in the sand. Over time, these groups became reproductively isolated and continued on a
di↵erent evolutionary trajectory. What is this an example of? (1 pt)
(a) Founder speciation
(b) Bottleneck speciation
(c) Sympatric speciation
(d) Allopatric speciation
19. You are studying the field mice of Brown Island. Careful trapping data shows that the mouse population
has been maintained for several years at a density of approximately 1,000 animals per acre. The popula-
tion has been so steady that 1,000 animals per acre can be considered the carrying capacity (K) for this
island. In 2009, however, a massive wildfire swept through the island, destroying the mouse population
and most of the vegetation. Next year, biologists quickly seeded the island to replace the vegetation.
Captive mouse populations were introduced the next year. The number of mice per acre were carefully
monitored on a yearly basis and the data can be shown below.

Year Mouse/Acre
2011 100
2012 125
2013 149
2014 168

(a) Was the 2009 fire density dependent or density independent check on the mouse population? Explain
your reasoning. (4 pts)
(b) From the given data, calculate r, the growth rate observed in the first year of the mouse reintroduc-
tion program (2011-2012). Show your work and circle your final answer. Include units if necessary.
(4 pts)
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Section B: Terrestrial Ecosystems (Tundra, Taiga and Deciduous Forests)

20. Temperate Deciduous forests are most often found between and of the equator. (1 pt)
(a) 0°N, 30°N
(b) 30°N, 60°N
(c) 0°S, 30°S
(d) 30°S, 60°S
21. Which of the following continents contain no tundra biomes? (1 pt)
(a) North America
(b) South America
(c) Both a and b
(d) None of the above
22. Identify the graph in Figure C that corresponds to a temperate deciduous forest. (1 pt)

23. Define what an endemic species is and give an example of a geographical location where endemic species
are likely to be found. (3 pts)
24. One example of an endemic species is the snow leopard, which are found in the . (1 pt)
(a) Himalayas
(b) Rocky mountains
(c) Alps
(d) Both a and c
25. Since the cold climate is not due to being near the poles and instead attributed to high elevation, the
biome snow leopards live in are considered what type of tundra? (1 pt)

26. Explain why organisms living in this type of tundra are more a↵ected by global warming than one living
in the arctic tundra. (4 pts)
27. What is the final stage of biological succession? (1 pt)
(a) End phase
(b) Terminal community
(c) Climax community
(d) Secondary community
28. How is biodiversity measured? (1 pt)
(a) Number of species in a given unit area
(b) Number of ecosystems in a given unit area
(c) Number of rare species in a given unit area
(d) Number of native species in a given unit area
29. On average, how many days does a summer in a taiga last? (1 pt)
(a) 25-75 days
(b) 50-100 days
(c) 100-150 days
(d) 150-200 days
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30. Which of the following species cannot be found in a taiga ecosystem? (1 pt)
(a) Maple trees
(b) Fire lilies
(c) Mushrooms
(d) Creosote bush
31. Of the following choices, what poses the greatest and most likely threat to deciduous forests? (1 pt)
(a) Wildfires
(b) Acid rains
(c) Fungal diseases
(d) Drought
32. In many deciduous and boreal forests, trees of the same species will periodically produce an overabun-
dance of seeds. This phenomenon is called . (1 pt)
(a) Crown shyness
(b) Tree Topping
(c) Cloning
(d) Masting
33. Explain why the phenomenon described in the previous question would be a viable survival strategy. (3
pts)

34. The image in Figure D would be an example of species richness and species evenness. (1
pt)
(a) Low, high
(b) High, high
(c) Low, low
(d) High, low
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Section C: Human Impact on Ecosystems

35. What is the primary cause of acid rain? (1 pt)
(a) Ozone
(b) Nitrogen Oxides
(c) Sulfur Dioxide
(d) Carbon Dioxide
36. Love Canal was a neighborhood in close proximity to a chemical dump site that contained tens of
thousands of tons of toxic waste which caused a multitude of health problems for the local residents.
This led to the passing of what act? (1 pt)
(a) Endangered Species Act
(b) Superfund Act
(c) Clean Air and Water Act
(d) Oil Pollution Act
37. Which of the following is ¡strong¿not¡/strong¿ a type of a primary greenhouse gas? (1 pt)
(a) Carbon dioxide
(b) Methane
(c) Nitrous oxide
(d) Carbon monoxide
38. We currently have many resources to analyze the e↵ects of climate. How do scientists determine climate
conditions from 100,000 years ago? (1 pt)
(a) Thermometer readings
(b) Satellite images
(c) Tree rings
(d) Ice cores
39. Which level of the food chain is most a↵ected by biomagnification? (1 pt)
(a) Producers
(b) Primary consumers
(c) Detritivores
(d) Tertiary consumers
40. What would Earth be like without the Greenhouse E↵ect? (1 pt)
(a) Too hot to survive
(b) A little colder than current conditions
(c) A little warmer than current conditions
(d) Too cold to survive
41. Which of the following is a type of renewable energy resource? (1 pt)
(a) Natural gas
(b) Coal
(c) Solar power
(d) Oil
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42. What is the primary consequence of burning fossil fuels? (1 pt)

(a) Global climate change
(b) Pollution of ocean waters
(c) Deforestation
(d) Ozone layer depletion
43. Deforestation results in which of the following? (1 pt)
(a) Increase in O2
(b) Increase in CO2
(c) Decrease in CO2
(d) Decrease in H
44. Which of the following is not an example of restoration of ecosystems and species? (1 pt)
(a) Removing invasive species
(b) Planting native trees, flowers, grasses
(c) Cleaning and removing litter
(d) Feeding food to native species
45. The town of Springvale is located next to a sparse forest and a small stream with a waterfall. In an
e↵ort to be more sustainable, some townspeople suggest using solar energy to partly supply the town’s
electricity (as opposed to fossil fuels).
(a) Explain one advantage and disadvantage of using solar energy. (4 pts)
(b) Suggest an alternative sustainable energy source for the town that doesn’t have the same disadvan-
tages as solar energy. (2 pts)
46. An accident at an o↵shore oil rig causes large amounts of crude oil to seep into the ocean. The oil rig is
near a coastal mangrove forest.
(a) Explain one environmental impact of the oil spill on the surrounding ocean. (2 pts)
(b) Explain one environmental impact of the oil spill on the coastal mangrove forest. (2 pts)
(c) What is one ecological reason mangrove forests are an important ecosystem? (2 pts)
(d) What is one reason the situation might have been worse if the spilled oil was refined? (2 pts)
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IMAGE SHEET: Use these figures to answer the questions in the test sheet.

Figure A: Use this image for questions 1-5.

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Figure B: Use this image for questions 7-10.

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Figure C: Use these graphs for question 22.

Figure D: Use this image for question 34.

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ANSWER SHEET
Team Name: Team Number:

1. 5.
2.
6.
3.
4. 7.

8.
9.
10.

11. Answer below:

12. 16.
13.
17.
14.
15. 18.
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Team Name: Team Number:

19. (a) Answer below:

(b) Answer below:

20.
21.
22.

23. Answer below:

24.
25.
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Team Name: Team Number:

26. Answer below:

27. 30.
28. 31.

29. 32.

33. Answer below:

34. 40.
35. 41.
36.
42.
37.
38. 43.

39. 44.
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Team Name: Team Number:

45. (a) Answer below:

(b) Answer below:

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Team Name: Team Number:

46. (a) Answer below:

(b) Answer below:

(c) Answer below:

(d) Answer below: