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1.6 Ecological Succession — Test 2
Q1. During primary succession, bare rock is usually first colonised by:✓ Lichens
Q2. When the arrival of a later successional stage depends on the environment being modified by an earlier stage, the process is termed:✓ Facilitation
Q3. If nitrogen-fixing species arrive first and are later replaced by non-nitrogen-fixing species that depend on the enriched soil, the mechanism is:✓ Facilitation
Q4. Milk left open spoils as lactose is fermented to acid, then proteolytic bacteria raise the pH, then fats are degraded. This sequence is an example of:✓ Ecological succession
Q5. The three classic mechanisms that drive ecological succession are:✓ Facilitation, tolerance and inhibition
Q6. In the tolerance model of succession, the environment modified by early occupants is:✓ Less suitable for early successional species, but with little effect on later species
Q7. A characteristic feature of a climax community is:✓ A narrow niche width per species
Q8. Which is NOT true of the change from pioneer to climax stages of succession?✓ Niche width per species increases
Q9. A characteristic feature of an early successional community is:✓ Open mineral cycling (leaky nutrients)
Q10. Which is NOT a physiological characteristic of early successional (pioneer) plants?✓ Low photosynthetic rate
Q11. Primary successional (pioneer) species typically show which survivorship curve?✓ Type III
Q12. Which is NOT a characteristic of late successional forest plant species?✓ Long-distance seed dispersal and long seed viability
Q13. The historical frequency of fires in a forested area can be reconstructed by:✓ Examining fire scars in the growth rings of living trees
Q14. After a forest fire, the typical sequence of re-establishment (secondary succession) is:✓ Grasses → herbs and shrubs → woody trees
Q15. In the inhibition model of succession, early-arriving species:✓ Hinder or prevent the establishment of later species until they die or are removed
Q16. Primary succession differs from secondary succession in that primary succession:✓ Begins on a substrate lacking soil (e.g. bare rock)
Q17. As succession proceeds toward climax, the dependence of the community on the detritus (decomposer) food chain generally:✓ Increases
Q18. Pioneer species are generally:✓ r-selected with good dispersal
Q19. Compared with early successional stages, a climax community typically has:✓ Greater total biomass and more complex food webs
Q20. Match each succession concept with its description and select the correct option.✓ A-ii, B-iv, C-i, D-iii