Lessons 1-4 Unit 2 Quiz

Question 1

Explain the diversity of the Serengeti.

Answer 1

• a large variety of animals
• hosts over 48 types

Question 2

How has the population of buffalo changed from 1960-1975?

Answer 2

• increased in a linear way
• the population almost tripled over 15 years

Question 3

What are some characteristics of buffalo?

Answer 3

• don’t migrate
• stay near consistent water sources

Question 4

What are the general migration patterns for the wildebeest and zebra. When does each migration take place?

Answer 4

The wildebeest and zebra migrate:

• from the south to the north from May to August
• stay north from July to November
• come back down from November to February
• stay south during the rainy season (March through May)
• biannual
• they migrate because the grasslands of the south begin to dry up

Question 5

What can we conclude about the biodiversity and concentration of different species in the Serengeti?

Answer 5

• In the photo captures, there was a significantly lower amount of predators than prey
• the largest migration in the world consists of wildebeest and zebra (who are prey)

Question 6

What are the habitats of the Serengeti and why is there so much diversity?

Answer 6

• hilly woodlands
• savannas
• grasslands
• The geographic diversity is because of extreme weather conditions (the combo of heat and wind).

Question 7

How were these diverse habitats created?

Answer 7

• originated from a series of volcanoes
  (which added mountains and craters)

Question 8

What are kopjes?

Answer 8

granite boulder outcroppings that interrupt plains and play host to separate ecosystems

Question 9

Plants that form diet:

Answer 9

Buffalo: grasses, sedges, leaves, shoots

Wildebeest: green leaf vegetation (mostly grass)

Question 10

Dependence on water:

Answer 10

Buffalo: yes, visits watering place 1-2 times a day; 30-40 liters of water

Wildebeest: yes, every day or two

Question 11

Location throughout the year:

Answer 11

Buffalo: In the Western Corridor and North mostly

Wildebeest: The Plains during the winter and the West and North the rest of the year

Question 12

Amount of available food from month to month: (both)

Answer 12

• Available food increased because more rainfall causes more growth of the grass that they eat.
• In the dry season, there is a sharp decline in food because grass dries out.
• Not much during the beginning of the dry season because the vegetation was close to the ground, making it harder to reach.
• They grow throughout the dry season, so it was more accessible (increasing competition during dry season).

Question 13

Do they overgraze?

Answer 13

Buffalo: No, less likely to than wildebeest or zebra.

Wildebeest: Yes.

Question 14

Do they migrate?

Answer 14

Buffalo: No

Wildebeest: Migrate towards the wet season for more food

Question 15

What is biomass?

Answer 15

total dry quantity or weight of organisms in a specific area

Question 16

Which animal was concentrated in the most and least productive area?

Answer 16

Most - Buffalo

Least - Thomson’s gazelle

Question 17

What season do buffalo compete for food?

Answer 17

in the dry because in the wet season, little to no animals eat the same plants as them

Question 18

How do scientists “measure” biomass of vegetation?

Answer 18

• correlate the rainfall to the amount of vegetation

Question 19

What are the seasonal weather patterns in the Serengeti?

Answer 19

More rainfall during the winter and spring months and less during summer and fall

Question 20

Did the Serengeti climate change from 1961-1975? Explain.

Answer 20

Yes, rainfall decreased and the region got more dry.

Question 21

Do the trend lines of rainfall and temperature indicate that climate was the cause of the buffalo population increase? Explain.

Answer 21

The trend lines indicate that there was less rainfall, so the buffalo population should’ve also decreased as they need water and food to survive.

Question 22

In the computer simulation, why did the population tend to return to a stable state of about 40 buffalo in many different situations?

Answer 22

• The buffalo carrying capacity is about 40.
• The habitat that they lived in couldn’t handle more than this because there are not enough resources to support a larger population.

Question 23

What is carrying capacity?

Answer 23

A species’ average population size in a particular habitat.

Question 24

If you reduced the amount of grassland to 70% of the space how do you think that would affect the carrying capacity for buffalo in this ecosystem? Why?

Answer 24

The carrying capacity for the buffalo would decrease because there would be less grass if there is a reduced amount of grassland.
So, there won’t be enough food to support a large buffalo population.

Question 25

If you increase the rainfall across the region that the buffalo are in, how do you think that would affect the carrying capacity for buffalo in the ecosystem? Why?

Answer 25

Increasing the rainfall will increase the carrying capacity because more rainfall causes more grass to grow (which is food for the buffalo).

Question 26

What is a limiting factor?

Answer 26

an environmental factor that causes a population to decrease

Question 27

What are some limiting factors and how do they affect carrying capacity?

Answer 27

space, food, water, shelter, weather, and mates

they can either increase or decrease the capacity

Question 28

What do buffalo fences do?

Answer 28

• restrict the amount of space they have to roam
• there is not enough space for more new buffalo

Question 29

What are trophic levels?

Answer 29

the position of an organism in the food chain

Question 30

What is the 10% rule?

Answer 30

• Only 10% of biomass (food) is stored while moving up trophic levels.
• The other 90% is lost to the environment due to transfer, as heat energy during cellular respiration, or digestion/defecation.

Question 31

How did the lion population change from 1960-1975? Is the changing buffalo population size caused by a changing predator population size?

Answer 31

The lion population decreased.

The changing buffalo population was not caused by the lions because the lion population is significantly lower than the buffalo population and decreases in contrast to the increasing buffalo population.

Question 32

Biomass is stored………..so, primary productivity is all the biomass/energy……………….in an ecosystem.

Answer 32

energy

available

Question 33

What is primary productivity?

Answer 33

the rate photosynthesis combines CO2 from the atmosphere and water from the soil into organic compounds like glucose

Question 34

Where are the primary consumers in relation to the primary producers?

Answer 34

Primary producers are at the bottom of the food pyramid and are usually photosynthetic organisms. Primary consumers eat the primary producers for energy.

Question 35

Why is the number of trophic levels limited, therefore creating an energy pyramid?

Answer 35

The number of trophic levels are limited because the energy will eventually run out and there won’t be enough food to support all the living things in an ecosystem.