Regents Living Environment Test Preparation Practice

    Effect Of Organism Interactions

    Base your answers to questions 1 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Since 1980, the vulture population in India has declined from 40 million to 60 thousand due to poisoning by a pain reliever used in cattle. If only 1% of the cattle carcasses fed on by vultures are animals that have been treated with the drug, it can lead to a drastic decline in the vulture population. The grim picture is that over 10% of the carcasses have been found to contain this drug.

    Vultures feed exclusively on the carcasses of dead animals. This helps to prevent the spread of diseases such as rabies and anthrax among wildlife, livestock, and humans. Without as many vultures present, other scavengers such as dogs have moved in and taken advantage of the newly available food. The abundance of these other scavengers has led to an increase in the number of cases of human rabies and an outbreak of tuberculosis, anthrax, and foot-and-mouth disease. These diseases are not spread to humans by vultures.

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    Base your answers to questions 11 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Research has shown that plants might chemically change their environment. The roots of certain plants release many chemicals. Some chemicals made by plants can kill nearby plants or discourage herbivores from eating them. Other plant chemicals kill plant pathogens such as bacteria and fungi.

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    Base your answers to questions 12 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Coral Reef Ecosystems

    There are many ecological interactions that maintain the biodiversity present in coral reefs. In addition to coral, microscopic algae, seaweed, sea grasses, sponges and worms, and a variety of fish are among the organisms that live in reef ecosystems. Ocean currents often link different reef systems and move organisms from one reef area to another. This movement is a factor in repopulating a reef that has been damaged by environmental changes.

    One environmental change involves an increased growth of seaweed. When the population of seaweed increases, the reef shifts from a coral-dominated ecosystem to a seaweed-dominated ecosystem. This change disrupts the relationships between the organisms that live there.

    Studies have shown that, as the density of seaweed in a reef area increases, the number of fish that eat the seaweed in that area decreases. This may be due to the presence of more predators, or the taste of the more mature plants. The fish move to areas where there is less seaweed growth. As this trend continues, the reef areas are taken over by the seaweed. Once this happens, it is very hard to remove the seaweed and restore the reef to a healthy ecosystem.

    In addition to this problem, temperature changes are threatening the ocean currents that connect the reef systems. A change in the currents would reduce the movement of fish larvae from one area to another. This contributes to the seaweed problem.

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    Base your answers to question 13-14 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Survey Finds Invasive Snail in St. Lawrence River That Could Threaten Waterfowl

    New research has found a larger presence of faucet snails in the Great Lakes than previously recognized, including the northern parts of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The invasive species can carry three types of intestinal parasites that can injure and kill waterfowl such as ducks. ...

    ...When the waterfowl eat the snails, the parasites attack internal organs, causing lesions [sores] and hemorrhage [uncontrolled bleeding]. Birds affected by the snail will fly and dive erratically before their eventual death. The university said that the snails are about 12 to 15 millimeters in height at full size, brown to black with a distinctive whorl of concentric circles on the shell opening cover that looks like tree rings. ...

    ...Mr. Kosnicki [an ecologist] said the spread of snails, along with other invasive species, shows the need for increased awareness of possible contaminants coming from boats and in runoff from land. ...

    Source: Watertown Daily Times, Monday, January 19, 2015, by Gordon Block

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    Base your answers to questions 15 on the passage below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Indian Ocean Ecosystem in Danger

    The Indian Ocean is under increasing environmental pressures. Until recently, this ocean was considered to have the least ecologically disrupted coastline. However, as the surface water temperatures have increased, there has been a reduction in the phytoplankton population (microscopic producers). This reduction in phytoplankton has been linked to a decline in some fish populations.

    Also affecting the fish populations is the urbanization of coastal areas. As the human population grows in this area, more of the coastline region is being developed. In addition, the mining of natural resources has led to oil spills, the destruction of mangrove forests, and an increase in the area’s acidity level.

    Countries along the coast are trying to encourage development while, at the same time, trying to maintain a healthy coastal ecosystem.

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    Base your answers to questions 16 on the diagrams below and on your knowledge of biology. The diagrams represent how various populations interact in a forest environment.

    ecology, organization of ecosystems  fig: lenv12013-exam_g26.png

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