A marine ecologist has constructed the conceptual model shown in the diagram. What predictions can be made from using this model?

Question

Food web with arrows pointing from phytoplankton to zooplankton, zooplankton and shrimp to menhaden, crabs and lobster along with as well as an arrow pointing from zooplankton to sardines, then from sardines an arrow pointing to shark, tuna and dolphin.
© NOCS, February 2007

Where the tertiary consumers get their energy
How often primary producers are able to reproduce
When bacteria and fungi initiate the process of decomposition
Whether other secondary consumers are present
Question 2(Multiple Choice Worth 3 points)
(05.06 MC)

How could the activity of a farm affect the health of a nearby water source?

Cows consume the organic material, meaning that there is not enough in the water to support life.
Fertilizers and pesticides contribute to runoff that goes into the water, causing habitat degradation.
Grass leaks sugars into the water, causing habitat degradation.
Structures on the farm prevent fresh rainwater from traveling into the lake, causing it to stagnate.
Question 3(Multiple Choice Worth 3 points)
(05.02 LC)

Which organisms are top consumers in a marine food chain?

Phytoplankton
Killer whales
Bacteria
Tuna
Question 4(Multiple Choice Worth 3 points)
(05.04 LC)

Why must scientific claims be reproducible?

So that other scientists can verify the results and offer supporting evidence or alternative explanations.
So that other scientists can't verify the results and offer supporting evidence or alternative explanations.
So that scientists can take someone else's data and use it in their own scientific investigation.
Scientific claims do not have to be reproducible.
Question 5(Multiple Choice Worth 3 points)
(05.01 MC)

Which of the following is a biotic component that would help determine the health of an ecosystem?

Diagram of an ecosystem with the left side depicting a healthy ecosystem that contains a fisherman, swimmer, fish, and aquatic vegetation releasing oxygen into the water. The right side of the diagram depicts an unhealthy ecosystem that shows runoff from a farm leading into the water with large amounts of nitrogen and phosphate introduced into the body of water, fish and aquatic vegetation are not part of this ecosystem.
© 2016 NOAA

Pollution rate
Sediment levels
Species abundance
Water quality

Answer 1

Based on the information provided about the marine food web and the ecological concepts involved, here are the predictions that can be made and the answers to the multiple-choice questions:

Predictions from the Conceptual Model

From the described food web, we can make predictions primarily related to energy transfer and population dynamics. Specifically:

• Where the tertiary consumers get their energy: The food web shows energy flow from primary producers (phytoplankton) to primary consumers (zooplankton and shrimp) to secondary consumers (menhaden, crabs, and lobsters) and finally to tertiary consumers (sharks, tuna, and dolphins). Thus, we can predict that tertiary consumers get their energy from consuming secondary consumers.
• The other options provided do not directly stem from the information depicted in the food web.

Question 2 Answer

How could the activity of a farm affect the health of a nearby water source?

• Fertilizers and pesticides contribute to runoff that goes into the water, causing habitat degradation. This option accurately describes how farm runoff can lead to nutrient loading, which can cause algal blooms and other forms of habitat degradation.

Question 3 Answer

Which organisms are top consumers in a marine food chain?

• Killer whales. Among the options provided, killer whales (orcas) are apex predators and can be considered top consumers in a marine food chain.

Question 4 Answer

Why must scientific claims be reproducible?

• So that other scientists can verify the results and offer supporting evidence or alternative explanations. Reproducibility is critical in science to ensure that findings are valid and can be consistently observed.

Question 5 Answer

Which of the following is a biotic component that would help determine the health of an ecosystem?

• Species abundance. This is a biotic factor that can indicate the health of an ecosystem, as it reflects the diversity and population sizes of living organisms within that ecosystem.

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