Question 1

A student is investigating species richness of plants along a sand dune from the sea edge moving inland.

They are testing the hypothesis that ‘species richness increases with distance from the sea’.

Which sampling method would the student use?

  A  

opportunistic

  B  

random

  C  

stratified

  D  

systematic

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Question 2

The Dawlish Warren is a conservation area in the UK.

What is an aesthetic reason for maintaining biodiversity in Dawlish Warren?

  A  

maintaining the 200 different animal species

  B  

maintaining the area as a tourist destination to support local businesses


  C  

preventing the disappearance of the coastal landscape

  D  

protecting the sparrowhawk, which is a keystone species

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Question 3

Biodiversity is important for the development of new medicines.

Which statement about the development of new medicines is not correct?

  A  

computer modelling can be used to identify useful medicinal compounds

  B  

genetically modified bacteria can be used to synthesise medicines

  C  

many pathogenic bacteria have become immune to antibiotics

  D  

microorganisms are an important source of new medicines

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Question 4

Tropical rainforests have a very high biodiversity of plant species.

What is an economic benefit of high biodiversity?

  A  

high plant biodiversity decreases the animal biodiversity in the rainforest


  B  

high plant biodiversity increases the organic matter in rainforest soils

  C  

high plant biodiversity supports drug discovery and development

  D  

high plant biodiversity protects the ecosystem from environmental changes

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Question 5

Which statement best defines the term species evenness?

  A  

the number of species in an area


  B  

the relative abundance of each species in an area

  C  

the relative number of individuals of a species in an area

  D  

the spread of species over an area

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Question 6

Two different fields, field G and H, were sampled for three common species of wildflower.

The results are shown below.

Which option is correct?

  A  

field G will have a greater Simpson’s diversity index

  B  

field H has greater species evenness

  C  

field H will have a greater Simpson’s diversity index

  D  

field G has greater species richness

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Question 7

What is most likely to increase biodiversity?

  A  

captive breeding programmes

  B  

climate change

  C  

human population growth

  D  

monoculture

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Question 8

Two species of animal are found in the same area of forest and grassland. In the spring and summer they eat the same plant food. However, in the autumn and winter one eats nuts in the forest and the other eats roots on the grassland.

Both species are preyed upon by the same predator. Numbers of root-eating animals are reduced most by this, but they recover faster as they reproduce faster.

What can be concluded about these two species of animals?

1 - they are part of the same community

2 - they are at different trophic levels

3 - they occupy different habitats

4 - they have different niches

  A  

1, 2, and 4

  B  

2, 3 and 4

  C  

1 and 2 only

  D  

1 and 4 only

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Question 9

Which group could be a population?

  A  

all the animals and plants on an isolated island

  B  

all the birds counted in one day in a garden

  C  

all the bacteria in a colony of Bacillus subtilis

  D  

all the insects occupying three hectares of farmland

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Question 10

What is the ecological definition of the term community?

  A  

all the food webs in an ecosystem

  B  

all the individuals of one species in an area

  C  

all the organisms in an area


  D  

the living organisms and their non-living environment

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Question 11

Termites are insects that build large nests that contain millions of termites of the same species.

These nests are common in tropical savanna, which typically consists of grasses with widely spaced trees. Here, the termites feed on wood and other dead plant material.

Which statement is correct?

  A  

the termites in the nest form a community, the savanna is the ecosystem and they feed as decomposers

  B  

the termites in the nest form a community, the savanna is the ecosystem and they feed as primary consumers

  C  

the termites in the nest form a population, the savanna is both the ecosystem and the habitat and they feed as primary consumers

  D  

the termites in the nest form a population, the savanna is their habitat and they feed as decomposers

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Question 12

A tree carries out photosynthesis and provides organic compounds for other organisms in a forest.

It takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and returns oxygen to the atmosphere. It takes water from the soil into its roots and its leaves lose water to the atmosphere. Many other organisms live in the tree.

Which term describes the tree?

  A  

population


  B  

community

  C  

ecosystem

  D  

trophic level

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Question 13

Barnacles are small animals that live on rocky shores. Adult barnacles are fixed to rocks and do not move about. They catch passing food in the water with modified limbs called cirri when the tide comes in.

Chthalamus stellatus is a species of barnacle found around UK shores.

Two students wished to estimate the population size of C. stellatus on a rocky shore near their school.

What could the students use for estimating the C. stellatus population?

   1 - an abundance scale, such as ACFOR

   2 - quadrat sampling

   3 - mark-release-recapture

  A  

1, 2, and 3

  B  

only 1 and 2

  C  

only 2 and 3

  D  

only 1

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