The discipline that applies ecological principles to returning degraded ecosystems to a more natural state is known as
a. Restoration ecology
b. Thermodynamics
c. Eutrophication
d. Biogeochemistry

Which of these ecosystems has the lowest net primary production per square meter?

a. A salt marsh

b. An open ocean

c. A coral reef

d. A tropical rain forest

Nitrifying bacteria participate in the nitrogen cycle mainly by

a. Converting nitrogen gas to ammonia

b. Releasing ammonium from organic compounds, thus returning it to the soil

c. Converting ammonium to nitrate, which plants absorb

d. Incorporating nitrogen into amino acids and organic compounds

The Hubbard Brook watershed deforestation experiment yielded all of the following results except which of the following?

a. Most minerals were recycled within a forest ecosystem.

b. Calcium levels remained high in the soil of deforested areas.

c. Deforestation increased water runoff.

d. The nitrate concentration in waters draining the deforested area became dangerously high.

Which of the following organisms is incorrectly paired with its trophic level?

a. Cyanobacterium—primary producer

b. Grasshopper—primary consumer

c. Zooplankton—primary producer

d. Fungus—detritivore

Which of the following has the greatest effect on the rate of chemical cycling in an ecosystem?

a. The rate of decomposition in the ecosystem

b. The production efficiency of the ecosystem's consumers

c. The trophic efficiency of the ecosystem

d. The location of the nutrient reservoirs in the ecosystem