MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. You have exam form C. Bubble in the letter C for this question.
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
e. E
2. Which of the following levels of organization is arranged in the correct sequence starting from most to least inclusive?
a. community, ecosystem, individual, population
b. individual, population, community, ecosystem
c. ecosystem, community, population, individual
d. individual, community, population, ecosystem
e. population, ecosystem, individual, community
3. Species transplant experiments are one way of determining
a. the distribution of a species in a specified area.
b. the abundance of a species in a specified area.
c. if dispersal is a key factor in limiting distribution.
d. the strength of interspecific interactions in an area.
e. the strength of intraspecific interactions in an area.
4. If a meteor impact or volcanic eruption injected a lot of dust into the atmosphere and reduced sunlight reaching Earth's surface by 70% for one year, all of the following communities would be greatly affected except a
a. forest community.
b. deep-sea vent community.
c. oligotrophic lake community.
d. eutrophic lake community.
e. estuary community.
5. A population is correctly defined as having which of the following characteristics?
I. inhabiting the same general area
II. individuals belonging to the same species
III. possessing a constant and uniform density and dispersion
a. I only
b. III only
c. I and II only
d. II and III only
e. I, II, and III
6. To measure the population density of monarch butterflies occupying a particular park, 100 butterflies are captured, marked with a small dot on a wing, and then released. The next day, another 100 butterflies are captured, including the recapture of 20 marked butterflies. One would correctly estimate the population to be
a. 20.
b. 100.
c. 200.
d. 500.
e. 1,000.
7. The pattern of dispersion for a certain species of kelp is clumped. The pattern of dispersion for a certain species of snail that lives only on this kelp would likely be
a. clumped.
b. demographic.
c. random.
d. uniform.
e. evenly spaced.
8. Natural selection has led to the evolution of diverse natural history strategies. Which of the following characteristics do these different natural history strategies have in common?
a. maximum lifetime reproductive success
b. many offspring per reproductive episode
c. relatively large offspring
d. multiple reproductive episodes per lifetime
e. high parental investment in offspring
9. Carrying capacity (K)
a. differs among species, but does not vary within a given species.
b. is calculated as the product of intrinsic growth rate (r) and population size (N).
c. is always eventually reached in any population.
d. remains constant in all environments.
e. is often determined by resource limitation.
10. All of the statements regarding models of logistic population growth are correct except:
a. population growth rate slows as N approaches K.
b. density-independent factors limit population growth.
c. density-dependent factors limit population growth.
d. intraspecific interactions limit population growth.
e. they apply to the majority of populations.
11. In which of the following habitats would you expect to find the largest number of K-selected individuals?
a. the constantly shifting sand dunes of the Sahara desert
b. a recently abandoned field in Ohio
c. a newly emergent volcanic island
d. south Florida after a hurricane
e. the rain forests of Brazil
12. All of the following can contribute to density-dependent regulation of populations except:
a. intraspecific competition for nutrients
b. interspecific competition for space
c. annual temperature increases
d. herbivory
e. predation
13. Which of the following statements is most consistent with the interactive hypothesis?
a. Communities lack discrete geographic boundaries.
b. Species are distributed independently of other species.
c. The community functions as an integrated unit.
d. The composition of plant species seems to change on a continuum.
e. The community is a chance assemblage of species.
14. All of the following act to increase species diversity except:
a. keystone predators.
b. competitive exclusion.
c. migration of populations.
d. moderate disturbances.
e. patchy environments.
15. Two barnacles, Balanus and Chthamalus, can both survive on the lower rocks just above the low tide line on the Scottish coast, but only Balanus actually does so, with Chthamalus living in a higher zone. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this niche separation?
a. cooperative displacement
b. primary succession
c. mutualism
d. competitive exclusion
e. predation of Chthamalus by Balanus
16. Resource partitioning would be most likely to occur between
a. allopatric populations of species with similar ecological niches.
b. sympatric populations of a predator and its prey.
c. sympatric populations of a flowering plant and its specialized insect pollinator.
d. allopatric populations of the same animal species.
e. sympatric populations of species with similar ecological niches.
17. Which of the following is an example of Batesian mimicry?
a. a snapping turtle that uses its tongue to mimic a worm, thus attracting fish
b. a butterfly that resembles a leaf
c. a nonvenomous snake that looks like a venomous snake
d. a fawn with fur coloring that camouflages it in the forest environment
e. an insect that resembles a twig
18. Evidence shows that some grasses benefit from being grazed. Which of the following terms would best describe this plant-herbivore interaction?
a. predation
b. mutualism
c. competition
d. parasitism
e. commensalism
19. With a few exceptions, most of the food chains studied by ecologists have a maximum of how many links?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 5
d. 15
e. 10
20. Consider a field plot containing 200 kg of plant material. How many kg of primary carnivore production can be supported?
a. 10
b. 200
c. 100
d. 20
e. 2
21. Elephants are not the most common species in African grasslands. The grasslands contain scattered woody plants, but their numbers are limited by the elephants. Removing the elephants causes the grasslands convert to forests or to shrublands which support fewer species than the previous grasslands. Elephants can be defined as what type of species in this community?
a. producer
b. dominant
c. redundant
d. keystone
e. all of the above
22. All of the following statements concerning the control of community structure is true except:
a. A bottom-up community is controlled by nutrients.
b. A top-down community is controlled by predators.
c. Increasing the number of predators in a top-down community will decrease the biomass of vegetation.
d. Increasing the biomass of vegetation in a bottom-up community will increase predators.
e. Increasing the biomass of vegetation in a bottom-up community will increase herbivores.
23. Which of the following is an example of secondary succession?
a. colonization by mosses after a glacier retreat
b. germination of seeds on a forest floor after a fire
c. establishment of plants on a newly-formed volcanic island
d. growth of lichen on a vertical mountain cliff
e. all of the above are examples of secondary succession
24. In conservation biology, species-area curves for key taxa make it possible to predict all of the following except:
a. the area that a keystone species will occupy.
b. how the size of an area relates to species richness.
c. how the loss of a certain area of habitat is likely to affect biodiversity.
d. how sampling larger habitats will affect the number of species sampled.
e. How many species occur on islands of different sizes.
Questions 25-27 refer to the diagram in Figure 53.2 of five islands formed at about the same time near a particular mainland.
Figure 53.2
25. island with the greatest number of species
26. island with the least number of species
27. island with the lowest extinction rate
For questions 28 and 29, refer to Figure 54.2, a diagram of a food web, . (Arrows represent energy flow and letters represent species.)
Figure 54.2
28. If Fig. 54.2 depicts a terrestrial food web, the combined biomass of C + D would probably be
a. less than the biomass of E.
b. less than the biomass of A + B.
c. greater than the biomass of A + B.
d. same as the biomass of H.
e. less than the biomass of H.
29. Which of the species in Fig. 54.2 might be described as a tertiary consumer?
a. A
b. C
c. D
d. F
e. H
30. Which of the following situations is consistent with "The World is Green" hypothesis?
a. Caterpillars starve because all their food plants have died.
b. Herbivorous grasshoppers are killed by bird predators.
c. Corn plants are eaten by European corn borer larvae.
d. A mild winter improves the survival rate of gall forming insects.
e. All of the above are consistent.
31. Many homeowners mow their lawns during the summer and collect the clippings, which are then hauled to the local landfill. Which of the following would be a better alternative that would cause the least disturbance to local ecosystems?
a. Collect the clippings and burn them.
b. Dig up the lawn and cover the yard with asphalt.
c. Don't collect the clippings and let them decompose in the lawn.
d. Collect the clippings and wash them into the nearest storm sewer that feeds into the local lake.
e. Don't mow the lawn¹have a sheep graze on it and put the sheep's feces into the landfill.
32. Which of the following is a valid conclusion about the outcome of Biosphere II?
a. Natural ecosystems are complex and not easily duplicated.
b. Humans cannot live in small spaces for an extended period of time.
c. Small populations are more likely to go extinct.
d. Closed ecoystems must be made airtight.
e. Fragmented habitats can reduce species diversity.
33. Given a population that contains genetic variation, what is the correct sequence of the following events, under the influence of natural selection?
1. Differential reproduction occurs.
2. A new selective pressure occurs.
3. Allele frequencies within the population change.
4. Environmental change occurs.
a. 4, 1, 2, 3
b. 2, 4, 3, 1
c. 4, 2, 3, 1
d. 4, 2, 1, 3
e. 2, 4, 1, 3
34. Introduced species can have important effects on biological communities by
a. displacing native species.
b. preying upon native species.
c. reducing biodiversity.
d. competing with native species for resources.
e. doing all of the above.
35. If the sex ratio in a population is significantly different from 50:50, then which of the following will always be true?
a. The population will enter the extinction vortex.
b. The effective population size is less than the actual population size.
c. The effective population size is greater than the actual population size.
d. The population will experience genetic drift.
e. The genetic variation in the population will increase over time.
36. All of the following statements regarding nature reserves is true except:
a. Constructing several smaller reserves may be better than a single large reserve with the same total area.
b. A single large reserve is always better than several smaller reserves with the same total area.
c. Disease can be a problem in reserves that contain connection bridges between them.
d. Edges frequently have their own biological communities.
e. The increase of edge-adapted species can have a positive or negative effect on biodiversity.
37. Gene flow is a concept best used to describe an exchange between
a. individuals.
b. males and females.
c. species.
d. chromosomes.
e. populations.
38. Which of the following statements regarding speciation is correct?
a. It occurs very slowly, over many generations.
b. It proceeds at the same rate for all organisms.
c. It always begins with the geographic isolation of a small population.
d. It occurs via anagenesis or cladogenesis, but only the latter increases biodiversity.
e. All of the above are correct statements.
39. Which of the following terms best describes the process in which organisms reach sexual maturity while retaining some juvenile characteristics?
a. cladogenesis
b. paedomorphosis
c. allometric growth
d. sexual selection
e. homoplasy
40. Choose the food web, starting with the top consumer, that could be derived from the information given in the the article, "Predator and Prey Views of Spider Camouflage."
a. spider ; bird ; bee ; flower
b. bee ; flower ; bird ; spider
c. bird ; spider ; bee ; flower
d. bird ; spider ; bee
e. none of the above
41. Complete the following statement regarding exponential population growth and logistic population growth.
Growth rate in a population undergoing exponential growth__________over time, whereas in a population undergoing logistic growth it____________ over time.
a. increase, stays the same
b. stays the same, decreases
c. decreases, increases
d. increases, decreases
e. stays the same, increases
42. All of the following scenarios are likely to cause the competitive exclusion of one of two competing species except:
a. overlap of identical niches.
b. interspecific interactions that are stronger than intraspecific interactions.
c. a and b values that are close to zero.
d. a and b values that are close to 1.
e. zero growth isoclines of the two species do not intersect on a state-space graph.
43. Some aquatic ecosystems can have inverted biomass pyramids because
a. phytoplankton are much larger than zooplankton.
b. phytoplankton have a relatively short turnover time.
c. the standing crop of phytoplankton remains relatively low.
d. both B and C are true.
e. A, B, and C are true.
44. Nutrient-rich agricultural runoff into freshwater ecosystems
a. will eventually increase the amount of available dissolved oxygen.
b. often leads to increasingly oligotrophic lakes.
c. often results in a dramatic reduction in the amount of organic material.
d. can result in eutrophication of these systems.
e. is usually associated with a decrease in phytoplankton productivity.
45. In temperate lakes, the surface water is replenished with nutrients during turnovers that occur in the
a. summer and winter.
b. fall and winter.
c. fall and spring.
d. spring and summer.
e. summer and fall.
46.
Complete the following statement so that it correctly describes the predator and prey effects at the point indicated by the asterisk on the state-space graph.
The predators can maintain a _____________population growth of the prey and the prey allow a ______________population growth of the predators.
a. positive, negative
b. negative, positive
c. zero, positive
d. positive, zero
e. negative, zero
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