Exam 5 - Biogeography

Name the most common method of plant dispersal to oceanic islands

Birds

An isolated geographic area like a tepui or mountain top

Island

Name the distribution pattern often seen on a group of small islands when there is competitive exclusion of closely related species

Checkerboard

An island that arose from the ocean floor and has never been connected to a continent

Oceanic island

The divergence of a feature of two similar species, where their ranges overlap, so that each uses different resources

Character displacement

Total density of an island taxon is higher than that of the related taxonomic group in a larger area, even though the larger area has more species in the taxon

Density overcompensation

Name the second most common method of plant diserpal to oceanic islands

Wind

Name the term for the evolutionary stages that a taxon undergoes from first arrival on an island to a very specialized species that finally goes extinct

Taxon cycle

Name the distribution pattern that is likely on a string of varying islands of varying size or isolation due to differential immigration or differential extinction

Nested

Name the term for when an island is close to the mainland and receives many propagules and thus has a low extinction rate

Rescue effect

Name the term for when islands below a certain size have the same small species richness

Small island effect

An island that was once a part of the adjacent continent and at some point, it should have had the same biota as the continent

Continental island

Name the term for why population density may increase on an island due to having no place to emigrate to

Fence effect

A major goal of historical biogeography is to:

a. Describe climate patterns across continents

b. Reconstruct where taxa evolved and how they spread

c. Identify only current ecological interactions

d. Classify organisms based on morphology only

b. Reconstruct where taxa evolved and how they spread

Panbiogeography focuses on:

a. Fossils

b. Connecting disjunct distributions using “tracks”

c. Molecular clocks

d. Ocean circulation patterns

b. Connecting disjunct distributions using “tracks”

Hennig’s progression rule suggests that more derived traits occur as a lineage moves:

a. Toward the center of the origin

b. Away from the origin

c. Into deeper fossil layers

d. Toward areas of high productivity

b. Away from the origin

In panbiogeography, one major flaw of Croizat’s approach was that it:

a. Relied too heavily on phylogenetics

b. Rejected the use of distributional data

c. Ignored phylogenetic relationships

d. Accepted long-distance dispersal

c. Ignored phylogenetic relationships

Phylogeography primarily examines:

a. Global tectonic history

b. Distribution of lineages within and among species

c. Morphological evolution in fossils

d. Only nuclear DNA changes

b. Distribution of lineages within and among species

A phylogeographic study often compares:

a. Climate maps with ocean currents with species distribution

b. Mitochondrial DNA-based cladograms with species’ distribution

c. Predator-prey interactions among regions

d. Fossil morphology with modern traits

b. Mitochondrial DNA-based cladograms with species’ distribution

Islands are considered natural experiments because of the multiple factors that can be manipulated and tested, including size, proximity to source, and access to freshwater, among others.

True OR False

True

Based on what we currently know about island biogeography, as island size increases, colonization rate…

a. increases

b. decreases

c. is not affected

a. increases

Based on what we currently know about island biogeography, as island distance increases, colonization rate…

a. increases

b. decreases

c. is not affected

b. decreases

Based on what we currently know about island biogeography, an island size increases, extinction rate…

a. increases

b. decreases

c. is not affected

b. decreases

In Simberloff and Wilson’s experimental study on arthropods on four small mangrove islands in the Florida Keys, they found…

a. support of the Equilibrium Theory

b. rapid recolonization

c. no turnover of species

d. a and b

e. a and b and c

d. a and b

For organisms with longer generation times (vs. shorter), their turnover rates on islands tend to be…

a. same

b. shorter

c. longer

c. longer

If an island is well-established and recently separated from a much larger area, it is currently ______ its species equilibrial number.

a. above

b. below

c. at

a. above

If an oceanic island is newly formed, it is currently ______ its species equilibrial number.

a. above

b. below

c. at

b. below

Which of the following are characteristics of species that are most likely to successfully establish once they reach an island?

a. broad niche habitat (generalist)

b. self-fertilize

c. high fecundity

d. a and b

c. a,b, and c

c. a, b, and c

Which of the following are characteristics of species that are most likely to go extinct on islands?

a. large

b. carnivorous

c. specialized

d. a and b

e. a, b, and c

e. a, b, and c

The North American Great Lakes have fewer fish species than the African Great Lakes. What is believed to be the primary reason for this?

a. North American Great Lakes are more isolated

b. North American Great Lakes are colder

c. North American Great Lakes are smaller

d. North American Great Lakes are younger

d. North American Great Lakes are younger

Which of the following groups have high dispersal ability and are likely to be at equilibrium at an isolated freshwater pond?

a. encysting protozoans

b. molluscs

c. strong-flying insects

d. a and b

e. a and c

f. a, b, and c

e. a and c

As the number of species on an island increase, the extinction rate

a. decreases

b. increases

c. no effect

b. increases

When lizards were removed from Bahamian islands, the spider population densities…

a. increased

b. decreased

c. no effect

a. increased

As the number of species on an island increases, colonization rate

a. decreases

b. increases

c. no effect

a. decreases

Which type of island would you expect to have the lowest turnover rates?

a. small near

b. small far

c. large near

d. large far

a. small near

Which type of island would you expect to have the highest turnover rates?

a. small near

b. small far

c. large near

d. large far

c. large near

Which type of island would you expect to have the highest equilibrial number of species?

a. small near

b. small far

c. large near

d. large far

c. large near

Which type of island would you expect to have the lowest equilibrial number of species?

a. small near

b. small far

c. large near

d. large far

b. small far

Compared to a same-sized plot within a larger area, how many species will an isolated oceanic island have?

a. more

b. fewer

c. about the same number

b. fewer

Compared to continental islands, oceanic islands usually have

a. lower taxa richness and higher taxa endemicity

b. lower taxa richness and lower taxa endemicity

c. higher taxa richness and lower taxa endemicity

d. higher taxa richness and higher taxa endemicity

a. lower taxa richness and higher taxa endemicity

Jared Diamond’s 1968 breeding land bird censuses on the Channel Islands showed what results relative to a prior 1917 survey?

a. No turnover

b. Same approximate number of species, but replacements occurred

c. Increasing species richness over time

d. Decreasing species richness with no new arrivals

b. Same approximate number of species, but replacements occurred

A main criticism of Diamond’s Channel Islands breeding land bird study was:

a. Poor sampling in 1968

b. Unreliable 1917 census data

c. No extinctions observed

d. No variation in island size

b. Unreliable 1917 census data