Ecology Lab Exam

How many of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred since the article was written?

17

What is the warmest year on record (at the time this quiz was created)?

2016

True or false? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is made up of exactly 1,000 independent scientific experts from countries from all over the world.

False, it has over 1,000

True or false: Carbon dioxide contributes to the greenhouse effect.

True

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded there is a ______ percent probability that human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet. 

95

An adaptation is a structure or function that confers greater ability to _______ in a particular environment.

Survive and reproduce

True or false: The biological definition of a species is a group of interbreeding individuals that are reproductively, and thus genetically, isolated from other groups.

True

Statistical tools provide a way to _______ variability in biological data and describe the degree of uncertainty in the results obtained using these data.

Quantify

True or false: Graphing data can make it easier to spot patterns that would otherwise be difficult to see in tables of measurements or direct observations.

True

For two groups to become distinct species, traits must ______ in ways that will keep members of each group reproductively ______.

Change… isolated

True or false: Seeds of over half of woody tropical plant species are dispersed by animals.

True

True or false: Small monkeys typically travel 100-400 m before depositing feces that contain seeds from several different species.

True

Dispersal in flowering plants is ______. 

Spreading offspring to a different location where they can grow into a new plant

True or false: Flowering plants are also called gymnosperms.

False

Are animals considered an abiotic dispersal vector?

No, abiotic means not alive. Like gravity, wind, and water. Biotic would refer to animals.

The U.N. estimates that the world's population will reach ______ by the year 2050.

9.6 billion

True or false: The article suggests that most population growth will take place in less-developed parts of the world, like sub-Saharan Africa.

True

The article cites two examples of countries whose fertility rates have dropped. What are they?

Japan and China

True or false: The article states that Japan faces another challenge in that they have a rapidly aging population with fewer children to replace them.

True

True or false: The article predicts that life expectancy will be 82 years by the year 2100.

False

True or false: The scientific name of the stickleback fish that you are analyzing is Gasterosteus aculeatus.

True

Scientists use the stickleback as _______. 

A model organism for evolution

The armor of ocean sticklebacks ______. 

Protects them from predatory attacks

True or false: Pelvic reduction is a trait in sticklebacks that is frequently invested by scientists.

True

True or false: Sticklebacks have a rich fossil record.

True

What was affecting the whitebark pines in Yellowstone national park?

The mountain pine beetles, who normally were not able to survive in the higher altitudes have been able to move higher up due to increasing temperatures.

Explain the issue with the monkey’s in South America

Researches concluded that around 426 monkey species are facing an elevated risk of extinction due to an increase in global temperatures. They speculate 86% of the monkey ranges will experience a 3 degree (celsius) increase.