AP Biology: Population Dynamics, Reproductive Strategies, and Ecological Concepts

The K-selection reproductive strategy maximizes survival of offspring by producing

few offspring with high levels of parental care

Which of the following is generally true of K-strategist species as compared to r-strategist species?

They have longer life spans.

The Chatham Island robin is a small endangered bird found in scrub forests off the coast of New Zealand. The robin is preyed upon by introduced species such as cats and rats. In 1980, the population decreased to only individuals and every individual today is a descendant of a single female. Which of the following is best illustrated in the decline of the Chatham Island robins?

Population bottleneck

Salamanders, ospreys, snapping turtles, and beavers all live in aquatic habitats. Salamanders lay their eggs in small freshwater pools and feed on insects. Osprey habitats include rivers, bays, and swamps and the birds feed on fish and other animals in the water or on land. Snapping turtles live in fresh or brackish water and feed on plants, fish, frogs, and snakes. Beavers build lodges on islands, pond banks, and lake shores and eat a variety of shrubs, grasses, and crops. Based on the information provided above, which of the following species would best be classified as a specialist?

Salamanders

Population growing exponentially

B

Population growing at a decreasing rate

B

Population growing at greatest rate

D

Based on the data in the graph, which of the following best describes the reproductive strategy of rabbits?

r-selected species

Which of the following characteristics is most closely associated with a country that demonstrates the age structure in the diagram shown above?

There is a high total fertility rate.

Represents the maximum number of individuals that can be supported by a particular ecosystem on a long-term basis

E

Represents the growth of a population predicted by the logistic model

C

Members of an r-selected species characteristically

reach sexual maturity quickly

Which graph best illustrates a population growing at its biotic potential?

B

Which graph best illustrates a population that was growing and has reached its carrying capacity?

E

The diagram above illustrates how the number of individuals in a population changed with time as a result of external stresses and resource limitations. Which lettered portion of the curve most likely corresponds to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem?

B

Cycads are gymnosperms that were diverse and abundant during the Mesozoic era. Extant species of cycads share many traits with those from the Mesozoic era. Cycads bear cones, are long-lived with slow growth rates, show late reproductive maturity, and have very few offspring. Based on this description, the cycads are

K strategists with a Type I survivorship curve.

Which of the following pathways indicate how nitrogen is added to the largest nitrogen reservoir?

Denitrifying bacteria and volcanic activity

Which of the following claims is best supported by the data in the graph for the population of wolves between 1975 and 1985?

The population declined following depletion of food resources after a population overshoot.

Which of the following best explains the change in the moose population from 1995 to 1997?

Plants in the area could not support the large population of moose in 1995.

Based on the data in Figure 1, which of the following is the best estimate of the carrying capacity of the moose population?

1,500

Salamanders, ospreys, snapping turtles, and beavers all live in aquatic habitats. Based on the information provided above, which of the following species would best be classified as a specialist?

salamanders

Scientists determined that a species of a reptile dinosaur cohort had 20% survivorship during the first two years of life, but then the survivorship of those individuals that survived to age 2 had a 70% survivorship to middle age. Survivorship declined later in life. A certain species of dinosaur laid large numbers of eggs, and the hatchlings had high mortality early in life. But if they survived, the young dinosaurs were able to grow at a rapid pace and disperse into the environment in order to thrive. Based on this information and the graph above, which of the following best characterizes this species of dinosaur?

The dinosaurs were r-strategists and exhibited a Type III survivorship curve

Cycads are gymnosperms that were diverse and abundant during the Mesozoic era. Based on this description, the cycads are

k-strategists with a Type I survivorship curve

Raccoons eat a variety of foods and can live in a variety of habitats, including locations near humans. Tiger salamanders eat an abundance of worms and insects and require wetland habitats so they do not dry out. Which of the following best identifies the two different species?

Raccoons are generalists, and salamanders are specialists.

Which of the following species is most likely to provide extensive parental care to its offspring?

Bobcat (2 fertilized eggs per year)

Which of the following statements best describes why it is predicted that the orchid mantis will be more affected by global climate change than the tropical cockroach will be?

Orchid mantises tend to be advantaged in habitats that remain constant; the rain forest habitat is likely to shift because of global climate change.

Which of the following species is most likely to be an invasive species if introduced into a favorable new habitat?

Oyster (5,000,000,000 fertilized eggs per year)

The supply of Earth's fresh water is fixed and is being depleted at a rapid rate. Which of the following best describes the effects of a limited freshwater supply on human populations?

World food production will decrease, leading to increased famine.

In a certain country, the birth rate is high, the death rate is high, and there are many children that are part of the workforce. The country is most likely in which of the following stages of the demographic transition?

Stage 1

A country has a birth rate of 35/1,000 individuals and a death rate of 13/1,000 individuals. The death rate was 37/1,000 individuals in 1950, 28/1,000 individuals in 1970, and 21/1,000 individuals in 1990. Which of the following statements best explains why the country has a declining death rate?

The country is in stage 2 of the demographic transition, and life expectancy has increased because of improvements in public health, sanitation, and access to food.

The current global human population is about 6.1 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 1.35 percent. If world population were to grow at this rate for the next year, approximately how many people would be added?

8 x 10^7

A small developing country with negligible rates of immigration and emigration is going through a demographic change. Thirty years ago the crude birth rate was 44 per thousand per year and the crude death rate was 17 per thousand per year. Now the crude birth rate is 16 thousand per year and the crude death rate is 5 per thousand per year. Which of the following statements about the country now is most likely to be true?

The country is at the industrial stage of the demographic transition.

If the population of a country grows at a rate of approximately 5 percent per year, the number of years required for the population to double is closest to

10 years

The country with a population about three times that of the United States is

China

As a country goes through the demographic transition, the greatest rate of population growth takes place during which phase?

The transitional