Bio 111 Exam 4 (Heather Birdsong)

Which of these would be an example of altruism in animal behavior?

a. Vampire bats sharing blood meals with friends who are hungry

b. Cheetahs spraying urine to mark the edges of their territory

c. Fish gathering together in large schools

d. One dominant male elk mating with several females

Vampire bats sharing blood meals with friends who are hungry

Which of these studies would be an example of using a discovery approach to investigate ecology?

a. Collecting biomass from ponds with agricultural runoff, and ones without

b. Studying changes in population size of invasive apple snails over time with changing weather and predation pressure

c. Raising songbirds in isolation then studying their ability to attract mates with their song

d. Exposing marsh plants to different levels of salinity and measuring growth

Studying changes in population size of invasive apple snails over time with changing weather and predation pressure

Which area of behavioral ecology would study territory defense around a food resource?

a. Foraging

b. Migration

c. Mating system

d. Group behaviors

Foraging

Which of these abiotic factors has the biggest impact on the distribution of coral species worldwide?

a. pH

b. Salinity

c. Wind

d. Light

Light

Which of these would be an example of using a hypothesis driven approach to investigate ecology?

a. Studying changes in population size of invasive apple snails over time with changing weather and predation pressure

b. Recording whale songs from whales in different parts of the world

c. Exposing marsh plants to different levels of salinity and measuring growth

d. Monitoring secondary succession in a forest recovering from a forest fire

Exposing marsh plants to different levels of salinity and measuring growth

Many forests experience periodic wildfires that clear out the forest undergrowth, and so some species of pine trees will only release seeds from their cones once they have been exposed to high temperatures. What concept would this be an example of?

a. The competitive exclusion principle

b. Density dependent limiting factors

c. Ecology sets the stage for evolution

d. The dose makes the poison

Ecology sets the stage for evolution

Which of these behaviors would be a form of communication used to send a message that lasts a long time?

a. Cats peeing on the fence

b. Bees dancing

c. Birds singing

d. Peacocks fanning out their tails

Cats peeing on the fence

What type of terrestrial biome once dominated the Midwest, and is characterized by low to moderate rainfall, cold winters, mild summers, and occasional wildfires?

a. Temperate grasslands

b. Temperate deciduous forest

c. Tropical rainforest

d. Taiga

Temperate grasslands

What type of terrestrial biome is characterized by moderate rainfall, cold winters, hot summers, and can be found in much of north Louisiana?

a. Tropical rainforest

b. Temperate deciduous forest

c. Tropical grasslands

d. Taiga

Temperate deciduous forest

What type of mating system do you see most commonly when offspring are highly dependent on receiving lots of parental care?

a. Polygamy

b. Promiscuity

c. Polyandry

d. Monogamy

Monogamy

Which area of behavioral ecology would study a Canada goose's ability to recognize landmarks while flying?

a. Foraging

b. Group behaviors

c. Mating systems

d. Migration

Migration

Which area of behavioral ecology would study the importance of altruism?

a. Migration

b. Foraging

c. Mating systems

d. Group behaviors

Group behaviors

What is the single largest factor contributing to the growth of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone?

a. Decreasing ocean pH

b. Nitrification

c. Climate change

d. Overharvesting of seafood species

Nitrification

There was a forest fire in Kisatchie National Forest. If you designed an experiment to track the change in species composition of the recovering forest over the next 20 years, what type of ecological study would that be?

a. Population ecology

b. Ecosystem ecology

c. Organismal ecology

d. Community ecology

Community ecology

What type of terrestrial biome is found throughout Russia, and is characterized by low rainfall, harsh cold winters, mild summers and frozen soil?

a. Temperate deciduous forest

b. Taiga

c. Tropical grasslands

d. Tropical rainforest

Taiga

Which of these behaviors is innate, but is also perfected by learning?

a. Birds adjusting their flight path after being blown off course during migration

b. Chimps performing a dance for a crowd

c. Forgetting that you are wearing shoes

d. Frogs jumping away from predators

Birds adjusting their flight path after being blown off course during migration

Which of these abiotic factors has the biggest impact on the distribution of freshwater adapted fish?

a. Light

b. pH

c. Salinity

d. Wind

Salinity

Mockingbirds attract mates using complex calls and on campus they mimic car alarms and the crossing signal beeps. If you designed an experiment to compare breeding success of forest and urban mockingbirds, what type of ecological study would that be?

a. Population ecology

b. Organismal ecology

c. Ecosystem ecology

d. Community ecology

Organismal ecology

Which of these abiotic factors has the biggest impact on the distribution of plant species?

a. Rainfall

b. pH

c. Wind

d. Salinity

Rainfall

Which area of behavioral ecology would study the patterns of fish swimming in schools?

a. Mating systems

b. Migration

c. Group Behaviors

d. Foraging

Group Behaviors

Which of these would be an example of an innate behavior?

a. Mother geese rolling eggs that fall out back into the nest

b. Mouse running through a complex maze more quickly each time

c. Songbirds singing their species' song perfectly

d. Dogs salivating when they hear a bell before dinner

Mother geese rolling eggs that fall out back into the nest

In the Girard park ecosystem, which of these animals would be an example of a tertiary consumer?

a. Oak tree

b. Human

c. Grasshopper

d. Muscovy duck

Human

In the Girard park ecosystem, which of these animals would be an example of a primary producer?

a. Human

b. Grasshopper

c. Blue jay

d. Oak tree

Oak Tree

Which of these characteristics usually applies to species with K-selected life history?

a. Rapid development

b. Late reproductive age

c. Weak competitive ability

d. Short life span

Late reproductive age

Which type of population growth pattern has prodigious growth because there are no limiting factors?

a. Exponential growth

b. Logistic growth

c. None of these

d. Linear growth

Exponential growth

In Gause's study of coexistence between competing paramecium species grown together in the same container, what was his conclusion?

a. Competition is rare in ecosystems

b. Competing species will work together to ration resources

c. Competing species will intentionally reduce their reproductive rate to slow population growth

d. Competing species cannot occupy the same ecological niche, one or both will go extinct

Competing species cannot occupy the same ecological niche, one or both will go extinct

Which would be an example of a species interaction that is positive for one species, but has no effect on the other?

a. Predation

b. Competition

c. Commensalism

d. Parasitism

Commensalism

Tobacco plants producing high levels of nicotine in their tissues would be an example of what type of antipredator defense?

a. Camouflage

b. Chemical defenses

c. Batesian mimicry

d. Physical defenses

Chemical defenses

A cat arching its back and sticking up its fur when confronted by a dog would be an example of which type of antipredator defense?

a. Intimidation display

b. Chemical defenses

c. Batesian mimicry

d. Camouflage

Intimidation display

Which is a method that ecologists use to estimate the size and diversity of plant populations in large areas?

a. Quadrant sampling

b. Mark-recapture trapping

c. Visual counts

d. Mist nets

Quadrant sampling

The high concentration of DDT found in the tissue of gulls would be an example of what ecological phenomenon?

a. Chemical cycling

b. Biomagnification

c. Primary succession

d. Competitive exclusion

Biomagnification

What type of survivorship is found in species with a low juvenile mortality rate?

a. Type II

b. Type III

c. Type IV

d. Type I

Type I

The high concentration of mercury found in the tissue of marlins would be an example of what ecological phenomenon?

a. Biomagnification

b. Competitive exclusion

c. Primary succession

d. Chemical cycling

Biomagnification

Which is NOT a factor that will help predict future population growth in a species?

a. Survivorship

b. Reproductive strategy

c. Age structure

d. Dispersion patterns

Dispersion patterns

What type of survivorship is found in species with very high mortality of the young?

a. Type III

b. Type I

c. Type II

d. Type IV

Type III

Which dispersion pattern is most common for plant species?

a. Zigzag

b. Clumped

c. Random

d. Uniform

Random

Which of these is a density independent factor limiting population growth?

a. Weather conditions

b. Competition for mates

c. Disease

d. Competition for resources

Weather conditions

Which would be an example of a species interaction that is positive for both species involved?

a. Predation

b. Competition

c. Parasitism

d. Mutualism

Mutualism

In the interconnected food web of an African savannah ecosystem, which species would cause the most immediate impact if you removed it entirely?

a. Cheetahs

b. Grasshoppers

c. Grass

d. Mice

Grass

Which of these habitats would tend to have the lowest species richness?

a. A 30,000 mile tract of tropical ocean

b. An old temperate forest that has never been logged

c. A fallow field that used to be a sugarcane field last spring

d. A sunny rainforest

A fallow field that used to be a sugarcane field last spring

Why has the rate of human population growth increased so rapidly in the past 200 years?

a. Birth rates have increased from the past

b. Humans have become better adapted to their environments

c. Advances in medicine have led to lower death rates

d. Human populations have reached carrying capacity

Advances in medicine have led to lower death rates

Which is the type of competition in which two caterpillars, of the same species, are simply trying to eat the same leaf as fast as they can without any direct confrontation?

a. Intraspecific interference

b. Polyandry

c. Interspecific interference

d. Intraspecific exploitation

Intraspecific exploitation

Robins eat holly berries and poop them out far from the tree. What type of mutualistic interaction would that be?

a. Facultative

b. Defensive

c. Resource-based

d. Dispersive

Dispersive

Which is a method that ecologists use to estimate the size of mobile animal populations over large areas?

a. Mark-recapture trapping

b. Line transects

c. Quadrant sampling

d. Visual counts

Mark-recapture trapping

Which of these is NOT an assumption you make about the data collected during mark recapture?

a. No individuals are migrating

b. No individuals are drawn to return to the trap

c. All individuals are the same age

d. No individuals are born or die during the experiment

All individuals are the same age

Some ant species protect aphids from predators in exchange for sugary secretions from the aphid's abdomen. What type of mutualistic interaction would that be?

a. Resource-based

b. Facultative

c. Dispersive

d. Defensive

Defensive

After a glacier melts, the first species to colonize the bare rock are lichens and mosses that help create the soil, so that small weedy flowering plants can colonize it later, causing the habitat to become more diverse. What theory of community succession is this?

a. Facilitation

b. Hereditary

c. Inhibition

d. Tolerance

Facilitation

Several closely related bird species feeding on slightly different parts of the same tree would be an example of what phenomenon?

a. Bioremediation

b. Interspecific inference

c. Competitive exclusion

d. Resource partitioning

Resource partitioning

What would be an example of a species interaction that is negative for one species, positive for the other, has a long duration, and is lethal?

a. Deer nibbling grass

b. Parasitic fungus slowly erupting from an ant's head, killing it

c. Lions eating a zebra

d. Ticks feeding on a horse

Parasitic fungus slowly erupting from an ant's head, killing it

Which of these is a density dependent factor limiting population growth?

a. 1-disease

b. 2-weather conditions

c. 3-competition for resources

d. Both 1 & 3

Both 1 & 3

Which of these would be an example of an ecosystem undergoing secondary succession?

a. Louisiana coastal marsh flooded by hurricane storm surge

b. Mount Kilauea in Hawaii covering tropical forests in lava

c. Kansas prairie being invaded by an introduced plant species

d. Glaciers shifting across a valley, scraping away the topsoil

Louisiana coastal marsh flooded by hurricane storm surge

Which of these characteristics usually applies to species with r-selected life history?

a. Late reproductive age

b. Long life span

c. Rapid development

d. Strong competitive ability

Rapid development

Which of these factors would NOT affect the accuracy of mark recapture data?

a. Births and deaths over the course of the experiment

b. Individuals migrating

c. Some individuals becoming trap happy

d. Age of the individuals

Age of the individuals

When would you expect to see growth in a population?

a. When the birth rate is greater than the death rate

b. When the birth rate is less than the death rate

c. When the birth rate equals the death rate

d. Only when resources are unlimited

When the birth rate is greater than the death rate

What role do decomposers play in the carbon cycle?

a. Trapping atmospheric carbon in their tissues

b. Dissolving atmospheric carbon into the ocean

c. Releasing carbon from dead tissues

d. Releasing carbon from the burning of organic matter

Releasing carbon from dead tissues

Which of these ecosystems would have the highest species richness?

a. A pine forest that hasn't experienced a fire or flood in hundreds of years

b. An island that just rose above the surface of the ocean

c. A small pond

d. A rainforest with intense sunlight and high rainfall

A rainforest with intense sunlight and high rainfall

What type of survivorship is found in species with a steady mortality rate at all ages?

a. Type I

b. Type IV

c. Type III

d. Type II

Type II

As you move up a food chain in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the next, why does the amount of energy available decrease?

a. Matter disappears

b. Some energy is always lost during transfer

c. Primary consumers are all ectotherms

d. Tertiary consumers are exposed to less sunlight

Some energy is always lost during transfer

A harmless king snake having a similar color pattern to a deadly coral snake would be an example of which type of antipredator defense?

a. Camouflage

b. Batesian mimicry

c. Intimidation display

d. Chemical defenses

Batesian mimicry

Which would be an example of a species interaction that is negative for both species involved?

a. Parasitism

b. Competition

c. Predation

d. Commensalism

Competition

In Simberloff and Wilson's experiment testing island biogeography theory, what did they find out about the recolonization of islands by insect species?

a. Insect populations never reached their former levels of diversity

b. Smaller islands that were further away from the mainland could support larger, more diverse insect populations

c. All islands had equal species diversity

d. Large islands that were closer to the mainland could support larger, more diverse insect populations

Large islands that were closer to the mainland could support larger, more diverse insect populations

Which of these would be an example of resource partitioning in nature?

a. Humans deciding what to eat for dinner

b. Grizzly bears and chipmunks both eating acorns

c. Species of songbirds feeding on insects at different heights on the same tree

d. Ticks feeding on the blood of deer

Species of songbirds feeding on insects at different heights on the same tree

In the Girard park ecosystem, which of these animals would be an example of a primary consumer?

a. Oak tree

b. Human

c. Blue Jay

d. Grasshopper

Grasshopper

What is the measure of the number of species in a community?

a. Relative abundance

b. Succession

c. Species diversity

d. Species richness

Species richness

Which of these would be an example of an ecosystem undergoing primary succession?

a. Glacier shifting across a valley, scraping away the topsoil

b. California forest devastated by a forest fire

c. Louisiana coastal marsh flooded by hurricane storm surge

d. Kansas prairie being invaded by an introduced plant species

Glacier shifting across a valley, scraping away the topsoil

Which type of population growth pattern reaches stable population size at carrying capacity?

a. Logistic growth

b. None of these

c. Exponential growth

d. Linear growth

Logistic growth

What is the comparison of the number of species in an ecosystem with the number of individuals of each species?

a. Succession

b. Relative abundance

c. Species diversity

d. Species richness

Species diversity

What role do producers play in the carbon cycle?

a. Releasing carbon from dead tissues

b. Releasing carbon from the burning of organic matter

c. Dissolving atmospheric carbon into the ocean

d. Trapping atmospheric carbon in their tissues

Trapping atmospheric carbon in their tissues

What is an example of an invasive species that is spreading in Louisiana?

a. Island Apple snails

b. Live Oak trees

c. Black bears

d. Red swamp crawfish

Island Apple snails

Which is a factor that can lead to a downward spiral of extinction in a small population where only a few of the males get to breed?

a. Limited mating

b. Inbreeding

c. Genetic drift

d. Gene flow

Limited mating

Which of these would be an example of a keystone species?

a. Spotted owls that require very large protected habitat areas to survive

b. Corals that are very sensitive to disturbance

c. Florida panthers that are very charming and attractive

d. Sea otters who have a disproportionately large effect on the kelp forests they live in

Sea otters who have a disproportionately large effect on the kelp forests they live in

According to the Tilman field experiments on species diversity in prairie ecosystems found in your book, what is a factor that increases with increasing biodiversity?

a. 2-Predation

b. 4-Both 1 and 3

c. 1-Resistance to invasive species

d. 3-Resistance to disease

4-Both 1 and 3

Which of these is a sensitive species whose numbers and health can give information about how healthy its habitat is?

a. Indicator species

b. Keystone species

c. Umbrella species

d. Flagship species

Indicator species

Which is NOT a direct consequence of climate change?

a. Sea level rise

b. Disruption of the timing of life-cycle events

c. Melting of polar ice caps

d. Decline in White rhino populations

Decline in White rhino populations

The grasslands of North America don't contain as many species as some habitats. Why might it still be worthwhile to protect them?

a. Prairie chickens are indicators species

b. That is where corn comes from

c. Most of them have already been destroyed, and the last patches could disappear

d. They provide valuable lumber

Most of them have already been destroyed, and the last patches could disappear

Which is a direct consequence of climate change?

a. 2-Spread of invasive species

b. 3-Disruption of the timing of life-cycle events

c. 4-Both 1 and 3

d. 1-Sea level rise

4-Both 1 and 3

How is your ecological footprint related to preserving biodiversity?

a. 1-It measures the amount of water and land resources consumed to maintain your lifestyle

b. 3-Decreasing your ecological footprint eases the pressure on earth's resources

c. 2-It has no relation

d. Both 1 and 3

Both 1 and 3

Decreasing human population growth rates worldwide will ease competition for the earth's limited resources. What is the single most effective strategy to decrease birth rates in developing countries?

a. Subsides on grain production

b. Increasing access to video games

c. Support equal access to education for teenage girls

d. Abstinence only education

Support equal access to education for teenage girls

What purpose did English hedgerows inadvertently serve for wildlife?

a. Served as corridors to connect small forest patches

b. Looked cool

c. Stopped human encroachment

d.Prevented the spread of disease

Served as corridors to connect small forest patches

The grasslands of North America don't contain as many species as some habitats. Why might it still be worthwhile to protect them?

a. They provide valuable lumber

b. That is where corn comes from

c. Most of them have already been destroyed, and the last patches could disappear

d. Prairie chickens are indicator species

Most of them have already been destroyed, and the last patches could disappear

Using island biogeography theory and edge effects as guides, why would a single long rectangular national park NOT be the best design for a forest wildlife preserve?

a. 4- Both 1 and 3

b. 1- Temperatures are higher along the borders of forests, and rectangles have larger surface area

c. 3- A single park is more vulnerable to natural disasters than several that are spread out

d. 2- Inbreeding is higher in large habitats

4- Both 1 and 3

What is a species only found in one small part of the world?

a. An endemic species

b. A Quarternary consumer

c. A keystone species

d. An endangered species

An endemic species

What is the single greatest factor that led to the near extinction of the American buffalo?

a. Habitat destruction

b. Climate change

c. Overexploitation

d. Invasive species

Overexploitation

Which of these conservation programs would be focused on protecting genetic biodiversity?

a. A National Park that encompasses a large coral reef

b. A massive turkey farm

c. A seed bank with hundreds of corn varieties

d. A captive breeding program for Sand Hill cranes

A seed bank with hundreds of corn varieties

What is a biodiversity hot spot?

a. A corridor connecting habitats

b. A desert with a large number of species

c. A primary successional community

d. A small geographic area with a large number of endangered species and species found nowhere else

A small geographic area with a large number of endangered species and species found nowhere else

What conclusion did Burghardt come to from this study?

a. Suburban yards landscaped with native plants had lower species diversity

b. Native plant landscaping positively influenced the diversity of both bird and insect species in suburban landscapes

c. Native plant landscaping positively influenced the diversity of birds and but not insect in suburban landscapes

d. There were no significant differences in species diversity between native plant focused and conventionally landscaped yards

Native plant landscaping positively influenced the diversity of both bird and insect species in suburban landscapes

What is the leading cause of local extinctions of species?

a. Overharvesting

b. Volcanic eruptions

c. Climate change

d. Invasive species

Invasive species

Their prediction of the possible results of this study was confirmed, what was that prediction?

a. That there would be no difference

b. That insect populations are not as heavily influenced by plant diversity as bird populations are

c. That because native insect species evolved to feed on native plants, there would be greater insect and therefore bird diversity in areas with more native plants

d. That yards with more productive plants, regardless of if they were native or nonnative, would support more species of animals

That because native insect species evolved to feed on native plants, there would be greater insect and therefore bird diversity in areas with more native plants

According to this table of data from the Burghardt paper on planting native versus nonnative plants in suburban areas and the effect that causes on animal diversity, what observation can you make about the comparison of and abundance of birds between the native and conventional landscapes? (Hint: a value for p that is less than 0.05 is statistically significant).

a. Both species abundance and richness are higher in native landscapes

b. Both species abundance and richness are higher in conventional landscapes

c. Only is significantly higher in the native landscape

d. There is no difference between the two landscapes

Both species abundance and richness are higher in native landscapes

What monetary value do we lose with the loss of biodiversity?

a. Protection from storm surge

b. All of these

c. Genetic diversity for crop plants

d. Possible pharmaceutical treatments

All of these

Diverting some Atchafalaya river water flow into freshwater marshes to combat human caused saltwater intrusion and add sediment would be an example of what habitat restoration practice?

a. Bioremediation

b. Habitat replacement

c. Complete restoration

d. Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation

What is a major advantage invasive species have over natives that can help them outcompete them and spread?

a. They are better adapted to local conditions

b. They are always K selected species

c. They are freed from the limiting factor of predation, since local predators have not adapted to feed on them yet

d. They are usually endotherms

They are freed from the limiting factor of predation, since local predators have not adapted to feed on them yet

According to the overwhelming majority of scientists, what is causing the increase in global temperatures and resultant change in climate?

a. Solar flares

b. Cellular respiration

c. Volcanic eruptions

d. Human produced greenhouse gases

Human produced greenhouse gases

What is the most important reason for all people to understand ecological aspects of biology?

a. Because it is on the test

b. It isn't important

c. Because preserving the species and natural services we enjoy requires understanding the interconnections between organisms and their environments

d. Because learning is fun!

Because preserving the species and natural services we enjoy requires understanding the interconnections between organisms and their environments

What is the estimate of the amount of land and water required to sustain one person in a particular region?

a. Bioremediation

b. Ecological footprint

c. Biological control

d. Geochemical cycling

Ecological footprint

What would be an example of an ecosystem service that would be lost with the loss of biodiversity?

a. Retention of topsoil

b. All of these

c. Protection from storm surge

d. Nutrient cycling

All of these

The grasslands of the North America don't contain as many species as some habitats, why might it still be worthwhile to protect them?

a. They provide valuable lumber

b. Prairie chickens are indicator species

c. That is where corn comes from

d. Most of them have already been destroyed, and the last patches could disappear

Most of them have already been destroyed, and the last patches could disappear

Planting sunflowers to remove radioactive isotopes from contaminated soil would be an example of what kind of habitat restoration?

a. Bioremediation

b. Rehabilitation

c. Replacement

d. Restoration

Bioremediation

Which trophic level is responsible for the highest amount of biomass produced in most ecosystems?

a .Tertiary consumers

b. Producers

c. Secondary consumers

d. Primary consumers

Producers