ENVS 200: Midterm Review (Quizzes)

A group of species that exploit the same class of environmental resources in the same way is called a:
a. Cohort
b. Guild
c. Tribe
d. niche

b. Guild

When individuals of one species suffer a reduction in fecundity, survivorship or growth as a result of exploitation or resources or interference by individuals of another species it is called:
a. Interspecific Competition
b. Intraspecific Competition
c. Interference Competition
d. Guild Competition

a. Interspecific Competition

Why is it impossible to 'prove' an evolutionary effect of a interspecific competition?
a. Because you cannot directly observe evolution that has already occurred
b. Because you cannot control experiments for competition
c. Because you cannot directly test interspecific competition

a. Because you cannot directly observe evolution that has already occured

Insects and tadpoles of Fowler's toad were allowed to compete at natural densities with tadpoles of the Pine Barrens tree frog. The intensity of competition was similar for both insects and Fowler's toad. What does this tell you about competition between unrelated species?
a. It may seem that more closely related species should have a greater intensity of competition, but interspecific competition can occur across diverse taxa at similar intensities.
b. Intraspecific competition can occur across diverse taxa at similar intensities.
c. That more closely related species should outcompete less closely related species
because intraspecific competition is greater than interspecific competition.
d. It may seem that more closely related species should have a lesser intensity of
competition, but intraspecific competition can occur across diverse taxa at similar
intensities.

a. It may seem that more closely related species should have a greater intensity of competition, but interspecific competition can occur across diverse taxa at similar intensities.

You determine that 2 species of birds coexist in the same tree, but that they have different
feeding behaviors that prevents them from competing with one another for resources. One bird species feeds on insects found in the bark of this tree, while the other bird species feeds on insects at the branch tips. One explanation of your observation could be that:
a. Coexistence is due to character displacement
b. Coexistence is due to shared resource utilization
c. Coexistence is due to niche differentiation
d. Coexistence is due to ecological release

c. Coexistence is due to niche differentiation

Competing species can coexist when both species are provided with which of the following:
a. Fundamental niche
b. Realized niche, fundamental niche, overlap in resource utilization
c. Realized niche, overlap in resource utilization
d. Realized niche

d. Realized niche

At a spatial scale of 10mm in radius, the grass species Aira praecox was found to be spatially __________ and to be _________ with another plant species, Erodium cicutarium. As a result, A. praecox tended to occur in small single-species clumps making it less likely to experience competition from E. cicutarium
a. Disaggregated; negatively associated
b. Aggregated; positively associated
c. Aggregated; negatively associated
d. Disaggregated; positively associated

c. Aggregated; negatively associated

Some ant species from Africa were very good at competing for space but were poor at colonizing new areas. This is an example of ____.
a. A trade-off
b. Coexistence
c. Interspecific competition
d. Niche differentiation

a. A trade-off

If Ro were calculated as 0.88 for a population of desert mice, what would this imply?
a. Each generation the population declines by 12%
b. Each generation the population grows by 88%
c. That 12% of the population died
d. That 88% of the population died

a. Each generation the population declines by 12%

In which type of survivorship curve is the risk of mortality greatest at older ages?
a. Type II
b. Type III
c. Type I

b. Type III

According to figure 5.5, which of the following statements about perennial Sparaxis grandiflora in South Africa is most accurate?
a. In September, leaves receive a greater proportion of nitrogen than the daughter corm
b. Fruit receive a small proportion of a cumulative nitrogen a plant uses
c. In January all nitrogen is being supplied to parts of the plant associated with
reproduction
d. Leaves and roots receive approximately the same amount of nitrogen

b. Fruit receive a small proportion of a cumulative nitrogen a plant uses

Consider table 5.2 in the text. Which of the following statements about this marmot life is least correct?
a. The fecundity of marmots is greatest at age 8
b. The basic reproductive rate of this marmot is 0.67
c. 8.7% of the mammoth cohort survived to reach their 6th year
d. This is a cohort life table that follows the lives of a group of marmots born in the
same year

c. 8.7% of the mammoth cohort survived to reach their 6th year

An organism that has indeterminate development and grows by the repeated production of modules is defined as what type of organism?
a. Indefinite
b. Indeterminable
c. Modular
d. Unitary

c. Modular

You have studied a population of garter snakes to understand how recruitment changes over time. When the density of snakes averaged 5 per 50m2 recruitment was low. When that density increased to 20 per 50m2, recruitment was also low. However, when densities were near 12 garter snakes per 50m2, recruitment was at its highest. This data provides an example of a ___________ curve.
a. Dome-shaped net-recruitment b. Sigmoidal
c. Type I
d. Type II

a. Dome-shaped net-recruitment

Which of the following statements about the life cycle and reproduction of human is least correct?
a. In terms of figure 5.7, human reproduction is best represented by figure 5.7a
b. Humans have a pronounced post-reproductive phase (like figure 5.4)
c. Humans are iteroparous
d. Within a human population, there is a wide variation in the number of offspring
per adult

a. In terms of figure 5.7, human reproduction is best represented by figure 5.7a

Which of the following is not a modular organism?
a. Streptococcus bacteria
b. Baetis spp. mayfly
c. Creosote bush
d. Quercus spp. oak tree

b. Baetis spp. mayfly

You notice a stream that has extremely clear water. Which of the following statements related to this observation is most likely to be correct?
a. The water likely has a high concentration of nitrogenous compounds.
b. The water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels are very high.
c. There is an extensive canopy of trees that block much of the sunlight.
d. There is a large amount of fertilizer runoff from the surrounding lands

c. There is an extensive canopy of trees that block much of the sunlight.

In deep lakes and ponds, no light reaches the lower layer of the water column. Which of
the following would you predict within this lower layer?
a. Primary productivity will be high
b. Dissolved oxygen levels will be low
c. There will be an abundance of predators and prey
d. There will be many aerobic bacteria

b. Dissolved oxygen levels will be low

Which biome has the most moderate levels of both precipitation and temperature?
a. Mediterranean and Chaparral
b. Tropical Rain Forest
c. Temperate Forest
d. Desert
e. Tundra

c. Temperate Forest

You are a world traveller and have had the opportunity to explore biomes around the world. Which of the following statements LEAST describes what you have observed?
a. Within a biome, on a single continent, the flora and fauna may be heterogeneous
b. Within a biome, anywhere on the planet, species tend to have similar appearance
c. Instances of the same biome occur on different continents
d. Within a biome, anywhere on the planet, the same species tend to occur

c. Instances of the same biome occur on different continents

Please consider Figure 4.12 in your text, which is reproduced here. Which of these animal species would you consider to be a specialized feeder?
a. Presbytis obscura
b. Ratufa affinis'
c. Hylobates syndactylus
d. Arachnothera species

d. Arachnothera species

If you wanted to eat something with a high C:N ratio, which of the following would you select?
a. A stick of butter
b. A piece of Steak
c. A piece of Fish
d. A vegetarian salad

d. A vegetarian salad

Please consider Figure 3.4 in your text, which is reproduced here. Based on this data, which of the following best describes how the development time of Lasiommata maera varies with the seasons?
a. Larvae in the spring develop more quickly as the hours of daylight decrease.
b. Larvae in the fall develop more quickly as the hours of daylight decrease.
c. Larvae in the spring and fall respond similarly to a shift in the number of hours
of daylight.
d. Larvae in the spring and fall develop at the same rate regardless of the hours of
light per day.

b. Larvae in the fall develop more quickly as the hours of daylight decrease.

You observe a species of frog in central America that is diurnal. It is quite visible
throughout the forest and colored a bright red and orange. You notice that no other species attempt to attack it, even though these frogs are abundant. You form a hypothesis that the bright colors are a form of _______ and plan to test if potential predators attack different colored models preferentially.
a. Avoidance
b. Aposematism
c. Acclimatization
d. Defense

b. Aposematism

1. Which term refers to a trait that has a genetic basis and is capable of being passed down to subsequent generations?
a. Endemic
b. Reciprocal
c. Heritable
d. Pre-zygotic

c. Heritable

Refer to Figure 2.10a, which shows the distribution of two forms of the peppered moth in England in the period 1952-1956 and in 1996. The two forms are the natural, pale form and the dark (melanic) carbonaria form that is a result of natural selection in response to industrial pollution. Which of the following statements about the contrasting maps shown in Figure 2.10a is least correct?
a. In 1952-1956, there tended to be more industrial melanism in peppered moths found further east in England.
b. In 1996, the amount of industrial melanism in peppered moths in England did not vary much geographically.
c. In 1996, nearly 100% of the peppered moths in some regions of England exhibited industrial melanism.
d. The peppered moth in England exhibited more industrial melanism in 1952-1956 than in 1996.

c. In 1996, nearly 100% of the peppered moths in some regions of England exhibited industrial melanism.

4. Which of the following best explains why the theory of evolution by natural selection is considered "ecological?"
a. It derives from Malthus's essay on human population growth.
b. Evolution occurs over long periods of time.
c. Darwin and Wallace were ecologists.
d. The environmental context affects evolution.

d. The environmental context affects evolution.

Which of the following statements about the evolutionary process is least correct?
a. Evolution has an aim or a purpose: towards greater complexity
b. The fitness - or evolutionary success - of an individual organism depends on its ecological context
c. Evolution requires variation among individuals of a species.
d. Darwin and Wallace discovered the evolutionary process by closely observing processes in nature.

a. Evolution has an aim or a purpose: towards greater complexity

Several finches fly from South America to a Pacific Island archipelago and colonize
the first island they reach. Over time, individuals on this island fly to a nearby island and colonize it. This process occurs repeatedly and over time each colonizing bird becomes its own species due to distinct ecological and environmental processes on each island. What type of speciation best describes this example?
a. Lamarckian speciation
b. Sympatric speciation
c. Allopatric speciation
d. Ecological speciation

c. Allopatric speciation

What type of experiment takes organisms from a variety of sources and rears them under the same conditions?
a. Allopatric experiment
b. Reciprocal transplant experiment
c. Common garden experiment
d. Natural history experiment

c. Common garden experiment

Norfolk Island, located approximately 700 km from New Caledonia and New Zealand, is an island where many endemic species have evolved. If a group of organisms found on Norfolk Island includes many good dispersers, then which of the following would you expect?
a. Most of the species in those groups will be endemic to New Zealand.
b. Those groups will have a relatively low proportion of endemic species.
c. Those groups will have a relatively high proportion of endemic species.
d. Most of the species in those groups will be endemic to New Caledonia.

b. Those groups will have a relatively low proportion of endemic species.

A zebra was bred in captivity with a horse. The resulting offspring were all sterile. Which of the following concepts best accounts for this outcome?
a. Post-zygotic barrier
b. Hybridization
c. Pre-zygotic barrier
d. Sympatric speciation

a. Post-zygotic barrier