Final Exam

The term “ecology” comes from a word meaning “house.” (True or False)

True

The action of an “ecological filter” is also known as “natural selection.” (True or False)

True

Mineral nutrients can be released from soil particles with the help of secretions by plant roots (True or False)

True

The side of a mountain facing into the prevailing winds from the ocean has less rainfall than the side facing away from the winds (True or False)

False

According to the hypothesis developed in class, marine ray-finned fish are hyposmotic because the MRCA of all extant (alive today) ray finned fishes lived in salt water. (True or False)

False

In C4 photosynthesis, stomates are open at night and CO2 is fixed at night, allowing stomates to be closed during the day. (True or False)

False

Hair on the head helps keep the human brain cool in sunny, hot climates (True or False)

True

If a tadpole metamorphoses into a frog faster in the presence of a predator fish, compared to when it is kept alone, this is an example of phenotypic plasticity (True or False)

True

We do not have any way to estimate what global temperatures were millions of years ago. (True or False)

False

An organism’s life history is the description of its life cycle. (True or False)

False

The shallow edge of a body of water. In the case of the ocean, it is the intertidal zone.

Littoral

Ocean tides enter the mouth of a river, producing a mixture of fresh and salt water and depositing an abundance of nutrient-rich sediments.

Estuary

Vegetation growing on the edge of a stream or river; often including trees that are adapted to more moisture than the trees in the surrounding forest.

Riparian

The bottom floor or sediments of a lake or the ocean

Benthic

In the ocean, the relationships of who eats whom, from plankton to invertebrate larvae to fish, is studied from the perspective of the

A. Organism D. Ecosystem B. Population E. Biosphere C. Community

C

In the African savanna, antelopes browse the lower leaves of trees while zebras graze on grasses. This partitioning of resources means that antelopes and zebras have

A. Different habitats

B. Completely different niches

C. Partly different niches

D. The same niche

C

Animals and fungi are both heterotrophs, but animals mostly consume living plants and other animals, while fungi mostly consume dead plants. This means animals and fungi have ______ trophic modes and ______ functional roles.

A. similar; similar

B. similar; different

C. different; similar

D. different; different

B

According to the figure (on the right) showing the spatial vs. temporal scale of N deposition into the sea off the coast of Sweden, which water column process affects an area of 100 m and can last several hours?

A. NOx oxidation

B. Turbulent mixing in the water

C. Atmospheric mesoscale processes

D. Algal blooms

E. Water exchange

B

“Alligators adjust the sex of their offspring to favor the rare sex in the population, increasing mating opportunities for the offspring” is an example of a(n) ______ hypothesis, and “The sex of alligators is determined by the temperature of the nest, which affects gene expression in the developing embryo” is an example of a(n) ______ hypothesis.

A. Proximate; proximate

B. Proximate; ultimate

C. Ultimate; proximate

D. Ultimate; ultimate

C

In a study to test the effects of biological control by weevil or psyllid insects on the invasive tree Melaleuca quinquenervia in South Florida, seedlings of the tree were placed in small cages. Each cage contained one tree seedling with either no insect (1 cage), 10 weevils (1 cage), 10 psyllids (1 cage), or 5 of each type of insect (1 cage); 4 cages in total.

This study was a(n):

A. On site field experiment (not a transplant)

B. Microcosm experiment

C. Transplant field experiment

D. Natural experiment

E. Correlational study

B

In a study to test the effects of biological control by weevil or psyllid insects on the invasive tree Melaleuca quinquenervia in South Florida, seedlings of the tree were placed in small cages. Each cage contained one tree seedling with either no insect (1 cage), 10 weevils (1 cage), 10 psyllids (1 cage), or 5 of each type of insect (1 cage); 4 cages in total.

In this study, what is missing from the design, as described?

A. Question

B. Treatments

C. Control(s)

D. Replicates

E. Nothing—it is a fully valid design

D

A property of water important to life is that it

A. Does not dissolve minerals in the soil

B. Is denser in the liquid state than in the solid state

C. Is not able to support buoyant organisms

D. Is liquid at only a narrow range of temperatures

E. Is non-polar on the molecular level

B

A pH of 8.0 is _______ more _______ than a pH of 6.0.

A. 2 times; acidic

B. 2 times; basic

C. 10 times; neutral

D. 100 times; acidic

E. 100 times; basic

E

Soil structure comprises

A. Mineral particles

B. Air

C. Water

D. Organic matter such as glomalin

E. All of the above

E

You use the jar method to test the soil at a field site and obtain the result shown on the right. This soil is approximately

A. 60% sand, 20% silt, 20% clay

B. 50% sand, 10% silt, 40% clay

C. 33% sand, 33% silt, 33% clay

D. 30% sand, 10% silt, 60% clay

E. Can’t determine from this result

B

A water molecule has just left a soil particle and entered a root cell to begin the process of transpiration. The water entered the root cell because

A. The cell pumped it inside by active transport

B. Its surface tension caused it to adhere to the cell

C. Its cohesion with other water molecules pulled it inside

D. The \[solutes\] outside the cell is greater than the \[solutes\] inside

E. The \[solutes\] inside the cell is greater than the \[solutes\] outside

E

A mangrove acts partly as an osmoconformer when it

A. Grows roots that emerge from the water to obtain oxygen

B. Maintains function despite an increased \[salt\] in its roots

C. Excludes salt from entering the roots

D. Actively transports salt out of the roots

E. Excretes salt from the leaves

B

Overall, plants expend energy to ______ N, and animals expend energy to ______ N.

A. Obtain; obtain

B. Obtain; remove excess

C. Remove excess; obtain

D. Remove excess; remove excess

B

On the right are the absorption spectra of the membranes of purple and green photosynthetic bacteria. According to DasSarma (2006), purple and green bacteria evolved together. This hypothesis is supported by the peak absorption of ______ light by the green bacteria and of ______ light by the purple bacteria.

A. Blue and red; green

B. Blue and red; blue and red

C. Green; blue and red

D. Green; green

E. Green; purple

A

In which lowland environment(s) are C4 grasses expected to be more common than C3 grasses?

A. Cool and dry

B. Cool and wet

C. Hot and dry

D. Hot and wet

E. All of the above

C

A plant could be kept cool by all of the following mechanisms except

A. Closing its stomata to prevent water loss

B. Folding leaves to shade from the sun

C. Having most of its biomass underground

D. Having silvery hairs on the leaves

E. Having small leaves

A

On the diagram on the right, at which point in the Earth’s orbit (A-D) is it winter in the Northern Hemisphere?

C

On the diagram of the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere on the right, where (A-E) is dry air sinking and warming, causing low rainfall?

D

In the Northern Hemisphere, the south-facing slope of a hill will be ______ compared to the north-facing slope. Consider only sun exposure.

A. Shadier and moister

B. Shadier and drier

C. Sunnier and moister

D. Sunnier and dryer

C

South Florida pine rocklands are generally ______ than hardwood hammocks, and are maintained by ______.

A. Drier; salinity

B. Drier; fire

C. Drier; deep soil

D. Wetter; salinity

E. Wetter; fire

B

As shown on the right,

A. Bogotá, Mérida, and Rio are at the same latitude

B. Rio has the most pronounced dry season

C. The sun is in the southern sky in June in Rio

D. The sun is in the northern sky in June in Rio

E. It rains the least in Mérida in the months when the sun is overhead at noon

D

Shrubs and grasses gradually replace trees in the transition from

A. Grassland to savanna to forest

B. Forest to savanna to grassland

C. Evergreen to deciduous forests

D. Tropical to subtropical to temperate

E. Temperate to subtropical to tropical

B

In the tropical rainforest, which layer is formed by plants specialized to climb the tall trees?

A. Emergent D. Liana B. Canopy E. Epiphyte C. Understory

D

About how many months out of the year is there sufficient precipitation for plant growth in Hong Kong? Do not consider the length of the growing season.

A. 0

B. 3

C. 9

D. 12

E. Need more data to estimate

C

Please use the Walter diagram for Hong Kong and the Whitaker biome diagram above to answer these questions. On the Walter diagram, temperature is shown by the gray curve and precipitation by the black curve. Frost-free months are shown by the shaded box on the x-axis. The x-axis represents a year and is divided into 12 months, starting with January. Hong Kong has 23.1°C average annual temperature and 2211 mm average annual precipitation.

The warmest month in Hong Kong has an average temperature of about _____.

A. 17°C

B. 23°C

C. 28°C

D. 57°C

E. 65°C

C

Please use the Walter diagram for Hong Kong and the Whitaker biome diagram above to answer these questions. On the Walter diagram, temperature is shown by the gray curve and precipitation by the black curve. Frost-free months are shown by the shaded box on the x-axis. The x-axis represents a year and is divided into 12 months, starting with January. Hong Kong has 23.1°C average annual temperature and 2211 mm average annual precipitation.

According to the relevant data and the Whitaker diagram only, which biome is Hong Kong in?

A. Temperate grassland

B. Woodland/ shrubland

C. Temperate seasonal forest

D. Tropical seasonal forest/ savanna

E. Tropical rainforest

D

Please use the Walter diagram for Hong Kong and the Whitaker biome diagram above to answer these questions. On the Walter diagram, temperature is shown by the gray curve and precipitation by the black curve. Frost-free months are shown by the shaded box on the x-axis. The x-axis represents a year and is divided into 12 months, starting with January. Hong Kong has 23.1°C average annual temperature and 2211 mm average annual precipitation.

European magpies fledge the maximum number of offspring if they lay 7 eggs. If they lay fewer than 7 eggs, they get fewer offspring. If they lay more than 7 eggs, the parents cannot feed all of the chicks well, so they are undernourished and have lower survival. Egg number is thus under which type of selection?

A. Directional selection

B. Stabilizing selection

C. Disruptive selection

D. Selection for phenotypic plasticity

E. Genetic drift

B

If their food supply is dwindling when desert locusts mature, they change color to become conspicuous (black and yellow), group together, and forage in a swarm. This is an example of which kind(s) of phenotypic plasticity?

A. Morphological

B. Behavioral

C. Physiological

D. (A) and (B)

E. (B) and (C)

D

On a temperate forest tree such as a maple or oak, a sun leaf has ______ surface area than/as a shade leaf, and is ______ than/as a shade leaf.

A. More; thicker

B. More; thinner

C. Less; thicker

D. Less; thinner

E. The same; the same thickness

C

Here are results (on the right) modified from Deere & Chown (2006) showing the running performance of 4 species of mites kept at cool (solid line) and warm (dotted line) temperatures and then tested at temperatures from 0-40°C. Which species of mite (A-D) acclimated best to the two temperatures they were kept at?

C

Which has the longest digestive system, a leaf-eating herbivore (vegetarian), omnivore, or carnivore mammal?

A. The herbivore

B. The omnivore

C. The carnivore

D. No difference would be expected

A

Please use the figure on the right, showing δ 15N (‰; y-axis) vs. δ 13C (‰; x-axis) for Late Holocene humans and associated fauna in Southern California.

Which humans most likely domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris) and shared their food (which included fish) with the dogs?

A. SRI-2

B. Island

C. Coast

D. Interior

E. Can’t tell

A

Please use the figure on the right, showing δ 15N (‰; y-axis) vs. δ 13C (‰; x-axis) for Late Holocene humans and associated fauna in Southern California.

Use relative δ 15N values to infer trophic level. Deer are herbivores, foxes (Urocyon) are omnivores, and dogs (Canis) are carnivores. Interior Humans thus were probably

A. Vegetarian

B. Omnivorous

C. Carnivorous

D. Can’t tell

B

All of the following are life history trade-offs except:

A. Allocation of energy to growth vs. reproduction

B. Few large offspring vs. many small offspring

C. Mating with a superior male vs. mating with an inferior male

D. Reproducing later at a larger size vs. reproducing earlier at a smaller size

E. Several small bouts of reproduction vs. one large bout of reproduction

C

The sycomore fig (Ficus sycomorus) is a tree of tropical southern Africa. An aspect of the sycomore fig’s life history that is the most like r-selection is that it

A. Lives hundreds of years and becomes very large

B. Lives in rich soils deposited over many years on riverbanks

C. Produces hundreds of fruits at a time, each containing about 100 seeds.

D. Produces only a few offspring that survive to maturity

E. Requires a specialized pollinator to produce seeds

C

Iteroparity might most likely be favored over semelparity when

A. Adults eventually become crowded and compete strongly

B. Adults spend only a small fraction of their energy budget on reproduction

C. Good conditions for offspring survival occur only rarely

D. In a plant, a gigantic flower display attracts more pollinators than a modest one

E. Production of huge numbers of offspring at one time is needed to survive predators

B

According to optimal foraging (Charnov’s marginal value theorem as shown on the right), an alligator would be most likely to leave its present gator hole if

A. The next hole is large

B. The next hole is nearby

C. Food quality is decreasing in the present hole

D. (A) and (B)

E. (B) and (C)

E

The recent mismatch (as shown below) between the hatching of songbird eggs in the Eastern USA and Europe and the availability of food (caterpillars) for the hatchlings has been caused by

A. birds laying eggs sooner due to climate change

B. birds laying eggs later due to climate change

C. trees leafing out sooner and insect eggs hatching sooner due to climate change

D. trees leafing out later and insect eggs hatching later due to climate change

E. fewer insects on the trees due to agricultural pesticide use

C

According to the websites you were invited to visit, some (but not many) species of plants have purple leaves because

A. The plants lack chlorophyll and are parasites

B. The purple pigment protects leaves from light that is too intense.

C. Herbivores are attracted by the color purple

D. The purple color is a mutation that people liked the look of and selected for

E. The purple pigment protects the leaves from fungal disease

D

According to the NYT article on climate change questions and answers that you were invited to read, climate change _____ threaten our civilization, and _____ solvable by individual choices (e.g. transportation, energy use, diet) alone.

A. Does; is

B. Does; is not

C. Does not; is

D. Does not, is not

E. May; may be

B

According to the article on Nepenthes pitcher plants that you were invited to read

A. Nepenthes don’t need photosynthesis because they consume prey

B. A thirsty hiker cannot safely drink the fluid in a Nepenthes pitcher

C. Stable isotopes are not useful for determining the “diet” of Nepenthes

D. Nepenthes grow in desert soils that are very low in nutrients

E. Nepenthes make both aerial and ground pitchers that capture different prey

E

Viscosity

is the thickness of a fluid that causes objects to encounter resistance as they move through it.

Ions

are atoms or molecules with an electric charge.

Saturation

is the upper limit of solubility in water for a given mineral.

Acidity

is the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution.

pH

is a measure of its acidity and is defined as the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration.

Acid Deposition

the deposition of acids from the atmosphere as rain, snow, or other forms of precipitation. It is a result of emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which are converted to sulfuric acid and nitric acid in the atmosphere and transported downwind.

Solute

A solute is a substance that is dissolved in a solution, typically a liquid, such as water.

Semipermeable membrane

is a membrane that allows certain molecules and ions to pass through it, while blocking the passage of other molecules and ions.

Passive transport

is the process by which molecules move through a membrane without the need for energy.

Active transport

is the process by which molecules move against a concentration gradient, from an area of lower concentration to an area of higher concentration, with the help of energy.

Osmosis

is the process by which molecules move across a semi-permeable membrane in order to equalize the concentrations of the solution on either side.

Osmotic potential

is the measure of the ability of a solution to cause water to move across a semi-permeable membrane.

Osmoregulation

is the process by which an organism maintains the concentration of its internal fluids, such as blood and intracellular fluids, within a normal range.

Hyperosmotic

solutions are solutions that have a higher solute concentration than the solution they are being compared with.

Hyposmotic

solutions are solutions that have a lower solute concentration than the solution they are being compared with.

Sample standard deviation

is a measure of the variation of a sample of data from the mean.

Standard error of the mean

is a measure of the variability of the mean of a sample of data from the true mean of the population.

Bicarbonate ion (HCO3 − )

A negatively charged ion composed of one hydrogen atom, one carbon atom, and three oxygen atoms.

Carbonate ion (CO3 2−)

A negatively charged ion composed of one carbon atom and three oxygen atoms.

Boundary layer

A thin layer of air that is in contact with the surface of the Earth and that affects the exchange of energy and momentum between the atmosphere and surface.

Countercurrent circulation

A type of circulation where two fluids with different properties flow in opposite directions to each other.

Concurrent circulation

A type of circulation where two fluids with different properties flow in the same direction. Anaerobic

Q10

is a measure of its rate of change in response to a 10°C increase in temperature.

Thermophilic

organisms are organisms that thrive in high temperatures.

Thermal pollution

is the introduction of heat into a body of water, resulting in an increase in the water temperature that can adversely affect aquatic life.

Glycerol

is a type of alcohol that is used in many different biological processes. It is a key component in the formation of lipids and is also used in the formation of glycoproteins.

Glycoproteins

are proteins that contain carbohydrates (sugars). They are important components of cell membranes and are involved in many cellular processes.

Supercooling

is the process by which a liquid can remain liquid at temperatures below its freezing point.

Optimum

is the point at which a particular environmental factor is most favorable for an organism or process.

Thermal Optimum

is the point at which the temperature is most favorable for an organism or process. Isozymes

Coral Bleaching

is a phenomenon in which corals lose their color due to environmental stress. This can be caused by increased temperatures, pollution, and other factors.

Water Potential

The potential energy generated by the attractive forces between water molecules and the environment, including gravity, pressure, osmotic potential, and matric potential.

Matric Potential

The potential energy generated by the attractive forces between water molecules and soil particles.

Field Capacity

The maximum amount of water that soil can hold against the force of gravity.

Wilting Point

The lowest water potential at which most plants can obtain water from the soil.

Salinization

The process of increasing the salt content of soil and ground water.

Cohesion

The strong attractive forces between molecules of the same type, such as water molecules.

Root Pressure

The pressure generated by osmotic potential in the roots of a plant that draws in water from the soil and forces it into the xylem elements.

Transpiration

The process of water loss from a plant leaf to the atmosphere.

Cohesion–Tension Theory

The mechanism of water movement from roots to leaves due to water cohesion and water tension.

Stomata

Specialized cells found on the surface of a leaf that regulate the exchange of gases between the leaf and the atmosphere.

Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation is a type of energy that is made up of electric and magnetic fields and travels in waves.

Visible light

Visible light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye.

Photosynthetically active region

The photosynthetically active region is the range of wavelengths of light that can be used for photosynthesis.