Coral Reef Ecology: True/False

"Survival of the fittest" refers to an organism's strength in beating out competitors for survival.

False

Eutrophic lakes have murky, highly productive waters located closest to the wetland status in which many clear water species cannot survive.

False

Increasing population in tropical coastal areas poses no threat to coral reefs.

False

Overfishing of only one or two specific species of reef fish does not significantly affect the overall health of the reef.

False

Scientists predict that, in the future, coral reefs will increase in size and number and will spread farther from the equator if the Earth's temperature increases due to global warming.

False

The "tragedy of the commons" refers to lack of agricultural sustenance available for the common (poor) people in a country.

False

The greenhouse effect is an unnatural warming of the troposphere.

False

The world's economies are not affected by climate change.

False

Threatened coral reefs can recover quickly if left alone since corals grow at a very fast rate.

False

Corals require sunlight to thrive and be healthy since, although corals are animals, they live in symbiosis with unicellular algae (plants) that live in their polyps.

True

Deforestation in tropical coastal communities can severely damage nearby coral reefs.

True

Energy cannot be recycled.

True

Generally, citizens of developed nations have a larger "ecological footprint per person" than citizens of developing nations.

True

Healthy coral reefs require very specific abiotic conditions and consequently are very fragile, therefore even slight changes in water temperature, salinity, turbidity, or pH can severely damage a reef.

True

Leading biologists suggest that during the 20th century, extinction rates increased by 100-1000 times the natural background extinction rate.

True

Major companies may be able to profit from developing or using energy efficient and cleaner energy technologies.

True

Mankind's use of renewable energy will lessen the effect of human activities on climate change.

True

Marine pollution control must include land and air pollution control policies.

True

Only mutations that occur in the genes of reproductive cells are passed on to offspring.

True

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, human activity released few gases into the atmosphere, but now due to population growth, fossil fuel burning, and deforestation, we are severely disturbing the combination of gases in the atmosphere.

True

The Exxon Valdez oil spill illustrates point source water pollution.

True

The flow of energy form the sun is one-way, or linear.

True

Unavoidable global warming consequences include major heat waves, more intense forest fires, prolonged droughts, glacial melt, and sea level rise.

True