Exam 3: Biology

Which pair best represents photosynthetic organisms?

Primary producer and autotroph

An organism's role within the structure and function of a particular community is its:

ecological niche.

On average, clouds and surfaces, especially snow, ice, and the ocean, immediately reflect away ____% of the solar radiation that falls on Earth.

30%

Which of the following applies to the deepest zone of a large lake?

Anaerobic conditions

Which statement about Earth's biomes is FALSE?

Deserts have less rainfall due to their distance from the ocean.

Which process plays the most important role in the phosphorous cycle?

Erosion

Organisms that eat plants exclusively are known as______.

Herbivores

Which habitat would most likely have the greatest species richness?

Tropical Rainforest

A biological community and its abiotic environment together comprise which of the following?

ecosystem

When the size of a population begins to approach K, we can expect that the growth rate will:

soon start going down

Approximately what proportion of the radiant energy entering an ecosystem is used in photosynthesis?

1%

What is a typical feature of K-selected organisms?

A low reproductive rate

Which of the following consists of organisms, all of which share a common gene pool?

A population

What environment is characterized by high nutrient inputs and by relatively great fluctuations in salinity and temperature?

An estuary

Which scenario best describes facilitation?

An interaction between members of a population that enhances the local environment for other members of the same population

Which statement best describes a typical food chain?

An owl has a positive impact on the grass population.

The ____ realm has long been separated from other land masses and is the area in which marsupials are particularly common.

Australian

Which of the following organisms would have the highest intrinsic rate of increase?

Bacteria

Which country would be expected to have the greatest species richness per unit area?

Brazil

In accordance with the time hypothesis, which of the following countries would be expected to have the LEAST species richness?

Canada

Between 1990 and 2010, which greenhouse gas increased the most to the warming effect of the planet?

Carbon dioxide

Which of the following processes restores nitrogen to the air?

Denitrification

Which factors are an example of a negative feedback system?

Density dependent

Which action best illustrates in situ conservation?

Designating a large area as a national reserve

The primary reason that Earth experiences seasons is because of the

Earth's tilt on its axis.

A transitional zone where two or more communities meet is known as which of the following?

Ecotone

What key factor limits the number of trophic levels in an ecosystem?

Energy loss

Based on latitude only, which of the following U.S. states would be expected to have the highest species richness?

Georgia

In which of the following habitat types would species diversity be expected to be relatively low?

High environmental stress

The event in human history that changed the natural balance of the carbon cycle was the

Industrial Revolution.

Which of the following is an adaptation of black-tailed prairie dogs?

Modified digestive tracts easily digest seeds of grasses

Traditionally, most ecologists have assumed that community stability is a consequence of:

Müllerian mimicry.

What term refers to the average rate at which organisms produce offspring?

Natality

Which of the following would increase population size?

Natality

A lake in which of the following locations would be expected to have the highest species richness?

National forest

Which of the following relationships is incorrectly paired?

Nesting seabirds—random dispersion

Iteroparity is common in which of the following organisms?

Perennial herbaceous plants

Which of the following is reported to cause deformities in amphibians in the Sierra Nevadas of California?

Pesticides

Which of the following series correctly represents the hierarchical organization within ecology?

Population → community → ecosystem → biosphere

Which of the following is a correct statement regarding populations in biology?

Populations exhibit characteristics distinctive from those of the individuals of which they are composed.

Which of the following is NOT a condition that is likely to lead to uniform population dispersion?

Pressure from predation

Which factor is most important in determining the distribution of organisms in aquatic biomes?

Salinity

What is a practice in which farmers often follow loggers' access roads, cut down the trees, burn the area, and plant crops immediately?

Slash-and-burn agriculture

Currently, much commercial lumber and wood products come from which biome?

Temperate rainforest

Near the poles, what is generally the overriding climate factor?

Temperature

What two abiotic factors are considered to most affect organisms?

Temperature and water

Density-independent factors:

are typically abiotic

Net primary productivity represents

b

At zero population growth:

b = d.

Stratospheric ozone is important because it

blocks solar UV radiation.

Today, the major danger to species is

destruction of habitats.

The ability to meet humanity's current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is

environmental sustainability.

When a species dies, the species is said to be

extinct.

A linear depiction of energy flow in an ecosystem is a(n)

food chain.

Building roads, parking lots, buildings and bridges all contribute to

habitat destruction.

Large-scale experiments conducted in oak forests of the northeastern United States linked bumper acorn crops to booming mouse populations. The conclusion from these experiments is that:

increased levels of first trophic level productivity cause an increase in disease vector activities.

Two members of the same species compete for a limited resource, resulting in equal sharing of the limited resource. What is this called?

intraspecific

The most productive region of a lake is the ____ zone.

littoral

A population that is divided into several local populations among which individuals occasionally disperse (emigrate and immigrate) is known as a:

metapopulation.

The major components of Earth's atmosphere, from the lowest concentration to the greatest concentration, are

nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.

The 'sun's energy is produced by

nuclear fusion reactions.

There are no trees in the tundra because:

of limited root penetration due to permafrost.

The best definition of population density is the number of individuals:

of one species in a given area at a given time.

An example of a density-dependent factor that influences the size of a population is:

parasites

Natural selection acts most directly on:

populations

The use of the principles of ecology to return a degraded environment to as functional a state as possible is called

restoration ecology.

Generally, r-selected organisms exhibit:

short life spans and early maturity.

Perhaps the biggest problem associated with the Endangered Species Act as it currently stands is that it

tends to protect a limited number of organisms.

Transpiration is most closely associated with

terrestrial plants.

Habitat is best described as:

the local environment in which a species lives.