AP BIO UNIT 8 PROGRESS CHECK

Zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, were introduced into the Great Lakes on shipping vessels, first appearing in Lake St. Clair in the 1980s. Since that time, they have rapidly expanded in range, as shown in Figure 1. Which of the following best supports the alternate hypothesis that zebra mussels display characteristics of an invasive species?

Lacking natural predators and able to outcompete native species of mussels and other freshwater species for food, zebra mussels have experienced exponential population growth and rapid expansion into new habitats.

In the mid-1920s, gray wolves, Canis lupus, were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern United States. Over the course of 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from Canada were relocated to the park. Researchers have tracked the growth of the wolf population from 21 in 1995 to 108 at the end of the study in 2016 (Figure 1). Which of the following best describes the change in coyote behavior in the presence of wolves?

Rest-Decreases Travel-No effect Hunt-No effect Feeding on Carcasses- Increases Vigilance- Increases

A biologist was investigating the effects of herbivory on the amount of nicotine produced by the leaves of tobacco plants (Nicotiana rustica). Which of the following correctly identifies the dependent variable and the independent variable for the experiment?

The dependent variable is the percent change in the amount of nicotine, and the independent variable is the time interval the plants were exposed to the hornworms.

What do the data in Figure 1 suggest about a null hypothesis that the East China Sea ecosystem is unaffected by climactic events?

The null hypothesis is rejected since there are significant effects of EAWMEAWM and PDOPDO on surface sea temperature and copepod abundance.

If the current population size of bison is 3,652 and the maximum growth rate of the population is 0.28, calculate the population size after one year and determine whether the park will need to take measures to control the population.

The population will be 3,845 after a year. The bison will not pose a problem until the following year, and no conservation action will need to take place.

Meerkats live together in groups to help raise and protect their offspring. Meerkat pups are most vulnerable when they are away from their burrow foraging for food. Adult meerkats exhibit sentinel behavior, standing upright and making alarm calls to warn other members in the group that predators are nearby. In a study of meerkat behaviors, scientists observed meerkat foraging groups and recorded the presence or absence of pups along with the frequency of adult sentinel behavior. The scientists determined that sentinel behavior increased when pups were present in the foraging group. Which of the following correctly identifies the dependent and independent variables in the described study?

The presence of pups is the independent variable, and the frequency of sentinel behavior is the dependent variable.

Some researchers link changes in the distribution of these species to warming of the oceans due to climate change. Which of the following pieces of data best supports this alternative hypothesis?

The prey of these species require colder waters to survive, and owing to warming in the oceans, they are moving farther north, to higher latitudes, where the water is colder.

Figure 1 shows the population fluctuations of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the eastern Pacific Ocean over the course of six years. The major dip in phytoplankton was attributed to a lack of nutrients for phytoplankton. Of the following, which explains why the zooplankton also dipped during the same year and then seemed to cycle over the next three years?

The reduction in the phytoplankton population meant that the zooplankton's energy source was drastically reduced, leading to the decrease in the zooplankton population size. After the dip, the phytoplankton provided a steady energy source, and the zooplankton population fluctuated around its carrying capacity.

In the mid-1920s, gray wolves, Canis lupus, were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern United States. Over the course of 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from Canada were relocated to the park. Researchers have tracked the growth of the wolf population from 21 in 1995 to 108 at the end of the study in 2016 (Figure 1). Which of the following is the most likely cause of the change in mean aspen height from 1998 to 2010 ?

The reintroduction of wolves led to a decrease in the population of elk, allowing aspen trees to grow taller.

Which of the following best predicts the effects of an increase in killer whale predation on sea otters on the Adak Island ecosystem?

The sea urchin population will increase and the kelp population will decrease, leading to reduced total biomass and diversity in the Adak Island ecosystem

A researcher suggests that El Niño conditions cause a significant decrease in the size of the Galápagos marine iguana population. Which of the following would best support this alternative hypothesis?

Warm surface water contains fewer nutrients needed by red and green algae than cooler surface waters does.

Baker's yeast, Saccharomycetes cerevisiae, is the species of yeast that is commonly used in baking, brewing, and making wine. It is a single-celled organism; each cell is capable of undergoing asexual reproduction by mitosis and sexual reproduction by meiosis, forming spores that combine with other spores. Which of the following best explains the data in Table 1

Yeast respond to nutritional stress with sexual reproduction, producing new genetic combinations, or dormancy.

Researchers were studying the effects of microbes on the growth of the yellow bedstraw plant, Galium verum. They grew yellow bedstraw plants under four treatments: in the presence of soil bacteria only, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi only, both bacteria and AM fungi, or neither. After 6 months, they measured the biomass of the plants (Figure 1). Which of the following best describes a statistically significant relationship indicated in Figure 1 ?

Yellow bedstraw plants grow significantly more in the presence of both soil bacteria and AMAM fungi (treatment 4) than in the presence of soil bacteria alone (treatment 2).

Which of the following statements best explains these relationships in terms of energy transfer?

Only 10% of the energy on each level of the trophic pyramid is available for use by the next level. The rest is lost as heat or used for growth and repair.

Bt corn varieties are genetically modified to produce a toxin that specifically kills corn borers, a type of insect that eats and damages corn crops. Insects that are not closely related to corn borers are not affected by the toxin. Figure 1 shows the increasing production of Bt corn varieties and the change in the use of broad-spectrum pesticides that were the primary means of killing corn borers before the invention of Bt corn. How do the data in Figure 1 support the alternative hypothesis that increased use of Bt corn reduces the impact of corn farming on the natural environment?

The toxin in Bt corn kills only the corn pests, leaving other insects unharmed.

In the mid-1920s, gray wolves, Canis lupus, were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern United States. Over the course of 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from Canada were relocated to the park. Researchers have tracked the growth of the wolf population from 21 in 1995 to 108 at the end of the study in 2016 (Figure 1). Which of the following is closest to the calculated wolf population size in 2017 based on the student's claim?

103

In the mid-1920s, gray wolves, Canis lupus, were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern United States. Over the course of 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from Canada were relocated to the park. Researchers have tracked the growth of the wolf population from 21 in 1995 to 108 at the end of the study in 2016 (Figure 1). Based on information in Figure 1, which of the following is closest to the annual growth rate of the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park from 1996 to 2004 ?

17 wolves per year

Based on the data in Figure 1, which of the following statements is most accurate about the species diversity of the four different environments that the students analyzed?

Based on the data, there is no statistically significant difference between the species diversity of plants in the light, moist environment and in the dark, moist environment.

Figure 1 shows a food web that describes the relationships within a community containing nine species. Each circle represents a separate species. The size of the circle represents the population size of the species relative to other species in the same trophic level.

If secondary consumer X is removed, then the leftmost primary consumer will increase in number. Consequently, the two producer species that this primary consumer eats will decrease in number.

Soluble reactive phosphate (SRP) is a term used to describe the amount of phosphate available for uptake by living things. Which of the following observations would best support this alternative hypothesis?

Increased fertilizer use near this section of the river has led to increased runoff of phosphates into the river.

In the mid-1920s, gray wolves, Canis lupus, were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern United States. Over the course of 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from Canada were relocated to the park. Researchers have tracked the growth of the wolf population from 21 in 1995 to 108 at the end of the study in 2016 (Figure 1). Identify the independent variable for the experimental results shown in Figure 2.

presence of wolves