APES Unit 5 Review - MCQ

Ecological overshoot occurs when a population's demand on an ecosystem exceeds the biocapacity of that ecosystem to regenerate the resources that are consumed and to absorb wastes. Based on the graph above, in which of the following periods did the human population first exceed Earth's biocapacity?

1975-1980

Which of the following is a direct economic consequence that would likely occur if an area of forest was clear-cut so that a housing development can be built?

A decrease in the number of game hunting licenses purchased

Which of the following aspects of the design for a new urban development will best help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere?

Access to the mass transit train line will provide inhabitants an alternative to driving personal vehicles.

Which of the following statements best describes an unintended environmental consequence of aquaculture fish-farm enclosures located in estuaries?

Aquaculture enclosures can harbor parasites that can negatively affect wild populations that breed in estuaries.

Which of the following would be considered an advantage of increased urban sprawl?

As individuals move out of urban areas to nearby suburbs, the population densities of cities will decrease, reducing the spread of infectious disease.

Biocapacity can be defined as the amount of resources available to individuals in a given country at a specific moment in time. Which of the following statements best explains the trends in the above data?

Biocapacity increased because of improved farming techniques on existing farmland, and the ecological deficit increased because of a growing population and more demand for goods.

Which of the following is an example of an industrial practice that contributes to the tragedy of the commons?

Burning fossil fuels for energy production

A chart illustrates how many liters of water are needed to produce some common foods. Which of the following foods is most suitable to cultivate to minimize water consumption per kilogram of food?

Cereals

A chart illustrates how many liters of water are needed to produce some common foods. Which of the following statements is best supported by the data in the table?

Chicken meat requires less water per kilocalorie than cow meat does.

A graph shows the change in hog farming in the Untied States from 1955 to 2015. The hog-farming industry maintains production levels to satisfy the demand for pork. Which of the following methods of meat production would provide the most likely explanation for the information represented in the graph?

Concentrated animal feeding operations

Soybean crops are generally planted in early or mid-May and harvested in August. The table below shows the times of peak damage to soybean crops from various agricultural pests. Farmers use a data calendar to track pests and plan integrated pest management strategies to maximize crop yields. Which of the following time periods are insect pests most detrimental to the soybean crops?

Early May through mid-September

Various nations have adopted policies designed to combat overfishing. Which of the following approaches is commonly used to combat the problem of overfishing?

Enforcing minimum-size requirements for the capture of some commercial species

Which of the following is a negative consequence of aquaculture?

Excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus can leak from the location.

Three common methods of beef production include rangelands, pasture, and feedlots. The environmental impacts of these different methods for the variety of variables is compared in a graph. Which of the following claims is best supported by the data in the graph?

Feedlots have high levels of pesticide use and energy consumption as a result high demands for grain production.

Aquaculture or fish farming can be used to increase the availability of species like salmon and shrimp for consumption. Although fish farming can have a number of negative environmental effects, it does offer a number of advantages. Which of the following is a valid reason for promoting the use of fish farms?

Fish production is constant, and fish farming reduces pressure on wild stocks.

Plant selection is important for a rain garden. Which of the following best describes the types of plants that would be most effective to use in the rain garden in a experimental design to reduce the impact of urban runoff?

Flood-tolerant plant species so that the plants can withstand large pulses of water from storms

Humans consume a variety of protein products, each with a different carbon footprint based on a variety of factors.

Grass-fed beef has the highest carbon-equivalent footprint because of land use changes to create pasture land combined with contributions from transportation, processing, manure treatment, making fertilizers, and digestive fermentation processes.

Which of the following is an unintended consequence associated with waterlogging caused by flood irrigation?

Higher water tables

Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's predictions for how humans will meet the future nutritional needs of a growing population using current agricultural technology?

Humans have maximized the crop yield with improving technology and the implementation of modern genetic techniques to further increase crop productivity and resilience in order to meet the demand.

Which of the following techniques could best reduce the harmful effects of overfishing if it were to be widely adopted by the fishing industry?

Increased use of large-mesh gill nets for harvesting salmon and trout

After intensive logging, most of the trees along a stream have been removed. Which of the following water quality changes would most likely occur downstream after logging?

Increased water temperature (Due to the increased turbidity and amount of solar insolation)

Which of the following best exemplifies how an action within the fishing industry could lead to a tragedy of the commons?

Overfishing of threatened fish species leading to the eventual depletion of the resource

Which of the following is an example of an environmental benefit of aquaculture?

Raising fish using aquaculture and feeding human populations with the harvest reduces the number of fish caught from the ocean.

Which of the following would decrease with the manufacture, application, and use of synthetic fertilizers rather than organic fertilizers?

Recycling of organic matter

Soybean crops are generally planted in early or mid-May and harvested in August. The table below shows the times of peak damage to soybean crops from various agricultural pests. Farmers use a data calendar to track pests and plan integrated pest management strategies to maximize crop yields. Which of the following pests is a concern to farmers for the longest period of time?

Soybean rust

Which of the following best describes the concept of the tragedy of the commons?

The aim of large logging operations in tropical rain forests is economic gain, rather than sustainability. Therefore, the shared resources in the forest could become depleted.

Which of the following is an assumption made by the author regarding the use of genetically modified crops?

The amount of arable land will remain relatively constant, and the growing human population will have enough food if more crops can be harvested from the same amount of land.

Which of the following aspects in the design for a new urban development would most likely have the greatest negative environmental impact?

The five apartment buildings

The green revolution has improved global agricultural output. Which of the following best describes the author;s perspective on the beginning of the green revolution in the 1970s and 1980s?

The green revolution was successful because of selective breeding, which improved nutritional value and crop yield to increase food production.

Which of the following describes an unintended consequence that results from large-scale agricultural use of water from an aquifer?

The rate of water use likely exceeds the rate of recharge, leading to lowering the water table.

Which of the following best describes environmental damage caused by slash-and-burn farming in tropical rain forests?

The soil loses fertility after a short period of time and will be ineffective for farming use.

Which of the following would be the best measure to use to determine the effectiveness of rain gardens in reducing the impact of urban runoff?

The speed and volume of the water exiting the gardens.

A graph shows the change in the world's ecological footprint in billions of global hectares and change in the world's biocapacity, the land needed to sustainably support the human population, between 1961 and 2014. Which of the following statements correctly describes the trend of ecological footprint compared to biocapacity from 1961 to 2014?

The world's ecological footprint has risen above its capacity to sustainably provide for the human population.

Which of he following environmental effects would most likely result from the clear-cutting of boreal forests by industrial logging operations?

There will be an increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, which will contribute to climate change.

Which of the following best describes the advantages and disadvantages of drip irrigation?

This method most efficiently delivers water directly to plant roots compared with other methods, and wastes less water, but it may be too costly for farmers in developing countries to use.

Which of the following agricultural practices results in soil degradation and most contributes to erosion?

Tilling

A chart illustrates how many liters of water are needed to produce some common foods. Which foods are the most sustainable to produce in order to provide the most kilocalories to the world's growing population while still minimizing water usage?

Vegetables

Which of the following would be the best control in a experimental design regarding rain gardens?

Water samples collected from the roof or parking lot before they passed through the gardens

Soybean crops are generally planted in early or mid-May and harvested in August. The table below shows the times of peak damage to soybean crops from various agricultural pests. Farmers use a data calendar to track pests and plan integrated pest management strategies to maximize crop yields. Which of the following pests is most likely to affect mature plants ready for harvest?

White mold