BI-210-Ecology Final Exam

Thermoneutral zone

Range of environmental temperatures over which a constant basal metabolic rate can be maintained.

As compared with terrestrial ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems

are more likely to be characterized by the animals they contain as well as the plants.

In the study by Jennifer Hughes and colleagues, in which community did it appear that the species richness had been adequately sampled? Select one: a. East Amazonian soil bacteria b. Costa Rican moths c. A plant community from a forest in Michigan d. Human oral bacteria

c.

Which conclusion does not follow from the list of ecological maxims? a. At some point, every population will experience checks on its growth and resource use. b. Whatever affects one organism can affect others as well. c. Evolution took place in the past, but it is no longer occurring. Correct d. Ecosystems change over space and time.

c.

Which event is not part of the life cycle of the trematode that infects frogs? Select one: a. The parasite undergoes sexual reproduction in birds. b. Parasite eggs are released into water via bird feces where they hatch into free-swimming miracidia. c. The free-swimming cercariae infect adult frogs. d. The parasite undergoes asexual reproduction in snails.

c.

Which statement about adaptation is true? Select one: a. Genetic adaptations evolve within individuals during an individual's lifetime. b. "Adaptation" is another word for "acclimatization." c. Genetic variation within a population is a requirement for the evolution of adaptations. Correct d. Both a and b

c.

Which statement about keystone predators is true? Select one: a. They usually influence primary producers directly. b. They usually are abundant in number and/or have disproportionately high biomass. c. They usually influence primary producers indirectly. d. They are the same as foundation species.

c.

Which statement best summarizes Elton's views on succession? Select one: a. Plant communities are like "superorganisms"—that is, groups of species that work together in a mutual effort toward some deterministic end. b. Each community has its own predictable life history; left undisturbed, the community will ultimately reach a stable, predetermined endpoint. c. Organisms and the environment interact to shape the direction that succession will take.

c.

Which statement about change in communities is true? Select one: a. Only biotic factors can be agents of change. b. Only abiotic factors can be agents of change. c. Disturbances create opportunities for some species to grow or reproduce due to the injury or death of other individuals. Correct d. "Stress" and "disturbance" are interchangeable words that describe the same processes.

c. Disturbances create opportunities for some species to grow or reproduce due to the injury or death of other individuals

The final theoretical stage of succession is called the _______ stage.

climax

An association of populations of different species living in the same area is called a(n)

community

On a warm day, a dog pants and some of the water on its tongue evaporates. This evaporation has a _______ effect that is caused by _______.

cooling; latent heat transfer

Although beavers are relatively rare, they have considerable influence over species interactions in communities in which they are present because of the dams that they construct. The beaver is thus an example of a(n) Select one: a. ecosystem engineer. b. foundation species. c. keystone species. d. Both b and c

d.

Which result does not support the overkill hypothesis as the cause of the extinction of megafauna in North America? Select one: a. The selectivity of the extinctions b. The findings of butchering sites containing remains of animals c. The findings of increased extinctions soon after the arrival of humans on oceanic islands d. All of the above support the overkill hypothesis.

d.

Which statement about the "killer alga," Caulerpa taxifolia, is false? Select one: a. It has evolved cold resistance. b. Its invasive range extends at least as far as Spain on the west and Croatia on the east. c. It was unintentionally released into the Mediterranean by the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. d. It is toxic to humans and other mammals.

d.

Where would a foundation species most likely be located in the diagram?

d. D

Which of the following is not an abiotic factor that can be an agent of change? Select one: a. A hurricane b. Acid rain c. An ice storm d. Digging

d. Digging

Trees that routinely drop their leaves during cold or dry periods are referred to as

deciduous

Cougars prey on both white-tailed deer and mule deer. Because of their shared predator, each deer species' abundance is affected by the presence of the other deer species. The cougar and the mule deer are engaged in a(n)

direct interaction

Net primary production (NPP) is the amount of

energy that producers fix by photosynthesis or other means, minus the amount lost as heat in cellular respiration.

According to the _______ model of succession, the early successional species modify the environment so as to facilitate the subsequent colonization of later colonizing species.

facilitation

Which organisms are found only in the photic zone?

phytoplankton

In their studies of succession in Glacier Bay, Alaska, Chapin and colleagues found that the survival rate of germinated spruce seeds was highest at the _______ stage.

pioneer

A group of individuals of a single species of swamp sparrows lives in the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts, and these individuals interact with one another. This is an example of a(n)

population

In the canopies of tropical forests, plants are able to survive despite the high temperatures and high levels of solar radiation due to the process of

transpiration

In contrast to C3 plants, C4 plants have _______, which keeps the CO2 concentration high where the Calvin cycle operates.

well-differentiated mesophyll cells and bundle sheath tissue with a waxy coating

Suppose that a small plant, through photosynthesis, has generated 12 trillion molecules of glucose. Based on the net reaction of photosynthesis, the cell has split _______ molecules of water

72 trillion

Suppose you wanted to determine whether you had adequately sampled the species richness of a given community. Which result would lead most strongly to the conclusion that the current sampling had adequately assessed the species diversity?

A species accumulation curve that leveled off

Which trait cannot evolve by natural selection?

A trait that is the result of an individual's life experiences and does not have a genetic basis

Community

An association of populations of different species in the same area

trade-off

An organism's allocation of its limited energy or other resources to one structure or function at the expense of another

Pelagic zone

Open ocean beyond the continental shelf

Refer to the figure, based on Kiesecker's field experiments testing the effects of parasites and pesticides on frogs. Which statement gives the most valid interpretation of the results? Select one: a. Exposure to pesticides was necessary for frogs to become deformed. b. Exposure to parasites was necessary for the frogs to become deformed. c. All frogs exposed to parasites were deformed. d. Exposure to pesticides had no effect on the percentage of frogs that became deformed.

b.

It is likely that the first organisms on Earth were _______ that obtained energy through _______.

heterotrophs; amino acids and sugars that formed spontaneously in the early atmosphere

Which statement about temperate grasslands is true?

??- Ch 1, 3, 16 review

Though it contains only 11% of Earth's terrestrial vegetation cover, the _______ biome is home to about half of Earth's species.

tropical rainforest

Which early ecologist maintained that plant communities are analogous to "superorganisms"?

Fredrick Clements

Four species of fish in a pond are found in equal abundance. The Shannon index of the fish community is therefore

-4 [0.25 (ln 0.25)].

How many total trophic levels are present in a food web in which the top trophic level consists of secondary consumers? (Do not consider decomposers or omnivores.) Select one: a. 2 b. 4 c. 3 d. 5

3

Estimates show that oceans absorb about _______ of all the atmospheric CO2.

48%

Population

A group of individuals of a single species that live in a particular area and interaction with one another

genetic drift

A process in which chance events determine which alleles are passed from one generation to the next, thereby causing allele frequencies to fluctuate randomly over time

Which statement about evolution by natural selection is true?

Adaptations are the result of evolution by natural selection.

Which sequence represents the correct order of levels of biological organization, from largest to smallest?

Biosphere; ecosystem; community; population

Which environment typically experiences the most extreme seasonal variation?

Boreal Forests

Which statement about ecotypes is true? Select one: a. Ecotypes are populations with adaptations to unique environments. b. With sufficient divergence over the course of time, ecotypes can become separate species. c. An ecotype is always able to acclimate to severe cold weather. d. Both a and b

Both a & b

Which statement about food webs is true? Select one: a. Food webs generally provide much information about the strengths of interactions across trophic levels. IncorrectBloom's Category: 2. Understanding Textbook Reference: Concept 16.1 Communities are groups of interacting species that occur together at the same place and time b. Food webs provide information about trophic and non-trophic interactions. c. Most food webs do not include information about symbiotic relationships. d. All species occupy only a single trophic level in a food web.

C.

Which organisms are not heterotrophs?

Chemosynthetic archaea synthesizing carbohydrates

Primary succession

Colonization of habitats devoid of life

Refer to the figure, based on Kiesecker's field experiments testing the effects of parasites and pesticides on frogs. Which statement gives the most valid interpretation of the results?

Exposure to parasites was necessary for the frogs to become deformed.

Which term refers to a community of organisms plus the physical environment in which they live?

Ecosystem

Convergence

Evolution of similar growth forms among distantly related species in response to similar selection pressures

How do connections in nature lead to unanticipated side effects in the case of amphibian deformities?

Increased nutrients to ponds stimulate the growth of algae and provide the snails with a more abundant food source, which also increases the number of Ribeiroia.

The earliest autotrophs on Earth were probably not photosynthetic but instead were chemosynthetic bacteria or archaea. In what way was the early atmosphere different from the atmosphere today?

It was richer in CO2 and methane.

Ecotype

Populations with adaptations to unique environments

Rubisco, which is an important catalyst in photosynthesis, is also a catalyst in the process of photorespiration. Photorespiration differs from photosynthesis in that in photorespiration _______ is taken up, _______ is released, and there is a net _______ of energy.

O2; CO2; loss

allele

One of two or more forms of a gene that result in the production of different versions of the protein that the gene encodes

Which plant has the ability to grow from the base of its leaves, thereby keeping its reproductive buds under the surface and permitting high tolerance of climatic fluctuations?

Perennial grasses

Secondary succession

Reestablishment of a community in which some, but not all, organisms have been destroyed

Ectotherms

Regulate body temperature through energy exchange with the external environment

Endotherms

Rely primarily on internal heat generation

stabilizing selection

Selection that favors individuals with an intermediate phenotype.

directional selection

Selection that favors individuals with one extreme of a heritable phenotypic trait

Which statement about the studies by Mary Power and colleagues on California rivers is true?

Species, such as the steelhead, that are keystone predators during normal years are minor players in the food web during drought years

Why do researchers think that "sponging" behavior in bottlenose dolphins is a learned trait?

The behavior appears to be socially transmitted through the maternal line.

gene flow

The transfer of alleles from one population to another via the movement of individuals or gametes.

What is one reason that amphibians are especially good biological indicators of environmental conditions?

They live in both terrestrial and aquatic environments

What takes place during the first step of photosynthesis, referred to as the "light-driven reactions"?

Water is split to provide electrons to synthesize ATP and NADPH.

Ecologists are concerned about the establishment of invasive species in new areas because invasive species Select one: a. can have large ecological effects in their new communities. b. that become established are easy to control. c. always cause a decline in biological diversity of the communities they invade. d. are often toxic.

a.

Lions prey on animals such as zebras and wildebeest, which feed primarily on grasses. Lions thus should be considered Select one: a. secondary consumers. b. tertiary consumers c. primary consumers. d. herbivores.

a.

Menge and colleagues performed experiments in which they exposed some populations of mussels to sea stars and excluded sea stars from other mussel populations. Suppose two populations of mussels are the same size prior to treatment, and after treatment there are 600 mussels in the treatment without sea stars and 200 mussels in the treatment with sea stars. Suppose further that the sea star population consists of 10 individuals. What is the per capita interaction strength of sea stars on mussels? Select one: a. ln (0.33/10) b. (ln 600)/(ln 200) c. ln (0.33/200) d. ln (3/10)

a.

Suppose you are studying a plant species that has two different varieties, the characteristics of which are heritable. One grows very quickly to a large size while the other grows slowly and never gets very big. The large plants produce 500 seeds when they reproduce; 20 of those seeds sprout and survive to become large adult plants. The small plants produce 100 seeds; 40 of those seeds sprout and survive to become small adult plants. Which variety is more likely to be better adapted to its environment? Select one: a. The small plant variety is more likely to be better adapted. b. The large plant variety is more likely to be better adapted. c. There is not enough information to determine which is better adapted. d. The two varieties do not differ in how well they are adapted to their environments.

a.

What is the primary difference between interaction webs and food webs? Select one: a. Interaction webs include non-trophic interactions; food webs do not. b. Interaction webs do not consider primary producers, whereas food webs do. c. Interaction webs include more trophic levels. d. Interaction webs include fewer trophic levels.

a.

Which quality is a biotic feature of the environment? a. The density of consumers b. The pH of the soils c. The number of days during which at least 1 mm of rain falls d. The average minimum temperature at night

a.

Where would a keystone species most likely be located in the diagram?

a. Position A

Ecologists are concerned about the establishment of invasive species in new areas because invasive species

a. can have large ecological effects in their new communities.

A tourist travels to the Himalayas. At first, she has difficulty hiking due to shortness of breath, but after a week, her performance has improved. This is most likely an example of _______ to lower partial pressure of oxygen. The lower oxygen condition is also known as _______.

acclimatization; hypoxia

High ocean temperatures can result in the loss of the coral's _______ partner, a condition that is called _______.

algal; bleaching

Suppose you are studying a population of herbivores. The traditional food source for these herbivores is a small native plant species. In the last 200 years, the traditional food source of these herbivores was replaced by an invasive grass. The herbivores gained 5 calories of food from every 1 minute of grazing on the native plant, but gain only 3 calories of food from every 1 minute of grazing on the invasive grass. If you compared the current population of herbivores to the historical populations 200 years ago, which change would you be least likely to observe? a. An increase in coprophagy b. A decrease in the overall length of the digestive tract c. An increase in bacterial symbionts associated with digestion d. An increased ability to acclimatize to different food sources

b.

Which event is not part of the life cycle of the trematode that infects frogs? Select one: a. The parasite undergoes asexual reproduction in snails. b. The free-swimming cercariae infect adult frogs. c. Parasite eggs are released into water via bird feces where they hatch into free-swimming miracidia. d. The parasite undergoes sexual reproduction in birds.

b.

Which statement about corals and coral reefs is false? a. For many corals, calcium carbonate is an important component of the skeleton-like structure. b. Coral reefs can grow fairly rapidly, up to a meter per day. c. A large number of economically important fish species rely on coral reefs for habitat. d. Corals are closely related to jellyfish

b.

Which statement about the concept of natural selection is false? a.Only natural selection can produce adaptations consistently. b. The frequency of a trait favored by natural selection will increase over generations whether the trait is heritable or not. c. According to the concept of natural selection, those who survive and reproduce at a greater rate pass on more of their genes to the next generation, as compared to those who have a lower survival and reproduction rate. d. Natural selection is an evolutionary process whereby different individuals survive and reproduce at different rates based on particular characteristics they possess.

b.

Which statement best supports the speculation that large dinosaurs may have had some degree of endothermy? Select one: a. Their large bodies would have required some capacity for internal heat generation, even in cold conditions. b. Because their surface area-to-volume ratio probably would not have allowed for enough heat exchange with their environment, they would have needed to generate some internal energy. c. They would have had a high intake of nitrogen, which leads to endothermy. d. We have evidence that they evolved from endothermic ancestors.

b.

Which statement best supports the speculation that large dinosaurs may have had some degree of endothermy? a. Their large bodies would have required some capacity for internal heat generation, even in cold conditions. b. Because their surface area-to-volume ratio probably would not have allowed for enough heat exchange with their environment, they would have needed to generate some internal energy. Correct c. They would have had a high intake of nitrogen, which leads to endothermy. d. We have evidence that they evolved from endothermic ancestors.

b.

Which statement is false? Select one: a. Even results of experiments that do not support a hypothesis can be useful. b. Ecologists can prove their hypotheses are true based on the results of a single experiment. c. The scientific method is iterative and self-correcting. d. What we know about ecology is always changing.

b.

Which statement about the difference between a competitive network and a competitive hierarchy is true? a. A competitive network comprises more species than interaction networks. b. In a competitive hierarchy, one species dominates the interaction; in an interaction network, no one species dominates the interaction. Correct c. The interactions are stronger in a competitive network than in interaction networks. d. In a competitive hierarchy, indirect species interactions always buffer strong competition; in interaction networks, they do not.

b. In a competitive hierarchy, one species dominates the interaction; in an interaction network, no one species dominates the interaction.

Which statement describes a limitation of a species accumulation curve in terms of its ability to determine whether species diversity has been adequately sampled? Select one: a. It assumes a high Shannon index. b. It assumes that the sampling methods are consistent throughout the study. c. It can be used only for a community of small spatial scale. d. It can be used only for a community of large spatial scale.

b. It assumes that the sampling methods are consistent throughout the study.

Which of the following is not part of the scientific method used in studying frog deformities? Select one: a. Observations of nature leading to questions about those observations b. Understanding the social and political consequences of the study Correct c. Use of previous knowledge to develop possible answers to the questions (hypotheses) d. Evaluation of competing hypotheses by means of experiments and careful observation

b. Understanding the social and political consequences of the study

Compared with large endotherms, small endotherms require _______ feeding rates, partly because they have a _______ surface area-to-volume ratio.

higher;higher

Orchid species that have lost their ability to photosynthesize, and instead parasitize fungi for their energy needs, are examples of

holoparasites

When you touch something hot, your hand becomes warm; this is an example of the transfer of _______ energy.

kinetic

Species that feed on more than one trophic level are called

omnivores

Flowing streams and rivers are called _______ systems.

lotic

As compared to shallow lakes, deep lakes tend to have _______ surface area-to-volume ratios and to be _______ nutrient-rich.

lower; less

West Nile virus is transmitted primarily by

mosquitos

As light increases, photosynthetic rates increase. Photosynthetic rates level off at the light _______ point.

saturation

Leaves that are comparatively _______ and _______ lose the most heat to wind because they have _______ boundary layers than other leaves.

small;smooth;thinner

The Shannon index is a measure of

species diversity

Which value can be measured the most easily?

species richness

If climate change causes a boreal forest to be a little warmer and a little wetter, it will most likely become

temperate deciduous forest