AP Biology Unit 8 (Chapters 51-55) Test Preparation

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A cow's herbivorous diet indicates that it is a(n) A) primary consumer. B) secondary consumer. C) decomposer. D) autotroph. E) producer.

Aquatic primary productivity is most limited by which of the following? A) light and nutrient availability B) predation by primary consumers C) increased pressure with depth D) pollution E) temperature

As climate changes because of global warming, species' ranges in the northern hemisphere may move northward, using effective reproductive adaptations to disperse their seeds. The trees that are most likely to avoid extinction in such an environment are those that A) have seeds that are easily dispersed by wind or animals. B) have thin seed coats. C) produce well-provisioned seeds. D) have seeds that become viable only after a forest fire. E) disperse many seeds in close proximity to the parent tree.

Deserts typically occur in a band at 20 degrees north and south latitude because A) descending air masses tend to be cool and dry. B) trade winds have a little moisture. C) moisture-laden air is heavier than dry air and is not carried to these latitudes. D) ascending air tends to be moist. E) these locations get the most intense solar radiation of any location on Earth.

Generalized global air circulation and precipitation patterns are caused by A) rising, warm, moist air masses that cool and release precipitation as they rise and then, at high altitude, cool and sink back to the surface as dry air masses after moving north or south of the tropics. B) air masses that are dried and heated over continental areas that rise, cool aloft, and descend over oceanic areas followed by a return flow of moist air from ocean to land, delivering high amounts of precipitation to coastal areas. C) polar, cool, moist high-pressure air masses from the poles that move along the surface, releasing precipitation along the way to the equator where they are heated and dried. D) the revolution of Earth around the sun. E) mountain ranges that deflect air masses containing variable amounts of moisture.

In ecosystems, why is the term cycling used to describe material transfer, whereas the term flow is used for energy exchange? A) Materials are repeatedly used, but energy flows through and out of ecosystems. B) Both material and energy are recycled and are then transferred to other ecosystems as in a flow. C) Materials are cycled into ecosystems from other ecosystems, but energy constantly flows within the ecosystem. D) Both material and energy flow in a never-ending stream within an ecosystem. E) None of the choices is correct.

In temperate lakes, the surface water is replenished with nutrients during turnovers that occur in the A) autumn and spring. B) autumn and winter. C) spring and summer. D) summer and winter. E) summer and autumn.

In the development of terrestrial biomes, which factor is most dependent on all the others? A) the species of colonizing animals B) prevailing temperature C) prevailing rainfall D) mineral nutrient availability E) soil structure

Suppose that the number of bird species is determined mainly by the number of vertical strata found in the environment. If so, in which of the following biomes would you find the greatest number of bird species? A) tropical rain forest B) savanna C) desert D) temperate broadleaf forest E) temperate grassland

What percentage of solar radiation striking a plant is converted into chemical energy? A) 1% B) 10% C) 25% D) 50% E) 100%

When climbing a mountain, we can observe transitions in biological communities that are analogous to the changes A) in biomes at different latitudes. B) at different depths in the ocean. C) in a community through different seasons. D) in an ecosystem as it evolves over time. E) across the United States from east to west.

Which of the following events might you predict to occur if the tilt of Earth's axis relative to its plane of orbit was increased to 33 1/2 degrees? A) Summers and winters in the United States would likely become warmer and colder, respectively. B) Winters and summers in Australia would likely become less distinct seasons. C) Seasonal variation at the equator might decrease. D) Both northern and southern hemispheres would experience summer and winter at the same time. E) Both poles would experience massive ice melts.

Which of the following is responsible for the differences in summer and winter temperature stratification of deep temperate zone lakes? A) Water is densest at 4°C. B) Oxygen is most abundant in deeper waters. C) Winter ice sinks in the summer. D) Stratification is caused by a thermocline. E) Stratification always follows the fall and spring turnovers.

Which of the following terms encompasses all of the others? A) heterotrophs B) herbivores C) carnivores D) primary consumers E) secondary consumers

Approximately 1% of the solar radiation that strikes a plant is converted into the chemical bond energy of sugars. Why is this amount so low? A) Approximately 99% of the solar radiation is converted to heat energy. B) Only 1% of the wavelengths of visible light are absorbed by photosynthetic pigments. C) Most solar energy strikes water and land surfaces. D) Approximately 99% of the solar radiation is reflected. E) Only the green wavelengths are absorbed by plants for photosynthesis.

Aquatic ecosystems are least likely to be limited by which of the following nutrients? A) nitrogen B) carbon C) phosphorus D) iron E) zinc

For most terrestrial ecosystems, pyramids of numbers, biomass, and energy are essentially the same: they have a broad base and a narrow top. The primary reason for this pattern is that A) secondary consumers and top carnivores require less energy than producers. B) at each step, energy is lost from the system as a result of keeping the organisms alive. C) as matter passes through ecosystems, some of it is lost to the environment. D) biomagnification of toxic materials limits the secondary consumers and top carnivores. E) top carnivores and secondary consumers have a more general diet than primary producers.

Palm trees and subtropical plants are commonplace in Land's End, England, whose latitude is the equivalent of Labrador in coastal Canada where the local flora is subarctic. Which statement best explains why this apparent anomaly exists between North America and Europe? A) Labrador does not get enough rainfall to support the subtropical flora found in Land's End. B) Warm ocean currents interact with England, whereas cold ocean currents interact with Labrador. C) Rainfall fluctuates greatly in England; rainfall is consistently high in Labrador. D) Labrador is too windy to support tall plants, such as palm trees. E) Labrador receives sunlight of lower duration and intensity than does Land's End.

The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created, yet matter is sometimes gained or lost to an ecosystem. What is the reason for this seeming contradiction? A) Chemoautotrophic organisms can convert matter to energy. B) Matter can be moved in/out of an ecosystem from/to another ecosystem. C) Photosynthetic organisms convert solar energy to sugars. D) Detrivores convert matter to energy. E) Heterotrophs convert heat to energy.

The main reason polar regions are cooler than the equator is that A) there is more ice at the poles. B) sunlight strikes the poles at a lower angle. C) the poles are farther from the sun. D) the polar atmosphere is thinner and contains fewer greenhouse gases. E) the poles are permanently tilted away from the sun.

The major role of detrivores in ecosystems is to A) provide a nutritional resource for heterotrophs. B) recycle chemical nutrients to a form capable of being used by autotrophs. C) prevent the buildup of the organic remains of organisms, feces, and so on. D) return energy lost to the ecosystem by other organisms.

The total biomass of photosynthetic autotrophs present in an ecosystem is known as A) gross primary productivity. B) standing crop. C) net primary productivity. D) secondary productivity. E) trophic efficiency.

Which lake zone would be absent in a very shallow lake? A) benthic zone B) aphotic zone C) pelagic zone D) littoral zone E) limnetic zone

Which marine zone would have the lowest rates of primary productivity (photosynthesis)? A) pelagic B) abyssal C) neritic D) continental shelf E) intertidal

Which of the following levels of ecological organization is arranged in the correct sequence from most to least inclusive? A) community, ecosystem, individual, population B) ecosystem, community, population, individual C) population, ecosystem, individual, community D) individual, population, community, ecosystem E) individual, community, population, ecosystem

Which statement describes how climate might change if Earth was 75% land and 25% water? A) Terrestrial ecosystems would likely experience more precipitation. B) Earth's daytime temperatures would be higher and nighttime temperatures lower. C) Summers would be longer and winters shorter at midlatitude locations. D) Earth would experience an unprecedented global warming. E) More terrestrial microclimates would be created because of daily fluctuations in climate.

A certain species of pine tree survives only in scattered locations at elevations above 2,800 m in the western United States. To understand why this tree grows only in these specific places, an ecologist should A) conclude that lower elevations are limiting to the survival of this species. B) study the anatomy and physiology of this species. C) investigate the various biotic and abiotic factors that are unique to high altitude. D) analyze the soils found in the vicinity of these trees, looking for unique chemicals that may support their growth. E) collect data on temperature, wind, and precipitation at several of these locations for a year.

How do the Taylor Glacier bacteria produce their energy? A) photosynthesis B) heterotrophism C) chemoautotrophism D) thermophobism E) chemosynthesis

How is net ecosystem production (NEP) typically estimated in ecosystems? A) the ratio of producers to consumers B) the amount of heat energy released by the ecosystem C) the net flux of CO₂ or O₂ in or out of an ecosystem D) the rate of decomposition by detrivores E) the annual total of incoming solar radiation per unit of area

If the direction of Earth's rotation reversed, the most predictable effect would be A) no more night and day. B) a big change in the length of the year. C) winds blowing from west to east along the equator. D) a loss of seasonal variation at high latitudes. E) the elimination of ocean currents.

If the sun were to suddenly stop providing energy to Earth, most ecosystems would vanish. Which of the following ecosystems would likely survive the longest after this hypothetical disaster? A) tropical rain forest B) tundra C) benthic ocean D) grassland E) desert

In areas of permafrost, stands of black spruce are frequently observed in the landscape, while other tree species are noticeably absent. Often these stands are referred to as "drunken forests" because many of the black spruce are displaced from their normal vertical alignment. What might be the adaptive significance of these unusual forests growing the way they do in this marginal habitat? A) Needles are adapted to withstand cold arctic temperatures. B) Branches are adapted to absorb more CO₂ with this displaced alignment. C) Taproot formation is impossible, so trees developed shallow root beds. D) Trees are tilted so snow prevents them from breaking or tipping over. E) Trees tip so that they do not compete with each other for sunlight.

Many homeowners mow their lawns during the summer and collect the clippings, which are then hauled to the local landfill. Which of the following actions would most benefit the suburban ecosystem? A) Allow sheep to graze the lawn and then collect the sheep's feces to be delivered to the landfill. B) Collect the lawn clippings and burn them. C) Collect the lawn clippings and add them to a compost pile, don't collect the clippings and let them decompose into the lawn, or apply composted clippings to the lawn. D) Collect the clippings and wash them into the nearest storm sewer that feeds into the local lake. E) Dig up the lawn and cover the yard with asphalt.

Subtraction of which of the following will convert gross primary productivity into net primary productivity? A) the energy contained in the standing crop B) the energy used by heterotrophs in respiration C) the energy used by autotrophs in respiration D) the energy fixed by photosynthesis E) all solar energy

The success with which plants extend their range northward following glacial retreat is best determined by A) whether there is simultaneous migration of herbivores. B) their tolerance to shade. C) their seed dispersal rate. D) their size. E) their growth rate.

What is secondary production? A) energy converted by secondary consumers from primary consumers B) solar energy that is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis C) food that is converted to new biomass by consumers D) energy that is not used by consumers for growth and reproduction E) growth that takes place during the second year of life in consumers

Which of the following abiotic factors has the greatest influence on the metabolic rates of plants and animals? A) water B) wind C) temperature D) rocks and soil E) disturbances

Which of the following are important biotic factors that can affect the structure and organization of biological communities? A) precipitation, wind B) nutrient availability, soil pH C) predation, competition D) temperature, water E) light intensity, seasonality

Which of the following areas of study focuses on the exchange of energy, organisms, and materials between ecosystems? A) population ecology B) organismal ecology C) landscape ecology D) ecosystem ecology E) community ecology

Which of the following examples of an ecological effect leading to an evolutionary effect is most correct? A) When seeds are not plentiful, trees produce more seeds. B) A few organisms of a larger population survive a drought and then these survivors emigrate to less arid environments. C) A few individuals with denser fur survive the coldest days of an ice age, and the reproducing survivors of the ice age all have long fur. D) Fish that swim the fastest in running water catch the most prey and more easily escape predation. E) The insects that spend the most time exposed to sunlight have the most mutations.

Why is net primary production (NPP) a more useful measurement to an ecosystem ecologist than gross primary production (GPP)? A) NPP can be expressed in energy/unit of area/unit of time. B) NPP can be expressed in terms of carbon fixed by photosynthesis for an entire ecosystem. C) NPP represents the stored chemical energy that is available to consumers in the ecosystem. D) NPP is the same as the standing crop. E) NPP shows the rate at which the standing crop is utilized by consumers.

Coral reefs can be found on the southern east coast of the United States but not at similar latitudes on the southern west coast. Differences in which of the following most likely account for this? A) sunlight intensity B) precipitation C) day length D) ocean currents E) salinity

Imagine that a deep temperate zone lake did not "turn over" during the spring and fall seasons. Based on the physical and biological properties of limnetic ecosystems, what would be the difference from normal seasonal turnover? A) The lake would be uniformly cold during the winter and summer. B) The lake would fail to freeze over in winter. C) An algal bloom of algae would result every spring. D) Lakes would suffer a nutrient depletion in surface layers. E) The pH of the lake would become increasingly alkaline.

In which community would organisms most likely have adaptations enabling them to respond to different photoperiods? A) tropical forest B) coral reef C) savanna D) temperate forest E) abyssal

Species introduced by humans to new geographic locations A) are usually successful in colonizing the area. B) always spread because they encounter none of their natural predators. C) increase the diversity and therefore the stability of the ecosystem. D) can outcompete and displace native species for biotic and abiotic resources. E) are always considered pests by ecologists.

The oceans affect the biosphere in all of the following ways except A) producing a substantial amount of the biosphere's oxygen. B) removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. C) moderating the climate of terrestrial biomes. D) regulating the pH of freshwater biomes and terrestrial groundwater. E) being the source of most of Earth's rainfall.

Turnover of water in temperate lakes during the spring and fall is made possible by which of the following? A) warm, less dense water layered at the top B) cold, more dense water layered at the bottom C) a distinct thermocline between less dense warm water and cold, dense water D) the changes in the density of water as seasonal temperatures change E) currents generated by nektonic animals

Which of the following is characteristic of most terrestrial biomes? A) annual average rainfall in excess of 250 cm B) a distribution predicted almost entirely by rock and soil patterns C) clear boundaries between adjacent biomes D) vegetation demonstrating vertical layering E) cold winter months

Which of these ecosystems accounts for the largest amount of Earth's net primary productivity? A) tundra B) savanna C) salt marsh D) open ocean E) tropical rain forest

Which of these ecosystems has the highest net primary productivity per square meter? A) savanna B) open ocean C) boreal forest D) tropical rain forest E) temperate forest

"How do seed-eating animals affect the distribution and abundance of the trees?" This question A) would require an elaborate experimental design to answer. B) would be difficult to answer because a large experimental area would be required. C) would be difficult to answer because a long-term experiment would be required. D) is one that a present-day ecologist would be likely to ask. E) All options are correct.

Imagine some cosmic catastrophe jolts Earth so that its axis is perpendicular to the orbital plane between Earth and the sun. The most obvious effect of this change would be A) the elimination of tides. B) an increase in the length of night. C) an increase in the length of a year. D) a decrease in temperature at the equator. E) the elimination of seasonal variation.

The amount of chemical energy in consumers' food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given time period is known as which of the following? A) biomass B) standing crop C) biomagnification D) primary production E) secondary production

The growing season would generally be shortest in which of the following biomes? A) savanna B) temperate broadleaf forest C) temperate grassland D) tropical rain forest E) coniferous forest

Trees are not usually found in the tundra biome because of A) insufficient annual precipitation. B) acidic soils. C) extreme winter temperatures. D) overbrowsing by musk ox and caribou. E) permafrost.

Which of the following biomes is correctly paired with the description of its climate? A) savanna-low temperature, precipitation uniform during the year B) tundra-long summers, mild winters C) temperate broadleaf forest-relatively short growing season, mild winters D) temperate grasslands-relatively warm winters, most rainfall in summer E) tropical forests-nearly constant day length and temperature

Which of the following locations is the reservoir for nitrogen in the nitrogen cycle? A) atmosphere B) sedimentary bedrock C) fossilized plant and animal remains (coal, oil, and natural gas) D) plant and animal biomass E) soil

Which of the following nations has become a world leader in the establishment of zoned reserves? A) Costa Rica B) Canada C) China D) United States E) Mexico

A community's actual evapotranspiration is a reflection of A) solar radiation, temperature, and water availability. B) the number of plants and how much moisture they lose. C) the depth of the water table. D) wind speed and the frequency of wind gusts. E) plant biomass and plant water content.

A region of the canary forebrain shrinks during the nonbreeding season and enlarges when breeding season begins. This change is probably associated with the annual A) addition of new syllables to a canary's song repertoire. B) crystallization of subsong into adult songs. C) sensitive period in which canary parents imprint on new offspring. D) renewal of mating and nest-building behaviors. E) elimination of the memorized template for songs sung the previous year.

A stickleback fish will attack a fish model as long as the model has red coloring. What animal behavior idea is manifested by this observation? A) sign stimulus B) cognition C) imprinting D) classical conditioning E) operant conditioning

According to bottom-up and top-down control models of community organization, which of the following expressions would imply that an increase in the size of a carnivore (C) population would negatively impact on its prey (P) population, but not vice versa? A) P ← C B) P → C C) C ↔ P D) P ← C → P E) C ← P → C

According to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), the difference between an endangered species and a threatened one is that A) an endangered species is closer to extinction. B) a threatened species is closer to extinction. C) threatened species are endangered species outside the U.S. borders. D) endangered species are mainly tropical. E) only endangered species are vertebrates.

According to the equilibrium model of island biogeography, species richness would be greatest on an island that is A) large and close to a mainland. B) large and remote. C) small and remote. D) small and close to a mainland. E) environmentally homogeneous.

Biomanipulation can best be described as A) removing many of the next higher trophic level organisms so that the struggling trophic level below can recover. B) a means of reversing the effects of pollution by applying antidote chemicals that have a neutralizing effect on the community. C) an example of how one would use the bottom-up model for community restoration. D) adjusting the numbers of each of the trophic levels back to the numbers that they were before human disturbance. E) monitoring and adjusting the nutrient and energy flow through a community with new technologies.

Consider the food chain grass → grasshopper → mouse → snake → hawk. How much of the chemical energy fixed by photosynthesis of the grass (100%) is available to the hawk? A) 0.01% B) 0.1% C) 1% D) 10% E) 60%

Parental protective behavior in turkeys is triggered by the cheeping sound of young chicks. What term best applies to this behavior? A) sign stimulus B) cognition C) imprinting D) classical conditioning E) operant conditioning

Elephants are not the most dominant species in African grasslands, yet they influence community structure. The grasslands contain scattered woody plants, but they are kept in check by the uprooting activities of the elephants. Take away the elephants, and the grasslands convert to forests or to shrublands. The newly growing forests support fewer species than the previous grasslands. Which of the following describes why elephants are the keystone species in this scenario? A) Essentially all of the other species depend on the presence of the elephants to maintain the community. B) Grazing animals depend upon the elephants to convert forests to grassland. C) Elephants prevent drought in African grasslands. D) Elephants are the biggest herbivore in this community. E) Elephants help other populations survive by keeping out many of the large African predators.

Evidence shows that some grasses benefit from being grazed. Which of the following terms would best describe this plant-herbivore interaction? A) mutualism B) commensalism C) parasitism D) competition E) predation

Fred and Joe, two unrelated, mature male gorillas, encounter one another. Fred is courting a female. Fred grunts as Joe comes near. As Joe continues to advance, Fred begins drumming (pounding his chest) and bares his teeth. Joe then rolls on the ground on his back, gets up, and quickly leaves. This behavioral pattern is repeated several times during the mating season. Choose the most specific behavior described by this example. A) agonistic behavior B) territorial behavior C) learned behavior D) social behavior E) fixed action pattern

How do altruistic behaviors arise through natural selection? A) By his/her actions, the altruist increases the likelihood that some of its genes will be passed on to the next generation. B) The altruist is appreciated by other members of the population because their survivability has been enhanced by virtue of his/her risky behavior. C) Animals that perform altruistic acts are allowed by their population to breed more, thereby passing on their behavior genes to future generations. D) Altruistic behaviors lower stress in populations, which increases the survivability of all the members of the population. E) All of the options are correct.

Imagine five forest communities, each with 100 individuals distributed among four different tree species (W, X, Y, and Z). Which forest community would be most diverse? A) 25W, 25X, 25Y, 25Z B) 40W, 30X, 20Y, 10Z C) 50W, 25X, 15Y, 10Z D) 70W, 10X, 10Y, 10Z E) 100W, 0X, 0Y, 0Z

In a typical grassland community, which of the following has the smallest biomass? A) hawk B) snake C) shrew D) grasshopper E) grass

Listed below are several examples of types of animal behavior. Match the letter of the correct term (A-E) to each example in the following question. A. operant conditioning B. agonistic behavior C. innate behavior D. imprinting E. altruistic behavior Through trial and error, a rat learns to run a maze without mistakes to receive a food reward. A) A B) B C) C D) D E) E

Of the following ecosystem types, which have been impacted the most by humans? A) wetland and riparian B) open and benthic ocean C) desert and high alpine D) taiga and second-growth forests E) tundra and arctic

Of the following statements about protected areas that have been established to preserve biodiversity, which one is not correct? A) About 25% of Earth's land area is now protected. B) National parks are one of many types of protected areas. C) Most protected areas are too small to protect species. D) Management of a protected area should be coordinated with management of the land surrounding the area. E) It is especially important to protect biodiversity hot spots.

Suppose you attend a town meeting at which some experts tell the audience that they have performed a cost-benefit analysis of a proposed transit system that would probably reduce overall air pollution and fossil fuel consumption. The analysis, however, reveals that ticket prices will not cover the cost of operating the system when fuel, wages, and equipment are taken into account. As a biologist, you know that if ecosystem services had been included in the analysis the experts might have arrived at a different answer. Why are ecosystem services rarely included in economic analyses? A) Their cost is difficult to estimate and people take them for granted. B) They are not worth much and are usually not considered. C) There are no laws that require investigation of ecosystem services in environmental planning. D) There are too many variables to ecosystem services, making their calculation impossible. E) Ecosystem services only take into account abiotic factors that affect local environments.

The biggest challenge that Costa Rica will likely face in its dedication to conservation and restoration in the future is A) the pressures of its growing population. B) its small size (as a country), which may not be able to maintain large enough reserves. C) the potential for disturbance of sensitive species in reserves by ecotourists. D) spread of disease and parasites via corridors from neighboring countries. E) the large number of Costa Rican species already in the extinction vortex.

The primary difference between the small-population approach (S-PA) and the declining-population approach (D-PA) to biodiversity recovery is A) S-PA is interested in bolstering the genetic diversity of a threatened population rather than the environmental factors that caused the population's decline. B) S-PA kicks in for conservation biologists when population numbers fall below 500. C) D-PA would likely involve bringing together individuals from scattered small populations to interbreed in order to promote genetic diversity. D) S-PA would investigate and eliminate all of the human impacts on the habitat of the species being studied for recovery. E) D-PA would use recently collected population data to calculate an extinction vortex.

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between a "carrier crab" and "sea urchin hitch-hiker"? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between a bee and a flower? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between cellulose-digesting organisms in the gut of a termite and the termite? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between mycorrhizae and evergreen tree roots? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

The use of DDT as an insecticide in the United States has been outlawed since 1971, yet is still a problem for certain top-level carnivores in the United States. Which of the following choices best explains this apparent incongruity? A) DDT is still used for mosquito control in tropical countries, and certain migratory predators can be affected by a seasonal biomagnification. B) DDT is persistent in the environment and all of the pre-1971 DDT is still available in toxic form to poison top-level carnivores. C) Pre-1971 DDT has been deposited in certain habitats, particularly wetlands and estuaries, so predators in these ecosystems are vulnerable to biomagnifications of DDT. D) Whereas most DDT-susceptible species have become resistant to persistent DDT, others are still vulnerable. E) All of the options are correct.

This causes an increase in the intensity of UV radiation reaching Earth. A) depletion of ozone layer B) acid precipitation C) biological magnification D) greenhouse effect E) eutrophication

What is the biological significance of genetic diversity between populations? A) Genes for adaptive traits to local conditions make microevolution possible. B) The population that is most fit would survive by competitive exclusion. C) Genetic diversity allows for species stability by preventing speciation. D) Isolated populations become more fit. E) Diseases and parasites are not spread between separated populations.

What is the first step in ecosystem restoration? A) to restore the physical structure B) to restore native species that have been extirpated due to disturbance C) to remove competitive invasive species D) to identify the limiting factors of the producers E) to remove toxic pollutants

What probably explains why coastal and inland garter snakes react differently to banana slug prey? A) Ancestors of coastal snakes that could eat the abundant banana slugs had increased fitness. No such selection occurred inland, where banana slugs were absent. B) Banana slugs are camouflaged, and inland snakes, which have poorer vision than coastal snakes, are less able to see them. C) Garter snakes learn about prey from other garter snakes. Inland garter snakes have fewer types of prey because they are less social. D) Inland banana slugs are distasteful, so inland snakes learn to avoid them. Coastal banana slugs are palatable to garter snakes. E) Garter snakes learn to eat what their mother eats. Coastal snake mothers happened to prefer slugs.

What type of signal is long-lasting and works at night? A) olfactory B) visual C) auditory D) tactile E) electrical

Which of the following best describes "game theory" as it applies to animal behavior? A) The fitness of a particular behavior is influenced by other behavioral phenotypes in a population. B) The total of all of the behavioral displays, both male and female, is related to courtship. C) An individual in a population changes a behavioral phenotype to gain a competitive advantage. D) The play behavior performed by juveniles allows them to perfect adult behaviors that are needed for survival, such as hunting, courtship, and so on. E) The evolutionary "game" is played between predator and prey, wherein the prey develops a behavior through natural selection that enables it to be less vulnerable to predation, and the predator counters with a new reciprocal predatory behavior.

Which of the following is a consequence of biological magnification? A) Toxic chemicals in the environment pose greater risk to top-level predators than to primary consumers. B) Populations of top-level predators are generally smaller than populations of primary consumers. C) The biomass of producers in an ecosystem is generally higher than the biomass of primary consumers. D) Only a small portion of the energy captured by producers is transferred to consumers. E) The amount of biomass in the producer level of an ecosystem decreases if the producer turnover time increases.

Which of the following is a type of research in which a conservation biologist would be involved? A) reestablishing whooping cranes in their former breeding grounds in North Dakota B) studying species diversity and interaction in the Florida Everglades, past and present C) studying population ecology of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park D) determining the effects of hunting white-tailed deer in Vermont E) determining the effect of protection programs on the recovery of the North Atlantic cod fishery

Which of the following is an example of Müllerian mimicry? A) two species of unpalatable butterfly that have the same color pattern B) a day-flying hawkmoth that looks like a wasp C) a chameleon that changes its color to look like a dead leaf D) two species of rattlesnakes that both rattle their tails E) two species of moths with wing spots that look like owl's eyes

Which of the following is an example of aposematic coloration? A) stripes of a skunk B) eye color in humans C) green color of a plant D) colors of an insect-pollinated flower E) a katydid whose wings look like a dead leaf

Which of the following is not required for a behavioral trait to evolve by natural selection? A) In each individual, the form of the behavior is determined entirely by genes. B) The behavior varies among individuals. C) An individual's reproductive success depends in part on how the behavior is performed. D) Some component of the behavior is genetically inherited. E) An individual's genotype influences its behavioral phenotype.

Which of the following is true about "hot spots"? A) One-third of all species on Earth occupy less than 1.5% of Earth's land area (hot spots). B) All of the plants and animals containing genes that may be useful to humankind are located in Earth's hot spots. C) Around 75% of all of the undiscovered species of organisms live in ecological hot spots. D) As conservation measures improve over the next ten years, hot spots will likely disappear. E) The hot spots that are in most dire need of remediation are located in the tundra.

Which of the following is true about imprinting? A) It may be triggered by visual or chemical stimuli. B) It happens to many adult animals, but not to their young. C) It is a type of learning that does not involve innate behavior. D) It occurs only in birds. E) It causes behaviors that last for only a short time (the sensitive period).

Which of the following ecological locations has the greatest species diversity? A) tundra B) deciduous forests C) tropics D) grasslands E) islands

Which of the following statements about evolution of behavior is correct? A) Natural selection will favor behavior that enhances survival and reproduction. B) An animal may show behavior that minimizes reproductive fitness. C) If a behavior is less than optimal, it will eventually become optimal through natural selection. D) Innate behaviors can never be altered by natural selection. E) All of the statements are correct.

Which of the following studies would shed light on the mechanism of spread of H5N1 from Asia? A) Perform cloacal or saliva smears of migrating waterfowl to monitor whether any infected birds show up in Alaska. B) Test fecal samples for H5N1 in Asian waterfowl that live near domestic poultry farms in Asia. C) Test for the presence of H5N1 in poultry used for human consumption worldwide. D) Locate and destroy birds infected with H5N1 in Asian open-air poultry markets. E) Keep domestic and wild fowl from interacting with each other to minimize the probability that wild fowl could get infected and migrate out of Asia.

Which of the following would be considered an example of bioremediation? A) adding nitrogen-fixing microorganisms to a degraded ecosystem to increase nitrogen availability B) using a bulldozer to regrade a strip mine C) dredging a river bottom to remove contaminated sediments D) reconfiguring the channel of a river E) adding seeds of a chromium-accumulating plant to soil contaminated by chromium

Which term do ecologists use to describe the ability of a community either to resist change or to recover to its original state after change? A) stability B) succession C) partitioning D) productivity E) competitive exclusion

White-crowned sparrows can only learn the "crystallized" song for their species by A) listening to adult sparrow songs during a sensitive period as a fledgling, followed by a practice period until the juvenile matches its melody to its memorized fledgling song. B) listening to the song of its own species during a critical period so that it will imprint to its own species song and not the songs of other songbird species. C) practicing as a fledgling until the innate species-specific song becomes perfected. D) performing the crystallized song as adults when they become sexually mature, as the song is programmed into the innate behavior for the species. E) observing and practicing after receiving social confirmation from other adults at a critical period during their first episode of courtship behavior.

Why do moderate levels of disturbance result in an increase in community diversity? A) Habitats are opened up for less competitive species. B) Competitively dominant species infrequently exclude less competitive species after a moderate disturbance. C) The environmental conditions become optimal. D) The resulting uniform habitat supports stability, which in turn supports diversity. E) Less-competitive species evolve strategies to compete with dominant species.

You discover a rare new bird species, but you are unable to observe its mating behavior. You see that the male is large and ornamental compared with the female. On this basis, you can probably conclude that the species is A) polygamous. B) monogamous. C) polyandrous. D) promiscuous. E) agonistic.

Species richness increases A) as we increase in altitude in equatorial mountains. B) as we travel southward from the North Pole. C) on islands as distance from the mainland increases. D) as depth increases in aquatic communities. E) as community size decreases.

A cage containing male mosquitoes has a small earphone placed on top, through which the sound of a female mosquito is played. All the males immediately fly to the earphone and go through all of the steps of copulation. What is the best explanation for this behavior? A) The males learn to associate the sound with females. B) Copulation is a fixed action pattern, and the female flight sound is a sign stimulus that initiates it. C) The sound from the earphone irritates the male mosquitoes, causing them to attempt to sting it. D) The reproductive drive is so strong that when males are deprived of females, they will attempt to mate with anything that has even the slightest female characteristic. E) Through classical conditioning, the male mosquitoes have associated the inappropriate stimulus from the earphone with the normal response of copulation.

A porcupine eats 3,000 J of plant material. Of this, 2,100 J is indigestible and is eliminated as feces, 800 J are used in cellular respiration, and 100 J are used for growth and reproduction. What is the approximate production efficiency of this animal? A) 0.03% B) 3% C) 10% D) 27% E) 33%

A type of learning that can occur only during a brief period of early life and results in a behavior that is difficult to modify through later experiences is called A) insight. B) imprinting. C) habituation. D) operant conditioning. E) trial-and-error learning.

According to Hamilton's rule, A) natural selection does not favor altruistic behavior that causes the death of the altruist. B) natural selection favors altruistic acts when the resulting benefit to the beneficiary, corrected for relatedness, exceeds the cost to the altruist. C) natural selection is more likely to favor altruistic behavior that benefits an offspring than altruistic behavior that benefits a sibling. D) the effects of kin selection are larger than the effects of direct natural selection on individuals. E) altruism is always reciprocal.

According to the competitive exclusion principle, two species cannot continue to occupy the same A) habitat. B) niche. C) territory. D) range. E) biome.

Agricultural lands frequently require nutrient augmentation because A) nitrogen-fixing bacteria are not as plentiful in agricultural soils because of the use of pesticides. B) the nutrients that become the biomass of plants are not cycled back to the soil on lands where they are harvested. C) land that is available for agriculture tends to be nutrient-poor. D) grains raised for feeding livestock must be fortified, and thus require additional nutrients. E) cultivation of agricultural land inhibits the decomposition of organic matter.

Cowbirds utilize fragmented forests effectively by A) feeding on the fruits of shrubs that tend to grow at the forest/open-field interface. B) parasitizing the nests of forest birds, and feeding on open-field insects. C) roosting in forest trees, and nesting in grassy fields. D) outcompeting other songbird species in fragmented communities. E) using forest cover to escape from predators in their normal grassland habitat.

During a field trip, an instructor touched a moth resting on a tree trunk. The moth raised its forewings to reveal large eyespots on its hind wings. The instructor asked why the moth lifted its wings. One student answered that sensory receptors had fired and triggered a neuronal reflex culminating in the contraction of certain muscles. A second student responded that the behavior might frighten predators. Which statement best describes these explanations? A) The first explanation is correct, but the second is incorrect. B) The first explanation refers to proximate causation, whereas the second refers to ultimate causation. C) The first explanation is biological, whereas the second is philosophical. D) The first explanation is testable as a scientific hypothesis, whereas the second is not. E) Both explanations are reasonable and simply represent a difference of opinion.

Secondary consumers that can eat only primary consumers receive what percent of the energy fixed by primary producers in a typical field ecosystem? A) 0.1% B) 1% C) 10% D) 20% E) 80%

Dwarf mistletoes are flowering plants that grow on certain forest trees. They obtain nutrients and water from the vascular tissues of the trees. The trees derive no known benefits from the dwarf mistletoes. Which of the following best describes the interactions between dwarf mistletoes and trees? A) mutualism B) parasitism C) commensalism D) facilitation E) competition

In a tide pool, 15 species of invertebrates were reduced to eight after one species was removed. The species removed was likely a(n) A) pathogen. B) keystone species. C) herbivore. D) resource partitioner. E) mutualistic organism.

In the territorial behavior of the stickleback fish, the red belly of one male that elicits attack from another male is functioning as A) a pheromone. B) a sign stimulus. C) a fixed action pattern. D) a search image. E) an imprint stimulus.

Karl von Frisch demonstrated that European honeybees communicate the location of a distant food source by A) performing a short, straight run during a waggle dance. B) performing a long, straight run during a waggle dance. C) performing a round dance with fast rotations. D) emanating minute amounts of stimulus pheromone. E) varying wing vibration frequency.

Keystone predators can maintain species diversity in a community if they A) competitively exclude other predators. B) prey on the community's dominant species. C) allow immigration of other predators. D) reduce the number of disruptions in the community. E) prey only on the least abundant species in the community.

Managing southwestern forests specifically for the red-cockaded woodpecker A) was wholeheartedly supported by the timber extraction industry. B) contributed to greater abundance and diversity of other forest bird species. C) caused other species of songbird to decline. D) involved strict fire suppression measures. E) involved the creation of fragmented forest habitat.

One way to understand how early environment influences differing behaviors in similar species is through the "cross-fostering" experimental technique. Suppose that the curly-whiskered mud rat differs from the bald mud rat in several ways, including being much more aggressive. How would you set up a cross-fostering experiment to determine if environment plays a role in the curly-whiskered mud rat's aggression? A) You would cross curly-whiskered mud rats and bald mud rats and hand-rear the offspring to see if any grew up to be aggressive. B) You would place newborn curly-whiskered mud rats with bald mud rat parents, place newborn bald mud rats with curly-whiskered mud rat parents, and let some mud rats of both species be raised by their own species. Then you would compare the outcomes. C) You would remove the offspring of curly-whiskered mud rats and bald mud rats from their parents, raise them in the same environment, and then compare the outcomes. D) You would see if curly-whiskered mud rats bred true for aggression. E) You would replace normal newborn mud rats with deformed newborn mud rats to see if it triggered an altruistic response.

Overexploitation encourages extinction and is most likely to affect A) animals that occupy a broad ecological niche. B) large animals with low intrinsic reproductive rates. C) most organisms that live in the oceans. D) terrestrial organisms more than aquatic organisms. E) edge-adapted species.

Pair-bonding in a population of prairie voles can be prevented by A) the ensuing confusion caused by introducing meadow voles. B) administering a drug that inhibits the brain receptor for vasopressin in the CNS of males. C) administering a drug that turns on ADH receptor sites in male voles. D) dying the coat color from brown to blond in either male or female prairie voles. E) allowing the population size to reach critically low levels.

Research has shown that nocturnal animals navigate using A) olfactory cues. B) the North Star. C) the moon. D) landmarks. E) gravity.

Resource partitioning would be most likely to occur between A) sympatric populations of a predator and its prey. B) sympatric populations of species with similar ecological niches. C) sympatric populations of a flowering plant and its specialized insect pollinator. D) allopatric populations of the same animal species. E) allopatric populations of species with similar ecological niches.

The energetic hypothesis and dynamic stability hypothesis are ideas that attempt to explain A) plant defenses against herbivores. B) the length of food chains. C) the evolution of mutualism. D) resource partitioning. E) competitive exclusion.

The introduction of the brown tree snake in the 1940s to the island of Guam has resulted in A) eradication of non-native rats and other undesirable/pest species. B) the extirpation of many of the island's bird and reptile species. C) a good lesson in biological control. D) a new species of hybrids from crossbreeding with a native snake species. E) its failure to compete with native species and its quick elimination from the island.

The most plausible hypothesis to explain why species richness is higher in tropical than in temperate regions is that A) tropical communities are younger. B) tropical regions generally have more available water and higher levels of solar radiation. C) higher temperatures cause more rapid speciation. D) diversity increases as evapotranspiration decreases. E) tropical regions have very high rates of immigration and very low rates of extinction.

The most serious consequence of a decrease in global biodiversity would be the A) increase in global warming and thinning of the ozone layer. B) potential loss of ecosystem services on which people depend. C) increase in the abundance and diversity of edge-adapted species. D) loss of source of genetic diversity to preserve endangered species. E) loss of species for "bioprospecting."

The next question presumes that you have at least once visited and have some knowledge of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's. Use your knowledge of McDonald's and your understanding of community ecology to answer the following questions about an ecological community, McDonaldland. According to the McDonaldland scenario, which of the following would best define an ecological community? A) all of the sandwiches sold at McDonaldland B) the entire menu at McDonaldland C) all of the fast-food restaurants in the United States D) the condiments served at McDonaldland E) the breakfast menu at McDonaldland

The oak tree pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, has migrated 650 km in 10 years. West Nile virus spread from New York State to 46 other states in 5 years. The difference in the rate of spread is probably related to A) the lethality of each pathogen. B) the mobility of their hosts. C) the fact that viruses are very small. D) innate resistance. E) dormancy viability.

The presence of altruistic behavior is most likely due to kin selection, a theory maintaining that A) aggression between sexes promotes the survival of the fittest individuals. B) genes enhance survival of copies of themselves by directing organisms to assist others who share those genes. C) companionship is advantageous to animals because in the future they can help each other. D) critical thinking abilities are normal traits for animals and they have arisen, like other traits, through natural selection. E) natural selection has generally favored the evolution of exaggerated aggressive and submissive behaviors to resolve conflict without grave harm to participants.

The proximate causes of behavior are interactions with the environment, but behavior is ultimately shaped by A) hormones. B) evolution. C) sexuality. D) pheromones. E) the nervous system.

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between the cattle egret and grazing cattle? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

The word triage originated during World War I and was first used by French doctors in prioritizing patients based on the severity of their wounds, because there were more wounded soldiers in need of urgent care than there were resources to treat them. Conservation biologists have to make similar determinations with degraded ecosystems. Which of the following is the most important consideration when it comes to managing for maintenance of biodiversity? A) identifying large, high-profile vertebrates first, because steps to saving them would be most recognized by the public B) determining which species is most important for conserving biodiversity as a whole C) replanting suitable habitat for fauna D) assessing the economic costs and the gains for society E) maintaining optimum size of all populations in the ecosystem

There are more species in tropical areas than in places more distant from the equator. This is probably a result of A) fewer predators. B) more intense annual solar radiation. C) more frequent ecological disturbances. D) fewer agents of disease. E) fewer predators, more intense annual solar radiation, more frequent ecological disturbances, and fewer agents of disease.

Upon returning to its hive, a European honeybee communicates to other worker bees the location of a nearby food source it has discovered by A) vibrating its wings at varying frequencies. B) performing a round dance. C) performing a waggle dance. D) visual cues. E) All options are correct.

What is the biggest problem with selecting a site for a preserve? A) There is always a conflict about use of land set aside for preservation. B) Making a proper selection is difficult because currently the environmental conditions of almost any site change so quickly. C) Keystone species are difficult to identify in potential preserve sites. D) Only lands that are not useful to human activities are available for preserves. E) Most of the best sites are inaccessible by land transportation, so making roads to them is often prohibitively expensive.

What is the goal of restoration ecology? A) to replace a ruined ecosystem with a more suitable ecosystem for that area B) to speed up the restoration of a degraded ecosystem C) to completely restore a disturbed ecosystem to its former undisturbed state D) to prevent further degradation by protecting an area with park status E) to manage competition between species in human-altered ecosystems

What is the normal imprinting stimulus to a hatchling graylag goose? A) an image of a model of an adult graylag goose B) a nearby object that is moving away C) recognition of its biological mother D) any other adult of its own species E) any human

What type of signal is fast and requires daylight with no obstructions? A) olfactory B) visual C) auditory D) tactile E) electrical

Which of the following best describes resource partitioning? A) competitive exclusion that results in the success of the superior species B) slight variations in niche that allow similar species to coexist C) two species that can coevolve to share identical niches D) differential resource utilization that results in a decrease in community species diversity E) a climax community that is reached when no new niches are available

Which of the following is the most accepted hypothesis as to why invasive species take over communities into which they have been introduced? A) Invasive species are more aggressive than native species in competing for the limited resources of the environment. B) Invasive species are not held in check by the predators and agents of disease that have always been in place for the native species. C) Humans carefully select which species will outcompete nuisance native species. D) Invasive species have a higher reproductive potential than native species. E) Invasive species come from geographically isolated regions, so when they are introduced to regions where there is more competition, they thrive.

Which of the following is true about the current research regarding forest fragmentation? A) Fragmented forests support a greater biodiversity because they result in the combination of forest-edge species and forest-interior species. B) Fragmented forests support a lesser biodiversity because the forested-adapted species leave, and only the edge and open-field species can occupy fragmented forests. C) Fragmented forests are the goal of conservation biologists who design wildlife preserves. D) Harvesting timber that results in forest fragmentation results in less soil erosion. E) The disturbance of timber extraction causes the species diversity to increase because of the new habitats created.

Which of the following shows the adaptive significance of cognitive mapping to animals that employ this type of learning? A) It increases the ability to visually recognize landmarks. B) Cognitive maps reduce the amount of detail required to remember the location of an object in the animal's environment. C) Animals can locate essential locations in their environment, such as nests, hazards, and feeding areas. D) Animals can outmaneuver predators by planning and memorizing getaway routes. E) Animals can determine their position relative to landmarks by a triangulation process.

Which of the following species was driven to extinction by overexploitation by hunters/fishermen? A) African elephant B) the great auk C) North American bluefin tuna D) flying foxes E) American bison

Which of the following statements is correct about biogeochemical cycling? A) The phosphorus cycle involves the recycling of atmospheric phosphorus. B) The phosphorus cycle involves the weathering of rocks. C) The carbon cycle is a localized cycle that primarily involves the burning of fossil fuels. D) The carbon cycle has maintained a constant atmospheric concentration of CO₂ for the past million years. E) The nitrogen cycle involves movement of diatomic nitrogen between the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem.

Which of the following terms includes all of the others? A) species diversity B) biodiversity C) genetic diversity D) ecosystem diversity E) species richness

Which of these ecosystems has the lowest net primary production per square meter? A) a salt marsh B) an open ocean C) a coral reef D) a grassland E) a tropical rain forest

White-breasted nuthatches and Downy woodpeckers both eat insects that hide in the furrows of bark in hardwood trees. The Downy woodpecker searches for insects by hunting from the bottom of the tree trunk to the top, whereas the white-breasted nuthatch searches from the top of the trunk down. These hunting behaviors best illustrate which of the following ecological concepts? A) competitive exclusion B) resource partitioning C) character displacement D) keystone species E) bottom-up and top-down hypotheses

Zoonotic disease A) is caused by suborganismal pathogens such as viruses, viroids, and prions only. B) is caused by pathogens that are transferred from other animals to humans by direct contact or by means of a vector. C) can only be spread from animals to humans through direct contact. D) can only be transferred from animals to humans by means of an intermediate host. E) is too specific to study at the community level, and studies of zoonotic pathogens are relegated to organismal biology.

A chemical produced by an animal that serves as a communication to another animal of the same species is called A) a sign stimulus. B) an inducer. C) a pheromone. D) an imprinter. E) an agonistic promoter.

A female cat in heat urinates more often and in many places. Male cats congregate near the urine deposits and fight with each other. Which of the following is a proximate cause of this behavior of increased urination? A) It announces to the males that she is in heat. B) Female cats that did this in the past attracted more males. C) It is a result of hormonal changes associated with her reproductive cycle. D) The female cat learned the behavior from observing other cats. E) All of the above are ultimate causes of behavior.

A female cat in heat urinates more often and in many places. Male cats congregate near the urine deposits and fight with each other. Which of the following would be an ultimate cause of the male cats' response to the female's urinating behavior? A) The males have learned to recognize the specific odor of the urine of a female in heat. B) When the males smelled the odor, various neurons in their brains were stimulated. C) Responding to the odor means locating reproductively receptive females. D) Male cats' hormones are triggered by the odor released by the female. E) The odor serves as a releaser for the instinctive behavior of the males.

A salmon returns to its home stream to spawn. What term best applies to this behavior? A) sign stimulus B) cognition C) imprinting D) classical conditioning E) operant conditioning

According to the small-population approach, what would be the best strategy for saving a population that is in an extinction vortex? A) determining the minimum viable population size by taking into account the effective population size B) establishing a nature reserve to protect its habitat C) introducing individuals from other populations to increase genetic variation D) determining and remedying the cause of its decline E) reducing the population size of its predators and competitors

Although extinction is a natural process, current extinctions are of concern to environmentalists because A) more animals than ever before are going extinct. B) most current extinctions are caused by introduced species. C) the rate of extinction is unusually high. D) current extinction is primarily affecting plant diversity. E) None of the options are correct.

Although many chimpanzees live in environments containing oil palm nuts, members of only a few populations use stones to crack open the nuts. The likely explanation is that A) the behavioral difference is caused by genetic differences between populations. B) members of different populations have different nutritional requirements. C) the cultural tradition of using stones to crack nuts has arisen in only some populations. D) members of different populations differ in learning ability. E) members of different populations differ in manual dexterity.

Animals that help other animals of the same species A) have excess energy reserves. B) are bigger and stronger than the other animals. C) are usually related to the other animals. D) are always male. E) have defective genes controlling their behavior.

As big as it is, the ocean is nutrient-limited. If you wanted to investigate this, one reasonable approach would be to A) follow whale migrations in order to determine where most nutrients are located. B) observe Antarctic Ocean productivity from year to year to see if it changes. C) experimentally enrich some areas of the ocean and compare their productivity to that of untreated areas. D) compare nutrient concentrations between the photic zone and the benthic zone in various marine locations. E) contrast nutrient uptake by autotrophs in marine locations that are different temperatures.

Based on the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, a community's species diversity is increased by A) frequent massive disturbance. B) stable conditions with no disturbance. C) moderate levels of disturbance. D) human intervention to eliminate disturbance. E) intensive disturbance by humans.

Biodiversity hot spots are not necessarily the best choice for nature preserves because A) hot spots are situated in remote areas not accessible to wildlife viewers. B) their ecological importance makes land purchase very expensive. C) a hot spot for one group of organisms may not be a hot spot for another group. D) hot spots are designated by abiotic factors present, not biotic factors. E) designated hot spots change on a daily basis.

Circannual rhythms in birds are influenced by A) periods of food availability. B) reproductive readiness. C) periods of daylight and darkness. D) magnetic fields. E) lunar cycles.

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning differ in that A) classical conditioning takes longer. B) operant conditioning usually involves more intelligence. C) operant conditioning involves consequences for the animal's behavior. D) classical conditioning is restricted to mammals and birds. E) classical conditioning is much more useful for training domestic animals.

Displays of nocturnal mammals are usually A) visual and auditory. B) tactile and visual. C) olfactory and auditory. D) visual and olfactory. E) tactile and auditory.

During the course of the formation of a parasite/host relationship, a critical first step in this evolution would be A) changing the behavior of the host or intermediate host. B) developing asexual reproduction. C) deriving nourishment without killing the host. D) starting as an ectoparasite and then later becoming an endoparasite. E) utilizing heterotropic nutrition during infection and autotrophic nutrition during dormancy.

Estimates of current rates of extinction A) indicate that we have reached a state of stable equilibrium in which speciation rates equal extinction rates. B) suggest that one-half of all animal and plant species may be gone by the year 2100. C) indicate that rates may be greater than the mass extinctions at the close of the Cretaceous period. D) indicate that only 1% of all of the species that have ever lived on Earth are still alive. E) suggest that rates of extinction have decreased globally.

Every morning at the same time, John went into the den to feed his new tropical fish. After a few weeks, he noticed that the fish swam to the top of the tank when he entered the room. This is an example of A) cognition. B) imprinting. C) classical conditioning. D) operant conditioning. E) maturation.

Extinction is a natural phenomenon. It is estimated that 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct. Why then do we say that we are now experiencing an extinction (loss of biodiversity) crisis? A) Humans are ethically responsible for protecting endangered species. B) Scientists have finally identified most of the species on Earth and are thus able to quantify the number of species becoming extinct. C) The current rate of extinction is high and human activities threaten biodiversity at all levels. D) Humans have greater medical needs than at any other time in history, and many potential medicinal compounds are being lost as plant species become extinct. E) Most biodiversity hot spots have been destroyed by recent ecological disasters.

Female spotted sandpipers aggressively court males and, after mating, leave the clutch of young for the male to incubate. This sequence may be repeated several times with different males until no available males remain, forcing the female to incubate her last clutch. Which of the following terms best describes this behavior? A) monogamy B) polygyny C) polyandry D) promiscuity E) certainty of paternity

Food chains are sometimes short because A) only a single species of herbivore feeds on each plant species. B) local extinction of a species causes extinction of the other species in its food chain. C) most of the energy in a trophic level is lost as it passes to the next higher level. D) predator species tend to be less diverse and less abundant than prey species. E) most producers are inedible.

How are movement corridors potentially harmful to certain species? A) They increase inbreeding. B) They promote dispersion. C) They spread disease and parasites. D) They increase genetic diversity. E) They allow seasonal migration.

How did Eugene Odum describe an ecological niche? A) the "address" of an organism B) an entity that is synonymous with an organism's specific trophic level C) an organism's "profession" in the community D) the organism's role in recycling nutrients in its habitat E) the interactions of the organism with other members of the community

How does phosphorus normally enter ecosystems? A) cellular respiration B) photosynthesis C) rock weathering D) vulcanism E) atmospheric phosphorous gas

How is habitat fragmentation related to biodiversity loss? A) Less carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants in fragmented habitats. B) In fragmented habitats, more soil erosion takes place. C) Populations of organisms in fragments are smaller and, thus, more susceptible to extinction. D) Animals are forced out of smaller habitat fragments. E) Fragments generate silt that negatively affects sensitive river and stream organisms.

If mayflies lay eggs on roads instead of in water, it would indicate which of the following? A) a defective gene B) trial-and-error learning C) a misdirected response to a sign stimulus D) a natural behavioral variation in the mayfly population E) aberrant behavior due to insecticide poisoning

In Belding's ground squirrels, it is mostly the females that behave altruistically by sounding alarm calls. What is the likely reason for this distinction? A) Males have smaller vocal cords and are less likely to make sounds. B) Females invest more in foraging and food stores, so they are more defensive. C) Females settle in the area in which they were born, so the alarm is warning kin. D) The sex ratio is biased. E) Males forage in areas separate from females; therefore, alarm calls are useless.

In terms of community ecology, why are pathogens more virulent now than ever before? A) More new pathogens have recently evolved. B) Host organisms have become more susceptible because of weakened immune systems. C) Human activities are transporting pathogens globally at an unprecedented rate. D) Medicines for treating pathogenic disease are in short supply. E) Sequencing of genes in pathogenic organisms is particularly difficult.

In the evolution of whelk-eating behavior in crows, which of the following was optimized through natural selection? A) the average number of drops required to break the shell B) the average height a bird flew to drop a shell C) the average total energy used to break shells D) the average size of the shells dropped by the birds E) the average thickness of the shells dropped by the birds

In the nitrogen cycle, the bacteria that replenish the atmosphere with N2 are A) Rhizobium bacteria. B) nitrifying bacteria. C) denitrifying bacteria. D) methanogenic protozoans. E) nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Learning in which an associated stimulus may be used to elicit the same behavioral response as the original sign stimulus is called A) concept formation. B) trial and error. C) classical conditioning. D) operant conditioning. E) cognition.

Listed below are several examples of types of animal behavior. Match the letter of the correct term (A-E) to each example in the following question. A. operant conditioning B. agonistic behavior C. innate behavior D. imprinting E. altruistic behavior A human baby performs a sucking behavior perfectly when it is put in the presence of the nipple of its mother's breast. A) A B) B C) C D) D E) E

Modern conservation biology increasingly aims at A) protecting federally listed endangered species. B) lobbying for strict enforcement of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. C) sustaining biodiversity of entire ecosystems and communities. D) maintaining genetic diversity in all species. E) saving as much habitat as possible from development and exploitation.

Monarch butterflies are protected from birds and other predators because of cardiac glycosides they incorporate into their tissues from eating milkweed when they were in their caterpillar stage. The wings of a different species of butterfly, the Viceroy, look nearly identical to the Monarch so predators that have learned not to eat the bad-tasting Monarch avoid Viceroys as well. This example best describes A) aposmatic coloration. B) cryptic coloration. C) Batesian mimicry. D) Müllerian mimicry. E) mutualism.

Relatively small geographic areas with high concentrations of endemic species and a large number of endangered and threatened species are known as A) endemic sinks. B) critical communities. C) biodiversity hot spots. D) endemic metapopulations. E) bottlenecks.

Review the formula for effective population size. Imagine a population of 1,000 small rodents. Of these, 300 are breeding females, 300 are breeding males, and 400 are nonbreeding juveniles. What is the effective population size? A) 1,000 B) 1,200 C) 600 D) 400 E) 300

Which of the following best describes the consequences of white-band disease in Caribbean coral reefs? A) Staghorn coral has been decimated by the pathogen, and Elkhorn coral has taken its place. B) Key habitat for lobsters, snappers, and other reef fishes has improved. C) Algal species take the place of the dead coral, and the fish community is dominated by herbivores. D) Algal species take over and the overall reef diversity increases due to increases in primary productivity. E) Other coral species take the place of the affected Staghorn and Elkhorn species.

Suppose you are studying the nitrogen cycling in a pond ecosystem over the course of a month. While you are collecting data, a flock of 100 Canada geese lands and spends the night during a fall migration. What could you do to eliminate error in your study as a result of this event? A) Find out how much nitrogen is consumed in plant material by a Canada goose over about a 12-hour period, multiply this number by 100, and add that amount to the total nitrogen in the ecosystem. B) Find out how much nitrogen is eliminated by a Canada goose over about a 12-hour period, multiply this number by 100, and subtract that amount from the total nitrogen in the ecosystem. C) Find out how much nitrogen is consumed and eliminated by a Canada goose over about a 12-hour period and multiply this number by 100; enter this +/- value into the nitrogen budget of the ecosystem. D) Do nothing. The Canada geese visitation to the lake would have negligible impact on the nitrogen budget of the pond. E) Put a net over the pond so that no more migrating flocks can land on the pond and alter the nitrogen balance of the pond.

The 1988 Yellowstone National Park lodgepole pine forest fires were likely the result of A) overgrazing by elk. B) infrequent rain episodes. C) years of fire suppression by humans. D) unextinguished campfires. E) geysers.

The behavior of most animals is influenced by the periods of daylight and darkness in the environment. Fiddler crabs' courtship behaviors are instead synchronized by the 29 1/2-day cycle of the moon. What is the adaptive significance of using lunar cues? A) The fiddler crab courtship ritual is highly visual so individuals need the light of the full moon to be able to observe courtship displays. B) Egg maturation in fiddler crab females takes 29 1/2 days. C) By courting at full and new moon, fiddler crabs link their reproduction to times of highest tides that disperse larvae to safer, deeper waters. D) The algae that larval fiddler crabs consume for energy and metabolism blooms on a monthly cycle, so recently hatched larvae have plenty to eat during a crucial time of their life. E) It takes about 29 days for a fiddler crab to reach sexual maturity.

The next question presumes that you have at least once visited and have some knowledge of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's. Use your knowledge of McDonald's and your understanding of community ecology to answer the following questions about an ecological community, McDonaldland. In a two-week marketing analysis, McDonald's was interested in finding out the popularity of the Big Mac. Using the realized/fundamental niche concept of community ecology, what should the marketing researchers do? A) Study the sales of McDonald's restaurants that are in close proximity to other fast-food restaurants. B) Serve only Big Macs at McDonald's and analyze the sales. C) Remove the Quarter Pounder from the menu and see if Big Mac sales increase. D) Serve Big Macs without the special sauce to see if sales go down. E) Serve Big Macs during breakfast hours.

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between a tick on a dog and the dog? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

This causes extremely high levels of toxic chemicals in fish-eating birds. A) depletion of ozone layer B) acid precipitation C) biological magnification D) greenhouse effect E) eutrophication

What is the fitness benefit of polygamy in birds that rear precocious young? A) Females will copulate with many males to ensure that all of their eggs are fertilized. B) Females don't have to decide on one mate, and can copulate with as many males as she deems worthy to share her genes with in reproduction. C) Fit males don't have to help feed and rear young and can spend this time seeking and mating with many females. D) Females don't have to spend time rearing young and can mate and rear additional broods during a breeding season. E) Both males and females spend little time with courtship and brood-rearing, and don't tax their own physiology so they can breed again in subsequent breeding seasons.

What term did E. O. Wilson coin for our innate appreciation of wild environments and living organisms? A) bioremediation B) bioethics C) biophilia D) biophobia E) landscape ecology

What type of signal is brief and can work among obstructions at night? A) olfactory B) visual C) auditory D) tactile E) magnetic

Which of the following does not have a coefficient of relatedness of 0.5? A) a father to his daughter B) a mother to her son C) an uncle to his nephew D) a brother to his brother E) a sister to her brother

Which of the following examples describes a behavioral pattern that results from a proximate cause? A) A cat kills a mouse to obtain nutrition. B) A male sheep fights with another male because it helps to improve its social position. C) A female bird lays its eggs because the amount of daylight is decreasing slightly each day. D) A goose squats and freezes motionless to escape a predator. E) A cockroach runs into a crack in the wall and avoids being stepped on.

Which of the following has the greatest effect on the rate of chemical cycling in an ecosystem? A) the ecosystem's rate of primary production B) the production efficiency of the ecosystem's consumers C) the rate of decomposition in the ecosystem D) the trophic efficiency of the ecosystem E) the location of the nutrient reservoirs in the ecosystem

Which of the following is an example of Batesian mimicry? A) an insect that resembles a twig B) a butterfly that resembles a leaf C) a nonvenomous snake that looks like a venomous snake D) a fawn with fur coloring that camouflages it in the forest environment E) a snapping turtle that uses its tongue to mimic a worm, thus attracting fish

Which of the following is consistent with forest fragmentation research? A) Productivity is the same in both fragmented forests and forest interiors. B) Edge communities consistently have low species diversity. C) Forest-interior species show declines in small patch communities. D) New-edge species that migrate in do not seem to compete with forest species and often increase biodiversity in fragmented forests. E) Species diversity is always lower in fragmented forests when compared to forest interiors in the same region.

Which of the following organisms is incorrectly paired with its trophic level? A) cyanobacterium primary producer B) grasshopper primary consumer C) zooplankton primary producer D) eagle tertiary consumer E) fungus detritivore

Which of the following statements is true? A) An ecosystem's trophic structure determines the rate at which energy cycles within the system. B) At any point in time, it is impossible for consumers to outnumber producers in an ecosystem. C) Chemoautotrophic prokaryotes near deep-sea vents are primary producers. D) There has been a well-documented increase in atmospheric nitrogen over the past several decades. E) The reservoir of ecosystem phosphorous is the atmosphere.

Which of the following strategies would most rapidly increase the genetic diversity of a population in an extinction vortex? A) Capture all remaining individuals in the population for captive breeding followed by reintroduction to the wild. B) Establish a reserve that protects the population's habitat. C) Introduce new individuals transported from other populations of the same species. D) Sterilize the least fit individuals in the population. E) Control populations of the endangered population's predators and competitors.

Which statement best describes the evolutionary significance of mutualism? A) Mutualism offers more biodiversity to a community. B) Individuals partaking in a mutualistic relationship are more resistant to parasites. C) Interaction increases the survival and reproductive rates of mutualistic species. D) Mutualistic interaction lessens competition in communities where it is present. E) Mutualistic relationships allow organisms to synthesize and use energy more efficiently.

Why are food chains relatively short? A) Top-level feeders tend to be more numerous than lower-trophic-level species. B) Top-level feeders tend to be small but are capable of conserving more energy. C) Longer chains are less stable and energy transfer between levels is inefficient. D) There are only so many organisms that are adapted to feed on other types of organisms. E) Food chain length is ultimately determined by the photosynthetic efficiency of producers.

Why do logged tropical rain forest soils typically have nutrient-poor soils? A) Tropical bedrock contains little phosphorous. B) Logging results in soil temperatures that are lethal to nitrogen-fixing bacteria. C) Most of the nutrients in the ecosystem are removed in the harvested timber. D) The cation exchange capacity of the soil is reversed as a result of logging. E) Nutrients evaporate easily into the atmosphere in the post-logged forest.

A guinea pig loves the lettuce kept in the refrigerator and squeals each time the refrigerator door opens. What term best applies to this behavior? A) sign stimulus B) cognition C) imprinting D) classical conditioning E) operant conditioning

According to most conservation biologists, the single greatest threat to global biodiversity is A) chemical pollution of water and air. B) stratospheric ozone depletion. C) overexploitation of certain species. D) alteration or destruction of the physical habitat. E) global climate change resulting from a variety of human activities.

Among songbirds, a "crystallized" song is one that A) is beyond the range of human hearing. B) is perfected by juveniles. C) extremely young chicks sing. D) is a perfected species-specific song. E) warns of predators.

Approximately how many kg of carnivore biomass can be supported by a field plot containing 1,000 kg of plant material? A) 10,000 B) 1,000 C) 100 D) 10 E) 1

How might the extinction of some Pacific Island bats called "flying foxes" threaten the survival of over 75% of the tree species in those islands? A) The bats eat the insects that harm competitor plants. B) The bats consume the fruit including the seeds that would disrupt the trees' reproductive cycle. C) The bats roost in the trees and fertilize soil around the trees with their nitrogen-rich droppings. D) The bats pollinate the trees and disperse seeds. E) The bats pierce the fruit, which allows the seeds to germinate.

Imagine that you are designing an experiment aimed at determining whether the initiation of migratory behavior is largely under genetic control. Of the following options, the best way to proceed is to A) observe genetically distinct populations in the field and see if they have different migratory habits. B) perform within-population matings with birds from different populations that have different migratory habits. Do this in the laboratory and see if offspring display parental migratory behavior. C) bring animals into the laboratory and determine the conditions under which they become restless and attempt to migrate. D) perform within-population matings with birds from different populations that have different migratory habits. Rear the offspring in the absence of their parents and observe the migratory behavior of offspring. E) All of the options are equally productive ways to approach the question.

In a particular case of secondary succession, three species of wild grass all invaded a field. By the second season, a single species dominated the field. A possible factor in this secondary succession was A) equilibrium. B) facilitation. C) immigration. D) inhibition. E) parasitism.

In a typical grassland community, which of the following is the primary consumer? A) hawk B) snake C) shrew D) grasshopper E) grass

Listed below are several examples of types of animal behavior. Match the letter of the correct term (A-E) to each example in the following question. A. operant conditioning B. agonistic behavior C. innate behavior D. imprinting E. altruistic behavior A mother goat can recognize its own kid by smell. A) A B) B C) C D) D E) E

Nitrifying bacteria participate in the nitrogen cycle mainly by A) converting nitrogen gas to ammonia. B) releasing ammonium from organic compounds, thus returning it to the soil. C) converting ammonia to nitrogen gas, which returns to the atmosphere. D) converting ammonium to nitrate, which plants absorb. E) incorporating nitrogen into amino acids and organic compounds.

Of the following zoonotic diseases, which is most likely to be studied by a community ecologist? A) mad cow disease B) hantavirus C) AIDS D) avian flu E) trichinosis

One characteristic that distinguishes a population in an extinction vortex from most other populations is that A) its habitat is fragmented. B) it is a rare, top-level predator. C) its effective population size is much lower than its total population size. D) its genetic diversity is very low. E) it is not well adapted to edge conditions.

Scientists have tried raising endangered whooping cranes in captivity by using sandhill cranes as foster parents. This strategy is no longer used because A) fostered whooping crane chicks did not develop the necessary cues for migration. B) the fostered whooping cranes' critical period was variable such that different chicks imprinted on different "mothers." C) sandhill crane parents rejected their fostered whooping crane chicks soon after incubation. D) none of the fostered whooping cranes formed a mating pair-bond with another whooping crane. E) sandhill crane parents did not properly incubate whooping crane eggs.

The central concept of sociobiology is that A) human behavior is rigidly predetermined. B) the behavior of an individual cannot be modified. C) human behavior consists mainly of fixed action patterns. D) most aspects of our social behavior have an evolutionary basis. E) the social behavior of humans is homologous to the social behavior of other social animals.

The discipline that applies ecological principles to returning degraded ecosystems to a more natural state is known as A) population viability analysis. B) landscape ecology. C) conservation ecology. D) restoration ecology. E) resource conservation.

The evolution of mating systems is most likely affected by A) population density. B) territoriality. C) certainty of paternity. D) sexual dimorphism. E) None of the options is correct.

The long-term problem with red-cockaded woodpecker habitat intervention in the southwest United States is A) the only habitat that can support their recovery is large tracts of mature southern pine forest. B) the mature pine forests in which they live cannot ever be subjected to forest fire. C) all of the appropriate red-cockaded woodpecker habitat has already been logged or converted to agricultural land. D) the social organization of the red-cockaded woodpecker precludes the dispersal of reproductive individuals. E) what habitat remains for the red-cockaded woodpecker does not contain trees suitable for nest-cavity construction.

The main cause of the increase in the amount of CO₂ in Earth's atmosphere over the past 150 years is A) increased worldwide primary production. B) increased worldwide standing crop. C) an increase in the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere. D) the burning of larger amounts of wood and fossil fuels. E) additional respiration by the rapidly growing human population.

The principle of competitive exclusion states that A) two species cannot coexist in the same habitat. B) competition between two species always causes extinction or emigration of one species. C) competition in a population promotes survival of the best-adapted individuals. D) two species that have exactly the same niche cannot coexist in a community. E) two species will stop reproducing until one species leaves the habitat.

This term refers to the reflecting and absorption of infrared radiation by atmospheric methane, carbon dioxide, and water. A) depletion of ozone layer B) acid precipitation C) biological magnification D) greenhouse effect E) eutrophication

To better comprehend the magnitude of current extinctions, it will be necessary to A) monitor atmospheric carbon dioxide levels more closely. B) differentiate between plant extinction and animal extinction numbers. C) focus on identifying more species of mammals and birds. D) identify more of the yet unknown species of organisms on Earth. E) use the average extinction rates of vertebrates as a baseline.

What is a critical load? A) the amount of nutrient augmentation necessary to bring a depleted habitat back to its former level B) the level of a given toxin in an ecosystem that is lethal to 50% of the species present C) the maximum abundance level of a particular species, beyond which additional numbers will degrade a habitat D) the amount of added nutrient that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem integrity E) the number of predators an ecosystem can support that effectively culls prey populations to healthy levels

What is the estimated number of extant species on Earth? A) 1,000 to 50,000 B) 50,000 to 150,000 C) 500,000 to 1,000,000 D) 10,000,000 to 100,000,000 E) 5 billion to 10 billion

What percent of all species on Earth are parasites? A) 1% B) 5% C) 25% D) 33 1/3% E) 50%

Which of the following conditions is the most likely indicator of a population in an extinction vortex? A) The population is geographically divided into smaller populations. B) The species in question is found only in small pockets of its former range. C) The effective population size of the species falls below 500. D) Genetic measurements indicate a loss of genetic variation over time. E) The population is no longer connected by corridors.

Which of the following could qualify as a top-down control on a grassland community? A) limitation of plant biomass by rainfall amount B) influence of temperature on competition among plants C) influence of soil nutrients on the abundance of grasses versus wildflowers D) effect of grazing intensity by bison on plant species diversity E) effect of humidity on plant growth rates

Which of the following examples poses the greatest potential threat to biodiversity? A) replanting, after a clear cut, a monoculture of Douglas fir trees on land that consisted of old-growth Douglas fir, western cedar, and western hemlock B) allowing previously used farmland to go fallow and begin to fill in with weeds and then shrubs and saplings C) trapping and relocating large predators, such as mountain lions, that pose a threat as they move into areas of relatively dense human populations D) importing an Asian insect into the United States to control a weed that competes with staple crops E) releasing sterilized rainbow trout to boost the sport fishing of a river system that contains native brook trout

Which of the following groups is most threatened by global extinctions? A) mammals B) birds C) fish D) amphibians E) plants

Which of the following is a correct statement about the McArthur/Wilson Island Equilibrium Model? A) The more species that inhabit an island, the lower the extinction rate. B) As the number of species on an island increases, the emigration rate decreases. C) Competitive exclusion is less likely on an island that has large numbers of species. D) Small islands receive few new immigrant species. E) Islands closer to the mainland have higher extinction rates.

Which of the following is an example of a local biogeochemical cycle? A) O₂ released by oak trees in a forest B) CO₂ absorbed by phytoplankton in the open ocean C) excess NO₃- converted to N₂ by denitrifying soil bacteria D) phosphorous being absorbed from the soil by a corn plant E) organic carbon remains of a leaf being converted to CO₂ by a fungus

Which of the following is the most direct threat to biodiversity? A) increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide B) the depletion of the ozone layer C) overexploitation of selected species D) habitat destruction E) zoned reserves

Which of the following is true of innate behaviors? A) Their expression is only weakly influenced by genes. B) They occur with or without environmental stimuli. C) They are limited to invertebrate animals. D) They are expressed in most individuals in a population. E) They occur in invertebrates and some vertebrates but not mammals.

Which of the following properly links the nutrient to its reservoir? A) nitrogen ionic nitrogen in the soil B) water atmospheric water vapor C) carbon dissolved CO₂ in aquatic ecosystems D) phosphorous sedimentary rocks E) All of the options are correct.

Which of the following provides the best evidence of a biodiversity crisis? A) the incursion of a non-native species B) increasing pollution levels C) decrease in regional productivity D) high rate of extinction E) climate change

Which of the following statements is consistent with the principle of competitive exclusion? A) Bird species generally do not compete for nesting sites. B) The random distribution of one competing species will have a positive impact on the population growth of the other competing species. C) Two species with the same fundamental niche will exclude other competing species. D) Even a slight reproductive advantage will eventually lead to the elimination of the less well adapted of two competing species. E) Natural selection tends to increase competition between related species.

Which of the following terms is used by ecologists to describe the community interaction where one organism makes the environment more suitable for another organism? A) parasitism B) mutualism C) inhibition D) facilitation E) commensalism

Which statement best describes what ultimately happens to the chemical energy that is not converted to new biomass in the process of energy transfer between trophic levels in an ecosystem? A) It is undigested and winds up in the feces and is not passed on to higher trophic levels. B) It is used by organisms to maintain their life processes through the reactions of cellular respiration. C) Heat produced by cellular respiration is used by heterotrophs to thermoregulate. D) It is eliminated as feces or is dissipated into space as heat in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. E) It is recycled by decomposers to a form that is once again usable by primary producers.

Which trophic level is most vulnerable to extinction? A) producer level B) primary consumer level C) secondary consumer level D) tertiary consumer level E) decomposer level

Why do tropical communities tend to have greater species diversity than temperate or polar communities? A) They are less likely to be affected by human disturbance. B) There are fewer parasites to negatively affect the health of tropical communities. C) Tropical communities are low in altitude, whereas temperate and polar communities are high in altitude. D) Tropical communities are generally older than temperate and polar communities. E) More competitive dominant species have evolved in temperate and polar communities.

Why is a pathogen generally more virulent in a new habitat? A) More pathogens tend to immigrate into newer habitats. B) Intermediate host species are more motile and transport pathogens to new areas. C) Pathogens evolve more efficient forms of reproduction in new environments. D) Hosts in new environments have not had a chance to become resistant to the pathogen through natural selection. E) New environments are almost always smaller in area so that transmission of pathogens is easily accomplished between hosts.

A type of bird similar to a chickadee learns to peck through the cardboard tops of milk bottles left on doorsteps to obtain the desired cream from the top. What term best applies to this behavior? A) sign stimulus B) cognition C) imprinting D) classical conditioning E) operant conditioning

According to the nonequilibrium model, A) communities will remain in a climax state if there are no human disturbances. B) community structure remains stable in the absence of interspecific competition. C) communities are assemblages of closely linked species that are irreparably changed by disturbance. D) interspecific interactions induce changes in community composition over time. E) communities are constantly changing after being influenced by disturbances.

Animal communication involves what type of sensory information? A) visual B) auditory C) olfactory D) tactile E) visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile

Animals use pheromones to communicate A) reproductive readiness. B) species recognition. C) gender recognition. D) danger. E) All options are correct.

As you study two closely related predatory insect species, the two-spot and the three-spot avenger beetles, you notice that each species seeks prey at dawn in areas without the other species. However, where their ranges overlap, the two-spot avenger beetle hunts at night and the three-spot hunts in the morning. When you bring them into the laboratory and isolate the two different species, you discover that the offspring of both species are found to be nocturnal. You have discovered an example of A) mutualism. B) character displacement. C) Batesian mimicry. D) facultative commensalism. E) resource partitioning.

Burning fossil fuels releases oxides of sulfur and nitrogen. These air pollutants can be responsible for A) the death of fish in lakes. B) precipitation with a pH as low as 3.0. C) calcium deficiency in soils. D) direct damage to plants by leaching nutrients from the leaves. E) All of the options are correct.

Feeding behavior with a high energy intake-to-expenditure ratio is called A) herbivory. B) autotrophy. C) heterotrophy. D) search scavenging. E) optimal foraging.

How might an ecologist test whether a species is occupying its realized or its fundamental niche? A) Study the temperature range and humidity requirements of the species. B) Observe if the niche size changes after the addition of nutritional resources to the habitat. C) Observe if the niche size changes after the introduction of a similar non-native species. D) Measure the change in reproductive success when the species is subjected to environmental stress. E) Remove a competitor species to see if the species expands its range.

If the flow of energy in an arctic ecosystem goes through a simple food chain, perhaps involving humans, starting from phytoplankton to zooplankton to fish to seals to polar bears, then which of the following could be true? A) Polar bears can provide more food for humans than seals can. B) The total biomass of the fish is lower than that of the seals. C) Seal meat probably contains the highest concentrations of fat-soluble toxins. D) Seal populations are larger than fish populations. E) The fish can potentially provide more food for humans than the seal meat can.

If the sex ratio in a population is significantly different from 50:50, then which of the following will always be true? A) The population will enter the extinction vortex. B) The genetic variation in the population will increase over time. C) The genetic variation in the population will decrease over time. D) The effective population size will be greater than the actual population size. E) The effective population size will be less than the actual population size.

If you applied a fungicide to a cornfield, what would you expect to happen to the rate of decomposition and net ecosystem production (NEP)? A) Both decomposition rate and NEP would decrease. B) Both decomposition rate and NEP would increase. C) Neither would change. D) Decomposition rate would increase and NEP would decrease. E) Decomposition rate would decrease and NEP would increase.

In terms of nutrient cycling, why does timber harvesting in a temperate forest cause less ecological devastation than timber harvesting in tropical rain forests? A) Trees are generally less numerous in temperate forests, so fewer nutrients will be removed from the temperate forest ecosystem during a harvest. B) Temperate forest tree species require fewer nutrients to survive than their tropical counterpart species, so a harvest removes fewer nutrients from the temperate ecosystem. C) The warmer temperatures in the tropics influence rain forest species to assimilate nutrients more slowly, so tropical nutrient absorption is much slower than in temperate forests. D) There are far fewer decomposers in tropical rain forests, so turning organic matter into usable nutrients is a slower process than in temperate forest ecosystems. E) Typical harvests remove up to 75% of the nutrients in the woody trunks of tropical rain forest trees, leaving nutrient-impoverished soils behind.

Introduced species can have deleterious effects on biological communities by A) preying on native species. B) competing with native species for food or light. C) displacing native species. D) competing with native species for space or breeding/nesting habitat. E) All of the options are correct.

Listed below are several examples of types of animal behavior. Match the letter of the correct term (A-E) to each example in the following question. A. operant conditioning B. agonistic behavior C. innate behavior D. imprinting E. altruistic behavior Upon observing a golden eagle flying overhead, a sentry prairie dog gives a warning call to other foraging members of the prairie dog community. A) A B) B C) C D) D E) E

Nitrogen is available to plants only in the form of A) N2 in the atmosphere. B) nitrite ions in the soil. C) uric acid from animal excretions. D) amino acids from decomposing plant and animal proteins. E) nitrate ions in the soil.

Prairie dogs once covered the expanses of the Great Plains. Their grazing made the grass more nutritious for the huge herds of bison, and they were preyed upon by a variety of snakes, raptors, and mammals. In fact, the black-footed ferret (now endangered) specialized in prairie dog predation. Today, increases in housing and agricultural developments have eradicated many prairie dog towns. Which of the following statements about prairie dogs is true? A) Their realized niche has expanded. B) They have a competitive relationship with bison. C) They are probably a poor candidate for keystone species. D) Their fundamental niche has been compromised. E) Their fundamental niche has expanded.

Some dogs love attention, and Frodo the beagle learns that if he barks, he gets attention. Which of the following might you use to describe this behavior? A) The dog is displaying an instinctive fixed action pattern. B) The dog is performing a social behavior. C) The dog is trying to protect its territory. D) The dog has been classically conditioned. E) The dog's behavior is a result of operant conditioning.

The Hubbard Brook watershed deforestation experiment yielded all of the following results except: A) Most minerals were recycled within a forest ecosystem. B) The flow of minerals out of a natural watershed was offset by minerals flowing in. C) Deforestation increased water runoff. D) The nitrate concentration in waters draining the deforested area became dangerously high. E) Calcium levels remained high in the soil of deforested areas.

The color of throats of males in a population of side-blotched lizards is determined by A) the frequency of homozygous recessive genotype. B) ambient temperatureblue = cold; orange = normal; yellow = hot. C) stage of development/maturity. D) their receptiveness to mate. E) the success of the mating behavior of each of the throat color phenotypes.

The feeding relationships among the species in a community determine the community's A) secondary succession. B) ecological niche. C) species richness. D) species-area curve. E) trophic structure.

The fru gene in fruit flies A) controls sex-specific development in the fruit fly. B) is a master regulatory gene that directs expression of many other genes. C) can be genetically manipulated in females so that they will perform male sex behaviors. D) programs males for appropriate courtship behaviors. E) All of the options are correct.

The greatest cause of the biodiversity crisis, the one which includes all of the others, is A) pollution. B) global warming. C) habitat destruction. D) introduced species. E) human overpopulation.

The mating system in which females are more ornamented than males is A) monogamy. B) promiscuity. C) polygamy. D) polygyny. E) polyandry.

The next question presumes that you have at least once visited and have some knowledge of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's. Use your knowledge of McDonald's and your understanding of community ecology to answer the following questions about an ecological community, McDonaldland. Which two "species" are likely to compete for the same ecological niche? A) Big Mac and Quarter Pounder B) French Fries and Hash Browns C) Premium Caesar Salad with Crispy Chicken and Premium Crispy Chicken Classic Sandwich D) Filet-O-Fish and Double Cheeseburger E) No two species can ever occupy the same ecological niche.

The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes a positive interaction, - denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned. What interactions exist between a lion pride and a hyena pack? A) +/+ B) +/o C) +/- D) o/o E) -/-

This is caused by excessive nutrient runoff into aquatic ecosystems. A) depletion of ozone layer B) acid precipitation C) biological magnification D) greenhouse effect E) eutrophication

We should care about loss in biodiversity in the populations of other species because of A) biophilia. B) potential loss of medicines and other products yet undiscovered from threatened species. C) potential loss of genes, some of which may code for proteins useful to humans. D) the risk to global ecological stability. E) All of the options are correct.

What is the single greatest threat to biodiversity? A) overharvesting of commercially important species B) introduced species that compete with native species C) pollution of Earth's air, water, and soil D) disruption of trophic relationships as more and more prey species become extinct E) habitat alteration, fragmentation, and destruction

Which of the following is an example of cryptic coloration? A) bands on a coral snake B) brown or gray color of tree bark C) markings of a viceroy butterfly's wings D) colors of an insect-pollinated flower's petals E) a "walking stick" insect that resembles a twig

Which of the following life history traits can potentially influence effective population size (Ne)? A) maturation age B) genetic relatedness among individuals in a population C) family and population size D) gene flow between geographically separated populations E) All of the options are correct.

Which of the following locations is the reservoir for carbon for the carbon cycle? A) atmosphere B) sediments and sedimentary rocks C) fossilized plant and animal remains (coal, oil, and natural gas) D) plant and animal biomass E) all of the above

Which of the following might affect the foraging behavior of an animal in the context of optimal foraging? A) risk of predation B) prey size C) prey defenses D) prey density E) All of the options are correct.

Which of the following statements is true about certainty of paternity? A) Young or eggs laid by a female are likely to contain the same genes as another female's eggs in a population of birds. B) Certainty of paternity is high in most species with internal fertilization because the acts of mating and birth are separated by time. C) Males that guard females they have mated with are certain of their paternity. D) Certainty of paternity is low when egg laying and mating occur together, as in external fertilization. E) Paternal behavior exists because it has been reinforced over generations by natural selection.

Which of the following studies would a community ecologist undertake to learn about competitive interactions? A) selectivity of nest sites among cavity-nesting songbirds B) the grass species preferred by grazing pronghorn antelope and bison C) nitrate and phosphate uptake by various hardwood forest tree species D) stomach analysis of brown trout and brook trout in streams where they coexist E) selectivity of nest sites among cavity-nesting songbirds, the grass species preferred by grazing pronghorn antelope and bison, nitrate and phosphate uptake by various hardwood forest tree species, and stomach analysis of brown trout and brook trout in streams where they coexist

Which of the following would be most significant in understanding the structure of an ecological community? A) determining how many species are present overall B) determining which particular species are present C) determining the kinds of interactions that occur among organisms of different species D) determining the relative abundance of species E) determining how many species are present overall, which particular species are present, the kinds of interactions that occur among organisms of different species, and the relative abundance of species

Your friend is wary of environmentalists' claims that global warming could lead to major biological change on Earth. Which of the following statements can you use in response to your friend's suspicions? A) We know that atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased over the past 150 years. B) Through measurements and observations, we know that CO2 levels and temperature fluctuations are directly correlated, even in prehistoric times. C) Global warming could have significant effects on agriculture in the United States. D) Sea levels will likely rise, displacing as much as 50% of the world's human population. E) All statements listed could be used.

Which statement about dispersal is false? A) Dispersal is a common component of the life cycles of plants and animals. B) Colonization of devastated areas after floods or volcanic eruptions depends on dispersal. C) Dispersal occurs only on an evolutionary time scale. D) Seeds are important dispersal stages in the life cycles of most flowering plants. E) The ability to disperse can expand the geographic distribution of a species.

What is the primary limiting factor for aquatic productivity? A) pressure B) lack of nutrients C) light availability D) herbivores E) competition

Which of the following investigations would shed the most light on the distribution of organisms in temperate regions that are faced with climate change? A) Remove, to the mineral soil, all of the organisms from an experimental plot and monitor the colonization of the area over time in terms of both species diversity and abundance. B) Look back at the changes that occurred since the Ice Age and how species redistributed as glaciers melted, then make predictions on future distribution in species based on past trends. C) Compare and contrast the flora and fauna of warm/cold/dry/wet climates to shed light on how they evolved to be suited to their present-day environment. D) Quantify the impact of man's activities on present-day populations of threatened and endangered species to assess the rate of extirpation and extinction. E) There is no scientific investigation that can help make predictions on the future distribution of organisms.

How does inefficient transfer of energy among trophic levels result in the typically high endangerment status of many top-level predators? A) Top-level predators are destined to have small populations that are sparsely distributed. B) Predators have relatively large population sizes. C) Predators are more disease-prone than animals at lower trophic levels. D) Predators have short life spans and short reproductive periods. E) Top-level predators are more likely to be stricken with parasites.

If a meteor impact or volcanic eruption injected a lot of dust into the atmosphere and reduced the sunlight reaching Earth's surface by 70% for one year, which of the following marine communities most likely would be least affected? A) deep-sea vent B) coral reef C) intertidal D) pelagic E) estuary

If you are interested in observing a relatively simple community structure in a clear water lake, you would do well to choose diving into A) an oligotrophic lake. B) a eutrophic lake. C) a relatively shallow lake. D) a nutrient-rich lake. E) a lake with consistently warm temperatures.

Which of the following can be said about light in aquatic environments? A) Water selectively reflects and absorbs certain wavelengths of light. B) Photosynthetic organisms that live in deep water probably use red light. C) Longer wavelengths penetrate to greater depths. D) Light penetration seldom limits the distribution of photosynthetic species. E) Most photosynthetic organisms avoid the surface where the light is too intense.

Which of the following choices includes all of the others in creating global terrestrial climates? A) differential heating of Earth's surface B) ocean currents C) global wind patterns D) evaporation of water from ocean surfaces E) Earth's rotation on its axis

Which of the following lists of organisms is ranked in correct order from lowest to highest percent in production efficiency? A) mammals, fish, insects B) insects, fish, mammals C) fish, insects, mammals D) insects, mammals, fish E) mammals, insects, fish

Which statement most accurately describes how matter and energy are used in ecosystems? A) Matter is cycled through ecosystems; energy is not. B) Energy is cycled through ecosystems; matter is not. C) Energy can be converted into matter; matter cannot be converted into energy. D) Matter can be converted into energy; energy cannot be converted into matter. E) Matter is used in ecosystems; energy is not.

Which of the following statements best describes the interaction between fire and ecosystems? A) The likelihood of a wildfire occurring in a given ecosystem is highly predictable over the short term. B) Many kinds of plants and plant communities have adapted to frequent fires. C) The suppression of forest fires by man has prevented certain communities, such as grasslands, from reaching their climax stage. D) Chaparral communities have evolved to the extent that they rarely burn. E) Fire is unnatural in ecosystems and should be prevented.

Air masses formed over the Pacific Ocean are moved by prevailing westerlies where they encounter extensive north-south mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. Which statement best describes the outcome of this encounter between a landform and an air mass? A) The cool, moist Pacific air heats up as it rises, releasing its precipitation as it passes the tops of the mountains, and this warm, now dry air cools as it descends on the leeward side of the range. B) The warm, moist Pacific air rises and cools, releasing precipitation as it moves up the windward side of the range, and this cool, now dry air mass heats up as it descends on the leeward side of the range. C) The cool, dry Pacific air heats up and picks up moisture from evaporation of the snowcapped peaks of the mountain range, releasing this moisture as precipitation when the air cools while descending on the leeward side of the range. D) These air masses are blocked by the mountain ranges, producing high annual amounts of precipitation on the windward sides of these mountain ranges. E) These air masses remain essentially unchanged in moisture content and temperature as they pass over these mountain ranges.

Fire suppression by humans A) will always result in an increase in species diversity in a given biome. B) can change the species composition within biological communities. C) will result ultimately in sustainable production of increased amounts of forest products for human use. D) is necessary for the protection of threatened and endangered forest species. E) is a management goal of conservation biologists to maintain the healthy condition of forest communities.

If global warming continues at its present rate, which biomes will likely take the place of the coniferous forest (taiga)? A) tundra and polar ice B) temperate broadleaf forest and grassland C) desert and chaparral D) tropical forest and savanna E) chaparral and temperate broadleaf forest

In which of the following terrestrial biome pairs are both parts dependent upon periodic burning? A) tundra and coniferous forest B) chaparral and savanna C) desert and savanna D) tropical forest and temperate broadleaf forest E) grassland and tundra

To recycle nutrients, an ecosystem must have, at a minimum, A) producers. B) producers and decomposers. C) producers, primary consumers, and decomposers. D) producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and decomposers. E) producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, top carnivores, and decomposers.

Trophic efficiency is A) the ratio of net secondary production to assimilation of primary production. B) the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next. C) a measure of how nutrients are cycled from one trophic level to the next. D) usually greater than production efficiencies. E) about 90% in most ecosystems.

Two plant species live in the same biome but on different continents. Although the two species are not at all closely related, they may appear quite similar as a result of A) parallel evolution. B) convergent evolution. C) allopatric speciation. D) introgression. E) gene flow.

Which of the examples below provides appropriate abiotic and biotic factors that might determine the distribution of the species in question? A) the amount of nitrate and phosphate in the soil, and wildflower abundance and diversity B) the number of frost-free days, and competition between species of introduced grasses and native alpine grasses C) increased predation and decreased food availability, and a prairie dog population after a prairie fire D) available sunlight and increased salinity in the top few meters of the ocean, and the abundance and diversity of phytoplankton communities E) the pH and dissolved oxygen concentration, and the streams in which brook trout can live

Which of the following ecosystems would likely have a larger net primary productivity/hectare and why? A) open ocean because of the total biomass of photosynthetic autotrophs B) grassland because of the small standing crop biomass that results from consumption by herbivores and rapid decomposition C) tropical rain forest because of the massive standing crop biomass and species diversity D) cave due to the lack of photosynthetic autotrophs E) tundra because of the incredibly rapid period of growth during the summer season

A 3-hectare lake in the American Midwest suddenly has succumbed to an algal bloom. What is the likely cause of eutrophication in freshwater ecosystems, such as this one? A) increased solar radiation B) introduction of non-native tertiary consumer fish C) nutrient runoff D) accidental introduction of a prolific culture of algae E) iron dust blowing into the lake

Experts in white-tailed deer ecology generally agree that population sizes of deer that live in temperate climates are limited by winter snow. The deer congregate in "yarding" areas under evergreen trees because venturing out to feed in winter is energetically too expensive when snowfall depths accumulate to above 40 cm. Deer often stay yarded until the spring thaw. Snow depth over 40 inches for more than 60 days results in high mortality due to starvation. This observation best illustrates which of the following principles about factors that limit distribution of organisms? A) Abiotic factors, such as weather extremes, ultimately limit distribution. B) Organisms will face extinction unless they adapt to conditions or evolve new mechanisms for survival. C) Environmental factors are limiting not only in amount but also in longevity. D) Daily accumulations in snow depth gradually add up to cause increased deer mortality. E) Temporary extremes in weather conditions usually result in high mortality in the deer population.

How is it that the open ocean produces the highest net primary productivity of Earth's ecosystems, yet net primary productivity per square meter is relatively low? A) Oceans contain greater concentrations of nutrients compared to other ecosystems. B) Oceans receive a lesser amount of solar energy per unit area. C) Oceans have the largest area of all the ecosystems on Earth. D) Ocean ecosystems have less species diversity. E) Oceanic producers are generally much smaller than oceanic consumers.

Owls eat rats, mice, shrews, and small birds. Assume that, over a period of time, an owl consumes 5,000 J of animal material. The owl loses 2,300 J in feces and owl pellets and uses 2,500 J for cellular respiration. What is the primary efficiency of this owl? A) 0.02% B) 1% C) 4% D) 10% E) 40%

Photosynthetic organisms are unique to most ecosystems because they A) synthesize organic compounds they obtain from decaying heterotrophs. B) synthesize inorganic compounds from organic compounds. C) use light energy to synthesize organic compounds. D) use chemical energy to synthesize organic compounds. E) convert light energy into matter.

Which of the following is true of detrivores? A) They recycle chemical elements directly back to primary consumers. B) They synthesize organic molecules that are used by primary producers. C) They convert organic materials from all trophic levels to inorganic compounds usable by primary producers. D) They secrete enzymes that convert the organic molecules of detritus into CO₂ and H₂O. E) Some species are autotrophic, while others are heterotrophic.

Which of the following statements best describes the effect of climate on biome distribution? A) Average annual temperature and precipitation are sufficient to predict which biome will be found in an area. B) Seasonal fluctuation of temperature is not a limiting factor in biome distribution if areas have the same annual temperature and precipitation means. C) Not only is the average climate important in determining biome distribution but so is the pattern of climatic variation. D) Temperate forests and grasslands are different biomes because they receive a different quality and quantity of sunlight, even though they have essentially the same annual temperature and precipitation. E) Correlation of climate with biome distribution is sufficient to determine the cause of biome patterns.

Why is the climate drier on the leeward side of mountain ranges that are subjected to prevailing winds? A) Deserts usually are found on the leeward side of mountain ranges. B) The sun illuminates the leeward side of mountain ranges at a more direct angle, converting to heat energy, which evaporates most of the water present. C) Pushed by the prevailing winds on the windward side, air is forced to rise, cool, condense, and drop its precipitation, leaving only dry air to descend the leeward side. D) Air masses pushed by the prevailing winds are stopped by mountain ranges and the moisture is used up in the stagnant air masses on the leeward side. E) More organisms live on the sheltered, leeward side of mountain ranges where their utilization of water lowers the amount available when compared to the windward side.

Generally speaking, deserts are located in places where air masses are usually A) tropical. B) humid. C) rising. D) descending. E) expanding.

How is it that satellites can detect differences in primary productivity on Earth? A) Photosynthetic organisms absorb more visible light in the 350—750 wavelengths. B) Satellite instruments can detect reflectance patterns of the photosynthetic organisms of different ecosystems. C) Sensitive satellite instruments can measure the amount of NADPH produced in the summative light reactions of different ecosystems. D) Satellites detect differences by comparing the wavelengths of light captured and reflected by photoautotrophs to the amount of light reaching different ecosystems. E) Satellites detect differences by measuring the amount of water vapor emitted by transpiring producers.

Studying species transplants is a way that ecologists A) determine the abundance of a species in a specified area. B) determine the distribution of a species in a specified area. C) develop mathematical models for distribution and abundance of organisms. D) determine if dispersal is a key factor in limiting distribution of organisms. E) consolidate a landscape region into a single ecosystem.

Which data is most useful to measure primary productivity in a terrestrial ecosystem? A) temperature readings B) potential evapotranspiration C) intensity of solar radiation D) annual precipitation E) amount of carbon fixed

Which of the following is a true statement regarding mineral nutrients in soils and their implication for primary productivity? A) Globally, phosphorous availability is most limiting to primary productivity. B) Adding a nonlimiting nutrient will stimulate primary productivity. C) Adding more of a limiting nutrient will increase primary productivity, indefinitely. D) Phosphorous is sometimes unavailable to producers due to leaching. E) Alkaline soils are more productive than acidic soils.

Which of the following is true with respect to oligotrophic lakes and eutrophic lakes? A) Oligotrophic lakes are more subject to oxygen depletion. B) Rates of photosynthesis are lower in eutrophic lakes. C) Eutrophic lake water contains lower concentrations of nutrients. D) Eutrophic lakes are richer in nutrients. E) Sediments in oligotrophic lakes contain larger amounts of decomposable organic matter.

Which of the following might be an investigation of microclimate? A) the effect of ambient temperature on the onset of caribou migration B) the seasonal population fluctuation of nurse sharks in coral reef communities C) competitive interactions between various species of songbirds during spring migration D) the effect of sunlight intensity on species composition in a decaying rat carcass E) the effect of different nitrogen applications on corn productivity

Which of the following statements about the ocean pelagic biome is true? A) The ocean is a vast, deep storehouse that always provides sustenance; it is the next "frontier" for feeding humanity. B) Because it is so immense, the pelagic ocean biome is globally uniform. C) Globally, more photosynthesis occurs in the ocean neritic biome than in the pelagic biome. D) Pelagic ocean photosynthetic activity is disproportionately low in relation to the size of the biome. E) The most abundant animals are vertebrate fishes.

Which series is correctly layered from top to bottom in a tropical rain forest? A) ground layer, shrub/immature layer, under story, canopy, emergent layer B) canopy, emergent layer, under story, shrub/immature layer, ground layer C) canopy, under story, shrub/immature layer, emergent layer, ground layer D) emergent layer, canopy, under story, shrub/immature layer, ground layer E) emergent layer, under story, canopy, ground layer, shrub/immature layer

In mountainous areas of western North America, north-facing slopes would be expected to A) receive more sunlight than similar southern exposures. B) be warmer and drier than comparable southern exposed slopes. C) consistently be steeper than southern exposures. D) support biological communities similar to those found at lower elevations on similar south-facing slopes. E) support biological communities similar to those found at higher elevations on similar south-facing slopes.

What is the limiting factor for the growth of trees in the tundra? A) low precipitation B) cold temperatures C) insufficient minerals in bedrock D) pH of soils E) permafrost

What would be the effect on climate in the temperature latitudes if Earth were to slow its rate of rotation from a 24-hour period of rotation to a 48-hour period of rotation? A) Seasons would be longer and more distinct (colder winters and warmer summers). B) There would be a smaller range between daytime high and nighttime low temperatures. C) Large scale weather events such as tornadoes and hurricanes would no longer be a part of regional climates. D) Winter seasons in both the northern and southern hemispheres would have more abundant and frequent precipitation events. E) The climate would stay the same. The only change would be longer days and nights.

Which of the following environmental features might influence microclimates? A) forest canopy B) freshly plowed field C) log on the forest floor D) large boulder E) All of the options are correct.

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem? A) All of the brook trout in a 500 hectare² river drainage system. B) The plants, animals, and decomposers that inhabit an alpine meadow. C) A pond and all of the plant and animal species that live in it. D) The intricate interactions of the various plant and animal species on a savanna during a drought. E) Interactions between all of the organisms and their physical environment in a tropical rain forest.

Which of the following is primarily responsible for limiting the number of trophic levels in most ecosystems? A) Many primary and higher-order consumers are opportunistic feeders. B) Decomposers compete with higher-order consumers for nutrients and energy. C) Nutrient cycles involve both abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems. D) Nutrient cycling rates tend to be limited by decomposition. E) Energy transfer between tropic levels is in almost all cases less than 20% efficient.

Why does a vegetarian leave a smaller ecological footprint than an omnivore? A) Fewer animals are slaughtered for human consumption. B) There is an excess of plant biomass in all terrestrial ecosystems. C) Vegetarians need to ingest less chemical energy than omnivores. D) Vegetarians require less protein than do omnivores. E) Eating meat is an inefficient way of acquiring photosynthetic productivity.

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