LS 7B Week 10 Launchpad Practice Questions

In general, what is the relationship between a country's ecological footprint and its overall standard of living?

As the standard of living increases, so does the ecological footprint.

Which of the following statements about coral bleaching is TRUE?

Bleached corals die more rapidly than unbleached corals. Coral bleaching results from the loss of algal symbionts from the coral tissue. ***All of these choices are correct. Corals appear white after bleaching because their white calcium carbonate skeletons are visible through their translucent tissue. Increased seawater temperature is one cause of coral bleaching.

If all of the tertiary consumers were removed from an environment, the associated food web (and thus the carbon cycle) would collapse.

False

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the process of eutrophication?

It can result in "dead zones" devoid of aquatic animal life.

Which of the following statements explains how an oxygen-rich atmosphere was possible?

Rates of oxygen consumption were lower than rates of photosynthesis.

If Earth had no oceans, would temperatures at the equator be hotter or colder than they are now?

Temperatures would be hotter.

Which of the following is an appropriate interpretation of the graph below?

The anchovy catch grew through 1970, after which there was rapid decline without recovery.

As you hike from the base of a mountain to the top of a mountain, you would expect see decreasing levels of biodiversity.

True

An individual's ecological footprint is equivalent to the:

amount of land required to provide all the resources used by that individual.

If a scientist wanted to determine if a forest environment had been polluted, which of the following groups of organisms typically would be the BEST indicator for the presence of pollutants?

amphibians

In addition to burning fossil fuels, humans return CO2 to the atmosphere faster than it can be removed by:

clearing forests for agriculture.

Sustainable development plans are designed to allow:

conservation of species used by humans without causing the decline or extinction of that species.

Remember that, as a rule, temperatures decrease with an increase in altitude. If you were studying the effects of climate change on the geographic ranges of species living in the mountains and your climate records showed that mean temperatures were increasing, you would predict that species ranges would show a shift toward:

higher elevations.

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on a community is called a _____ species.

keystone

Which of the following is a good predictor of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems?

plant species in a community

Organisms that take up inorganic nutrients and convert them to organic molecules such as carbohydrates and proteins are called:

primary producers.

The broadest level in a trophic pyramid is primarily composed of:

primary producers.

What is one "low-tech" method currently available to actively remove CO2 from the air?

reforestation of previously cleared landscapes

The hypothesis that species diversity is greater at lower latitudes than higher latitudes because low-latitude habitats are older would be supported if speciation rates were:

the same at high and low latitudes.

Most climate models predict that, during the 21st century, mean global temperature will increase by:

2-5°C.

How many "cells" of circulating air are found around the Earth?

6

What is the approximate size of the human population today?

7 Billion

The sequence of species that colonize a recently disturbed area through succession is unpredictable.

False

In the example of the giant kelp forests on the Pacific coast, a rise in the otter population would have what effect on the kelp populations?

Kelp populations would increase due to a decrease in sea urchins.

What is generally true about biomass and energy as we move from one trophic level to the next?

Not all energy is transferred to the next trophic level.

Consider the figure below showing calculated sustainable yield for Peruvian anchovy. For years Peruvian anchovy were fished at their estimated sustainable yield. Which of the following is the BEST explanation for why the population crashed?

The estimated sustainable yield was calculated at the maximum population size of Peruvian anchovy.

Biologists who study biodiversity describe new species and monitor species of which we are aware. Why is the study of biodiversity important in the Anthropocene?

The study of biodiversity is important because it helps quantify the effects of human actions on changes in the traits of many populations (size, density, distribution).

Rainforests have high tree species richness, but low density. In deciduous forests the pattern is the opposite. Which of the following is NOT a plausible explanation for this pattern?

There are fewer species in temperate regions because the number of trees per hectare is lower than in tropical rainforests.

Increased overfishing on predators of crown-of-thorns starfish is likely to result in continued increase in crown-of-thorns starfish population sizes.

True

Some forms of M. tuberculosis are very difficult—or even impossible—to treat with antibiotics.

True

The evolution of biodiversity on the planet can be linked to patterns in the carbon cycle over time.

True

While food chains show linear energy transfer between organisms, food webs depict more realistically what occurs in an ecosystem.

True

The high specific heat of water means that land masses near the equator are:

cooler than predicted because of all the heat carried by ocean waters from low to high latitudes.

Which group in a food web is responsible for returning inorganic compounds back to the environment?

decomposers

Genetic variation within species is important to conservation because:

genetic variation provides material for natural selection to "act upon" in changing environments.

Some biologists have suggested that overexploitation in the harvesting of some sharks (i.e. top predators) has caused drastic changes in marine communities. Which of the following would you expect after removal of a top predator from a community?

population growth of prey species

Decomposers are vital components of a food web because they:

return carbon (as CO2) to the atmosphere.

Energy flow through ecosystems can be depicted using a(n):

trophic pyramid.

A group of scientists in Alaska notices that not only have atmospheric CO2 levels increased at their sampling site but so too have methane levels. What most likely accounts for this increase in methane levels?

The release of methane from thawed permafrost.

The sum total of the populations that live in a given area is called a(n):

community

You decide to plant a garden in your backyard. You dig up a strip of grass in a sunny spot. When you have finished digging up the grass, but you haven't planted anything, you have created a(an) _____ in the lawn.

ecological disturbance

A(n) _____ is a community of organisms and the physical environment it occupies.

ecosystem

Keystone species can have significant influences over several populations in a community through their:

effect on high amounts of biomass and energy transfer between populations.

Predator/prey relationships are always linear, with one species affecting only one other in the community.

false

A _____ depicts the flow of carbon through an ecosystem, whereas a _____ depicts the transfer of energy.

food web; trophic pyramid

As a young field biologist, you are walking through a patch of grassland where you notice that there is a very common, well-established species of grass. Further research shows that this grass is native to an area in another part of the world. This species of grass would be classified as a(n) _____ species.

invasive

Warm air is _____ dense than cold air, and warm air holds _____ moisture than cold air.

less; more

Given models of population growth, which model would be the BEST to use for determining estimated sustainable yield?

logistic

Which of the following organisms can incorporate atmospheric carbon directly into C6H12O6, thereby playing a major role in a food web?

primary producers

Following a disturbance, the process by which species replace each other over time is/are called:

succession.

Biological reserves are an important tool in maintaining biodiversity because a reserve:

that is designed for a single species will also protect other species in the reserve.

Which of the following factors likely contributed to the accumulation of O2 within Earth's atmosphere?

the fact that there is a slight "de-coupling" between photosynthesis and respiration ***All of these choices are correct. the fact that oxygen is also cycled during the carbon cycle the fact that photosynthesis releases O2 as a product the evolution of cyanobacteria

While biodiversity includes the number of species in a given area, it also includes:

unique phylogenetic lineages.