Q&A Hero

Q: The functional role of a species in its community is its ________. A) habitat B) place in the food chain C) selection D) niche E) evolution

Q: A community is a group of ________. A) individuals of interacting species that live in one area B) individuals of interacting species that interact in multiple ecosystems C) individuals of a single species that live in one area D) individuals of a single species that interact in multiple ecosystems E) cells that have similar function

Q: A population is a group of ________. A) individuals of interacting species that live in one area B) individuals of interacting species that interact in multiple ecosystems C) individuals of a single species that live in one area D) individuals of a single species that interact in multiple ecosystems E) cells that have similar function

Q: The two processes that determine the world's current biodiversity are ________. A) allopatric and sympatric speciation B) mutation and cleavage C) endemism and climate change D) extinction and speciation E) breeding and ecotourism

Q: Most extinction is ________. A) the result of catastrophe B) gradual C) the result of slow climate change D) problematic for generalists E) not often a problem for specialists

Q: Extinction is ________. A) a natural process B) not caused by human disturbance C) the loss of communities from the planet D) proceeding more slowly now than at any other time E) something that occurs only rarely

Q: ________ use other plants as their habitat.

Q: An organelle is to a cell what a(n) ________ is to an organism.

Q: In the hierarchy of matter, what a macromolecule is to an organelle is what a(n) ________ is to an organ.

Q: How may a clumped population distribution possibly reduce the vulnerability of an individual to predation?

Q: The innate reproductive capacity of a species is its ________.

Q: The departure of individuals from a population is called ________.

Q: The similarity in the shape of fish and dolphins is an example of ________.

Q: Differentiate between habitat and niche.

Q: Write the equation used to determine growth rate.

Q: What is habitat selection, and how does it differ for different organisms?

Q: What is biological diversity, and what specific categories of diversity are included in the definition?

Q: What are the two main lessons from the Monteverde rain forest?

Q: Match the following.A) habitatB) type IC) population potentialD) environmental cooperationE) ecosystemsF) communityG) population densityH) populationI) type IIIJ) nicheK) environmental resistanceL) ecotones1.Multiple interacting species that live in the same area2.Communities and the abiotic material with which their members interact3.Specific biotic and abiotic environment in which an organism lives4.Number of individuals within a population per unit area5.Stabilizes a population at its carrying capacity6.A cod female can produce millions of eggs. Most likely cod has this survivorship curve

Q: Refer to Figure 4.1. Over many years, the population of finches on the island ________.A) begins to look like graph (a), directional selection, with regard to wing lengthB) begins to look like graph (b), stabilizing selection, with regard to wing lengthC) begins to look like graph (c), disruptive selection, with regard to wing lengthD) goes extinct because the wings do not changeE) doesn't change; the finches maintain their original diversity

Q: Refer to Figure 4.1. The hawks on the island have always eaten insects, lizards, and mammals, but they find the brightest yellow finches to be easy prey as well. Over many years, the population of finches on the island ________.A) begins to look like graph (a), directional selection, with regard to colourationB) begins to look like graph (b), stabilizing selection, with regard to colourationC) begins to look like graph (c), disruptive selection, with regard to colourationD) goes extinct because the hawks eat them allE) doesn't change; the finches maintain their original diversity

Q: Figure 4.1Use Figure 4.1 to answer the following questions.A flock of 100 small, bright yellow and brown finches is blown off course and ends up on a large island where there is a lot of open, grassy ground, and low hills. There are mammals, many plants, some insects, lizards, and a few hawks, but there are no other small birds. There are two types of plants with edible seeds, a very small-seeded grass, and a large-seeded bush.Refer to Figure 4.1. Over many years, the population of finches on the island ________.A) begins to look like graph (a), directional selection, with regard to beak sizeB) begins to look like graph (b), stabilizing selection, with regard to beak sizeC) begins to look like graph (c), disruptive selection, with regard to beak sizeD) goes extinct because there is nothing that the finches can manage to eatE) doesn't change; the finches maintain their original diversity

Q: If in the pre-European period (i.e., before cattle grazing and the hunting for deer and predators) Kaibab supported a stable population of 50 000 deer, then what would be today's carrying capacity of the mule deer population in Kaibab? Assume that the Game Preserve rangers continued to ban the cattle grazing and continued to kill predators, and that the population spike in the 1920s didn't cause a permanent damage to soils and vegetation. A) 50 000 or less B) 50 000 C) 50 000 or higher D) higher than 50 000 E) 100 000 or higher

Q: If there was no environmental resistance, based on the population growth between 1915, 1920, and 1923, when would you expect the population to reach 200 000? A) 1939 B) 1931 C) 1928 D) 1926 E) 1925

Q: The initial population of Kaibab deer in 1906 was about 4000, which worked out to an average density of one deer per 0.75 km2. What is the approximate density in 1923? A) one deer per 3 km2 B) one deer per 0.2 km2 C) one deer per 20 km2 D) one deer per 0.03 km2 E) one deer per 2 km2

Q: The removal of the livestock and predators, and the cessation of hunting in 1907 ________. A) changed the environmental resistance, increasing K for the Kaibab deer B) changed the environmental resistance, decreasing K for the Kaibab deer C) removed the limits on immigration, allowing more deer into the area D) decreasedr, allowing more births among Kaibab deer E) increased r, allowing more births among Kaibab deer

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.Between 1907 and 1923, cattle grazing was greatly reduced, deer hunting was eliminated, and predators were killed. Over 600 cougars, 11 wolves (most had already been killed in the 1800s), and 3000 coyotes were trapped or shot. In response, the deer herd began to increase. By 1915, the deer were estimated at 25 000; by 1920 at 50 000; and by 1923 at approximately 100 000.Which of the graph lines described below suggests the Kaibab deer population between 1900 and 1923?A) a straight line slanting upward, showing a steady increase over timeB) a J-shaped upward curve with a very rapid increaseC) a "sine wave" curving up, down, up, downD) a rapidly decreasing slope from left to rightE) an S-shaped curve that shows a smooth, rapid increase and then levels off

Q: President Roosevelt's actual goal was to ________.A) improve the range for livestockB) improve the range for deerC) preserve and increase the deer populationD) preserve the natural environmentE) remove predators

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.The Kaibab Plateau in southern Utah and northern Arizona is a high, isolated, forested, and high chaparral peninsula-like area, with elevations up to 3000 m. By the early 1900s, ranchers had been grazing many cattle there for generations, and the land showed some grazing damage. Heavy hunting pressure, in combination with the cattle grazing, had reduced the population of Kaibab deer to only about 4000.In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Grand Canyon National Game Preserve on the Kaibab Plateau in an effort to protect the mule deer from over hunting by humans and from predation. Deer hunting ceased, and open season was declared on cougars, wolves, and coyotes. This was one of the first efforts to protect endangered wildlife. It would be followed by others in Canada and in the United States.made the Kaibab Plateau so ideal for attempting to improve the mule deer population?A) It was open land where animals could freely move to and from other areas.B) It was completely fenced from the rangeland.C) The ranchers and hunters were all willing to help protect the deer.D) It was isolated, and the deer had essentially no emigration or immigration.E) Researchers were able to study every aspect of the issue.

Q: Differentiate between the divergent and convergent evolution. What are they? What drives them? Provide examples of each.

Q: Provide the advantages and disadvantages of high population density.

Q: Differentiate between generalist and specialist species. Give an example of each. Which are more vulnerable to extinction and why?

Q: Demonstrate how the characteristics of the K-selected species all "make sense""that is, how they fit together into a "logical" reproductive strategy. You may do this by showing how each K-characteristics supports, or is explained by, one or more of the other K-characteristic(s).

Q: A species of bird had an original range covering the entire eastern half of the United States from New England west to the Mississippi and then south to Florida. During a period of glaciation, the eastern part of the population was cut off from the western part for 2000 years. Then the glacier melted and the birds' range was re-established. During the separation, the western birds evolved a slightly different song and a darker wing colour. Ornithologists are now studying this species to determine whether speciation has taken place. What evidence will they look for in their study?

Q: A population of quail live in an area of prairie grasslands. In good years, a pair of quail can have four clutches of young, with as many as 12 to 14 eggs in each clutch. Despite this, the population size remains stable over the long term. Discuss the population structure, its potential for growth, and its possible limiting factors, using at least four of the terms you learned in this chapter.

Q: Is a carrying capacity a fixed entity? Discuss the role of humans in regulating carrying capacity for the human species and in altering the carrying capacity for other species.

Q: Differentiate between exponential and logistic growth curves. Give examples of the conditions under which each would occur.

Q: Describe the sixth mass extinction event, when it occurred, and its specific causes.

Q: Briefly describe speciation. Differentiate between allopatric and sympatric speciation.

Q: Birds have a survivorship curve type II.

Q: One line of evidence for natural selection is the obvious results from the artificial selection that humans have performed on plants and on animals.

Q: Salmon are K-strategists.

Q: Ants are K-strategists.

Q: A population that is limited by a resource is expected to continuously have an exponential growth curve.

Q: Paleontologists calculate that the average time a species spends on Earth is between 1 and 10 million years.

Q: The fossil record clearly shows that ________.A) several different species can hybridize to produce a single new speciesB) large complex organisms evolved long before simple organismsC) nearly all species that have existed in the past still exist todayD) all species evolve from pre-existing speciesE) new species appear suddenly and fully differentiated, without an ancestral species

Q: Which of the following is true? A) Species on Earth today are but a fraction of all species that ever lived. B) The number of species existing at any given time has decreased throughout history. C) Extinctions of past species has happened gradually and on a small scale. D) Most organisms present early in Earth's prehistory were more complex than modern organisms. E) Bacteria represent a newer form of life, not present during the early prehistory of Earth.

Q: A species has evolved an asexual mode of reproduction by having offspring develop from unfertilized eggs. Which of the following will be true of this species' response to natural selection? A) There will be more deaths from natural selection because there is no mutation. B) There will be less genetic variation from recombination and a risk of not adapting quickly to environmental change. C) The species will increase in numbers because genetic variation is increased. D) The species will compensate for loss of genetic variation by hybridizing with other species. E) There will be fewer deaths from natural selection because sexual recombination is always harmful.

Q: A coyote, which can alter its food intake to match seasonal abundance of plants, fruits, or small animals, is considered to be ________. A) a generalist, able to be flexible B) a specialist, able to specialize on whatever is available at the time C) a local species, able to be flexible D) density independent and resource neutral E) an organism with a type II survivorship curve

Q: Which of the following pairs contains, first, an r-selected organism and, second, a K-selected organism? A) elephant; whale B) elephant; pine tree C) pine tree; dandelion D) dandelion; pine tree E) grasshopper; whale

Q: An example of a density-independent factor would be ________. A) blight (a mould disease) in a wheat field B) an ice storrm causing damage to trees and shrubs C) nest sites for a flock of warblers D) a plant parasite, such as mistletoe E) a grass that is wind pollinated

Q: A type I survivorship curve, with higher death rates at older ages, is typical of ________. A) redwood trees B) large open-water ocean fish, such as tuna C) dandelions D) large mammals such as gorillas E) large reptiles such as alligators

Q: Which of the following would represent a clumped population dispersion pattern? A) a forest of pine trees B) oaks planted on city streets C) a pod of 40 migrating grey whales D) eagles nesting in the Fraser River Canyon E) earthworms in the soil of a garden

Q: A number of coyotes move into an area and begin to eat a population of small harvest mice. After several years, the harvest mice are much speedier runners than before the coyotes came. This is an example of ________. A) stabilizing selection B) directional selection C) disruptive selection D) allopatric speciation E) sympatric speciation

Q: If you were part of a population of field mice, an example of an adaptive trait that could help with reproduction and/or survival would be ________. A) being brightly coloured so other mice could see you B) needing to eat more food than other mice your size C) spending more time running around on the ground looking for better seeds D) having a bit more fur to withstand cold weather E) having shorter legs to be lower to the ground

Q: One example of artificial selection is ________. A) crossing a lion and a tiger to get a sterile animal called a liger B) gypsy moths as an invasive species C) pet dogs that, having gone wild, are mating with coyotes and living in packs D) humans placing a gene for human insulin into a flower E) broccoli

Q: A small moth pollinates native trees when they bloom in April. Some of the moths emerge in early March and discover a different blooming shrub to use as a resource. This is an example of what, over time, could be ________. A) sympatric speciation B) allopatric speciation C) an invasive species D) an extinction for the original population E) a change in age structure of the original population

Q: The destruction of ecosystems is NOT always a problem ________. A) because restoration ecology can restore ecosystems B) because humans can find and make their own resources C) because zoos and gardens contain most important species and breeding technologies are improving D) because our understanding of genetics allows us to restore populations E) This is incorrect; the destruction of ecosystems is always a problem.

Q: The Great Lakes have native species of freshwater mussels. In 1988, the first individuals of invasive Zebra mussels arrived in the balast water from Europe, multiplied rapidly, spread throughout the Lakes and beyond, and began competing for food and space with native mussels. The zebra mussels ________. A) in the beginning had lower carrying capacity than native mussel species B) lowered the carrying capacity of native mussel species C) encountered similar environmental resistance as native mussel species D) succeeded because they exhibit parental care E) did not affect significantly the bottom-dwelling community

Q: Heavy rains and mudslides cause a river to change course, isolating two groups of lizards from one another. Over a long period of time, ________. A) one group will probably become a local species B) both groups will probably become native species C) the groups will probably become genetically different, and speciation may occur D) one or both groups will probably emigrate E) one or both groups will probably become invasive species

Q: Grey whales produce at most one offspring every other year. They are ________. A) r-selected B) K-selected C) density-independent organisms D) not likely to exhibit parental care E) not likely to have been subject to variable and unpredictable mortality before humans arrived

Q: Density-dependent factors ________. A) include the effects of a hard freeze on an entire community B) include the effects of a hard freeze on a single species within a community C) cause decreases in the number of species in an ecosystem D) include the effects of rainfall on an entire community E) include the effects of disease and predators on a single species within a community

Q: The carrying capacity is the ________. A) maximum population size that a given environment can sustain B) greatest number of different niches possible in a given area C) potential growth in the number of species in a given area D) limitation on numbers of species in a community E) average number of offspring carried to term by a species

Q: Unregulated populations tend to increase by ________. A) linear growth B) exponential growth C) pyramidal growth D) logistic growth E) immigration

Q: Penguins during their breeding season concentrate in relatively few dense colonies. Within a colony they often aggressively defend their own space against their neighbours. The spatial distribution of these penguins is ________. A) at local level: clumped; at larger scale: uniform B) at local level: uniform; at larger scale: clumped C) at local level: random; at larger scale: clumped D) at local level: clumped; at larger scale: random E) random, both at local level and at larger scale

Q: Population distribution describes ________. A) placement of a species around the globe B) placement of a species within a country's boundaries C) spatial arrangement of individuals of a single species within a particular area or ecosystem D) spatial arrangement of multiple species within a particular area E) how near or far away individuals in a population are from a resource, such as water

Q: 500 000 puffins live on four small islands in Witless Bay in Newfoudland and Labrador. Living in this bird colony ________. A) decreases probability of an individual puffin encountering a potential mate B) decreases biodiversity within the species C) decreases competition D) decreases the use of resources E) increases the incidence of disease transmission

Q: Some of the conclusions that can be drawn from this scenario include that ________. A) cattle improved the soils, contributing to this ecosystem B) predators were unimportant components of this ecosystem; their removal caused no subsequent problems C) prairie dogs were unimportant components of this ecosystem; their removal caused no subsequent problems D) once humans change one thing in an ecosystem, they may find unexpected results occurring elsewhere in the ecosystem E) prairie dogs were part of a negative feedback loop once they were removed

Q: The ranchers now wanted to bring back the prairie dogs because they realized that ________. A) the prairie dogs kept the soil loose, so rain sank in and grasses grew B) the prairie dogs didn't eat grass C) the predators depended on the prairie dogs D) the cattle also ate the prairie dogs when grass was scarce E) the prairie dogs were part of the net secondary productivity

Q: Once the prairie dogs were poisoned and no longer a part of the ecosystem, which of the following probably occurred? A) Soils slowly became looser because of the cattle, so soil moisture increased. B) Soils slowly compacted because of the cattle, so soil moisture decreased. C) Soils slowly became looser because of the cattle, so fewer nutrients were recycled. D) Soils slowly compacted because of the cattle, so soil moisture increased. E) Soils slowly became looser because of the cattle, so soil moisture decreased.

Q: In the late 1800s and early 1900s farmers and ranchers slaughtered coyotes, bobcats, wolves, mountain lions, eagles, and rattlesnakes, trying to protect their cattle. One direct result may have been a(n) ________. A) decrease in soil quality B) increase in predation C) increase in soil quality D) increase in the prairie dog population E) decrease in the prairie dog population

Q: When the rains came down on the rocky mountainsides, the water ran down into the grasslands where the prairie dogs were active and ________. A) quickly ran off the loose soil, eroding the soil B) quickly evaporated, drying the loose soil C) quickly soaked into the loose soil, watering the grasses D) gathered atop the loose soil, forming large muddy spots E) formed ponds

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.In the early years of the twentieth century there were lush stands of tall grasses in the valley on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona, stretching to Mexico on the south and New Mexico on the east. Dramatic summer rainstorms dumped huge amounts of water, very quickly, on the rocky upper slopes. The water ran down the slopes and into the grasslands, where it quickly soaked into the soft, porous soil. Cattle ranching was in full swing, utilizing the rich grasses, but the ranchers did not appreciate the multitudes of prairie dogs that lived in the grasslands. Cattle would stumble in the holes, break legs, and die of starvation. In addition, many ranchers were convinced that the prairie dogs would destroy the grasses because they directly competed with the cattle for food. The ranchers had already done away with most predators that might possibly affect cattle, and now they turned their attention to the prairie dogs. The ranchers become a part of a new federally sponsored movement to poison the grassland prairie dogs. This movement took root and spread through the 1920s and 1930s. In Canada, the Richardson Ground Squirrel is a close relative of the prairie dogs with a similar lifestyle. Grain farmers and cattle ranchers as well as golf club owners currently tend to adopt a zero-tolerance toward these rodents for the same reasons that the Arizona ranchers were determined to exterminate the prairie dog in the 1920s and 1930s.Prairie dogs constantly dig through the soil, making new burrows. They eat the grasses, roots and all. This probably contributes to ________.A) the grassroots being subject to diseasesB) the soil being loose and to little nutrient cycling, causing grasses to fall overC) the soil hardening during rains and to little nutrient cycling, causing grasses to dieD) the soils eroding and losing nutrients over time, causing the grasses to dieE) the soil being loose and to nutrient cycling, allowing new grass roots to grow and prosper

Q: How and for what is GIS software used by landscape ecologists?

Q: Define the term emergent properties and give an example from a natural system.

Q: Describe the Toxic Nation project (an initiative of the Environmental Defence organization).

Q: Explain eutrophication in coastal waters. Name one geographic location where this problem occurs.

Q: Human activity has affected every aspect of the water cycle. List four ways that humans have altered the water cycle. What are the major concerns for the future?

Q: Human activity has affected every aspect of the nitrogen cycle. List the ways that humans have altered nitrogen content starting with how nitrogen becomes available to producers, where it goes, and what impacts it has. What are the concerns for the future?

Q: Give a brief overview of the carbon cycle. Include the source of carbon that enters ecosystems, how it moves through ecosystems, what it is used for, and where it is ultimately deposited. What part of this cycle is believed to contribute to global warming?