Deck 35: An Interactive Living World 2: Communities in Ecology

Question 1

You are doing biology field work studying two species of lizards on a small volcanic island. Although quite hostile to each other when they accidentally meet, the two species usually remain in separate parts of the island. Species A seems to live and hunt insects only in the lower grassland part of the island. Species B seems to live and hunt only in the upper rocky areas. Species A has a short tongue but has longer legs and is a faster runner. Species B is short, squat, runs slower, but has a long tongue. You observe Species A chasing down some pretty large, fast-moving insects, while Species B meanders from rock to rock, using its long tongue to get insects hiding between rocks and in cracks. What principle of ecology do your two lizard species demonstrate?

A) competitive exclusion
B) resource partitioning
C) coexistence
D) convergent evolution

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Barnacles are filter-feeding molluscs that live by filtering plankton from seawater. This is a description of the barnacles':

A) community.
B) habitat.
C) niche.
D) ecosystem.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In a typical ecosystem, a species whose removal would have a bigger impact than any other would be a/an:

A) community species.
B) ecological dominants.
C) dominant species.
D) keystone species.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

An accidental spill of a pesticide locally wiped out the most abundant species of butterfly in coastal California. Most of the bird species in the area had fed on this butterfly, but they switched prey to moths, and thus the birds showed only a small decrease in population size. The butterflies were a/an:

A) keystone species, and thus they were driven to extinction very easily.
B) endangered species.
C) ecological dominant, but they were not a keystone species.
D) pioneer species.

Question 5

The "address" where a species lives within a certain area is identified as its:

A) ecosystem.
B) habitat.
C) community.
D) population.

Question 6

Keystone species are:

A) always at the top of the food chain.
B) always the most numerous.
C) never at the top of the food chain.
D) might be of any number, anywhere on the food chain.

Question 7

If we find an orange plant that lacks chlorophyll living on a green plant, it is likely that the orange plant is a:

A) parasite.
B) commensal.
C) predator.
D) host.

Question 8

A botanist has found that the giant saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, lives in the Sonoran Desert below the freeze line and in some very dry regions (such as Yuma) to the eastern edge of Arizona. She has described the ________ of saguaro.

A) resource spectrum
B) vital resource
C) resource band
D) habitat

Question 9

If two species of woodpeckers eat two different kinds of beetle larvae on pine trees in a forest, we would identify that as:

A) mutualism.
B) resource partitioning.
C) competitive exclusion.
D) commensalism.

Question 10

The coral organisms on a coral reef cannot be replaced by any other organism. For that reason, we identify those species as:

A) ecological dominants.
B) keystone species.
C) mutualistic species.
D) symbiotic species.

Question 11

Barnacles live on exposed rocks washed over by waves at the shore. This is a description of the barnacles':

A) community.
B) habitat.
C) niche.
D) ecosystem.

Question 12

In interspecific competition, the competitors are generally competing for:

A) mates.
B) coexistence.
C) social status.
D) resources.

Question 13

A red-shouldered hawk chases a falcon away from a dead squirrel. This is an example of:

A) interspecific competition.
B) coexistence.
C) mutualism.
D) commensalism.

Question 14

Choose the characteristic associated with a top predator who is also a keystone species.

A) the largest animal in the community
B) the fastest animal in the community
C) a species that can easily cause extinction of the community
D) a species whose loss may alter diversity within the community

Question 15

The population of a carnivore has doubled this year. Predict what will likely happen to the population of its prey over the next 12 months.

A) It will also increase.
B) It is likely to decrease.
C) It will remain stable, like all predator-prey relationships.
D) It will be erratic but increase slightly.

Question 16

A small number of species that are abundant in a given community are called:

A) community species.
B) ecological dominants.
C) dominant species.
D) keystone species.

Question 17

The "occupation" of a species in an area is identified as its:

A) habitat.
B) community.
C) niche.
D) population.

Question 18

On a hike along the desert slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, you notice that there is an abundance of pinyon pine and juniper trees. We would identify these two plants as:

A) competitors.
B) mutualistic species.
C) ecological dominants.
D) symbiotic species.

Question 19

Biodiversity includes the:

A) genetic diversity within only the keystone species.
B) distribution of species in only one population.
C) diversity of species in a given area.
D) number of individuals in a population.

Question 20

When placed in the same habitat, Paramecium aurelia will replace Paramecium caudatum. This is an example of:

A) mutualism.
B) commensalism.
C) parasitism.
D) competitive exclusion.

Question 21

Many farms in New England were abandoned in the 1800s as settlers reached the more fertile grasslands of the Midwest. These farms had been planted in different crops, but within five to ten years the farms appeared to have similar herbaceous and small tree species on them. This is an example of:

A) convergent evolution.
B) primary succession.
C) coevolution.
D) secondary succession.

Question 22

Ecological dominants are typically the top predators in a community.

Question 23

After succession, a stable group of species that persists over long periods is referred to as a:

A) coevolution group.
B) climax community.
C) population.
D) competitive population.

Question 24

The Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant, might be considered a:

A) parasite.
B) predator.
C) mutualistic plant.
D) pioneer.

Question 25

For a parasite living in human skin, the person is the:

A) prey.
B) victim.
C) mimic.
D) host.

Question 26

The process in succession in which the actions of early-arriving species enable the success of later-arriving species is:

A) coevolution.
B) mutualism.
C) facilitation.
D) mimicry.

Question 27

An interaction in which one species benefits and the other is not affected is classified as:

A) commensalism.
B) mutualism.
C) coevolution.
D) competition.

Question 28

When faced with a threat, gopher snakes and bull snakes, who have markings similar to rattlesnakes, will "rattle" their tails in brush to sound like a rattlesnake. In this case, the gopher and bull snakes are mimics, and the rattlesnake is the:

A) predator.
B) prey.
C) model.
D) commensal.

Question 29

Many plant species produce flowers of a certain color and shape to attract honeybees. These plants produce nectar, and the bees transport pollen from one plant to another while searching for nectar. This is an example of:

A) succession.
B) predation.
C) commensalism.
D) mutualism.

Question 30

Generally speaking, the term for the process by which two species drive each other's evolution is:

A) succession.
B) coevolution.
C) competition.
D) mutualism.

Question 31

What do we call the first species that invade a new island that has risen from the ocean?

A) pioneer species
B) climax communities
C) commensals
D) invaders

Question 32

A landslide in the Oregon Cascades causes all the soil in a 30-meter by 300-meter section of a mountain to fall away, taking the trees and their roots and all other vegetation with it. Within three years, however, lichens and some small herbaceous plants can be seen on the surface of the remaining rock. This is an example of:

A) secondary succession.
B) primary succession.
C) a climax community.
D) facilitation.

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of coevolution?

A) the reliance of flowers and bees on each other
B) the visual acuity of eagles and hawks
C) the development of a watertight seed
D) the ability of plants to use sunlight to make their own fuel

Question 34

Which of the following happens when a new island arises from the ocean and life begins to colonize the island?

A) competitive exclusion
B) coevolution
C) primary succession
D) secondary succession

Question 35

Two moths with similar markings each produce a chemical that makes their bird predators sick to their stomach if eaten. Which principle of ecology does this demonstrate?

A) commensalism
B) mutualism
C) Müllerian mimicry
D) Batesian mimicry

Question 36

A harmless moth that resembles a poisonous wasp is an example of:

A) mutualism.
B) commensalism.
C) Batesian mimicry.
D) Müllerian mimicry.

Question 37

A community is a more inclusive category than a population.

Question 38

You are doing field work on a small, uninhabited island. You are supplementing your food supply with fish that live in some of the ponds on the island. You catch a brightly colored fish with red and black stripes, filet it, pan fry it, and spit out your first bite because it tastes like it had been soaked in urine. Back at camp, your guide from a nearby island is pan frying fish with red and black stripes he caught in an adjacent pond. When you tell him not to eat those, he smiles and says these are the best-tasting fish in the whole island chain! You look closer and see the pattern of the red and black stripes is just a little different from the fish you caught.What principle of ecology have you just experienced firsthand?

A) commensalism
B) mutualism
C) Müllerian mimicry
D) Batesian mimicry

Question 39

Many bromeliads are epiphytes on the bark of tropical trees. They do not tap into the vascular system of the trees, but they collect the nutrient-rich water that drips through the canopy of the trees. This is an example of:

A) predation.
B) succession.
C) mutualism.
D) commensalism.

Question 40

Communities with the most biodiversity are found in areas with low geographic diversity.

Question 41

Batesian mimicry involves several harmful species evolving the same kind of characteristics.

Question 42

In a commensal relationship, one species benefits while the other one is harmed.

Question 43

Competition among species may lead to resource partitioning in an ecosystem.

Question 44

To be a keystone species, an organism must be the most numerous species in an environment.

Question 45

Competitive exclusion of native organisms is a frequent result of the introduction, by humans, of non-native organisms to an environment.

Question 46

The number of prey species is one of several factors determining the number of predators that can live in an area.

Question 47

Ecological dominants are always the most abundant members of a community.

Question 48

A flea is considered to be a predator on a dog.

Question 49

Parasites usually kill their hosts.

Question 50

Commensalism often results in competitive exclusion.

Question 51

Climax communities in succession are those that persist for long periods of time.

Question 52

Biodiversity is essential for all communities to survive.

Question 53

Genetic diversity may be one of the characteristics of a biologically diverse community.

Question 54

Pioneers are the first invaders of a newly exposed habitat.

Question 55

Because their absence may have negative repercussions for population control and resource use for the whole community, lions on the African savanna are identified as a keystone species.

Question 56

Organisms in communities may be important factors in the evolution/adaptation of other organisms in the community.

Question 57

What is the relationship between a biodiversity and geographic diversity?

Question 58

The term "niche" is usually limited to a description of the physical surroundings in which a species is normally found.

Question 59

Kudzu replacing native plants is a type of predation.

Question 60

A mutualistic relationship involves two species who both benefit from the relationship.

Question 61

A horseshoe crab walking on the bottom of shallow coastal waters, feeding on algae, invertebrates, and other small life forms, describes the horseshoe crab's ________.

Question 62

An interaction between species in which one benefits and the other is essentially unaffected is ________.

Question 63

Throughout the story of the evolution of parasites, we frequently see a shift from parasites that seriously harmed their hosts, to those who evolve benign, nearly commensal relationships with their hosts. Evaluate why parasites are more likely to evolve "live and let live" relationships while predators do not.

Question 64

A species whose absence would bring about major changes in a community is called a ________.

Question 65

Which form of biological succession occurs in an area where most life has been destroyed, but fertile soil remains?

Question 66

When two species, such as bees and angiosperms, both benefit from their interdependent relationship, this is referred to as ________.

Question 67

Demonstrate why keystone species play a large role in community despite the fact that they may be present in relatively small numbers.

Question 68

A chameleon avoiding predation by being colored similarly to its surroundings demonstrates which strategy?

Question 69

Two ways that one species obtains its nourishment at the expense of another are predation and ________.

Question 70

Explain the differences between a primary succession and a secondary succession. Give an example of each type of succession.

Question 71

Refer to the figure below, and then answer the following question(s).
The graph indicated by a "2" demonstrates which principle of community ecology?

A) biodiversity
B) ecological dominants
C) facilitation
D) resource partitioning
E) competitive exclusion

Question 72

Refer to the figure below, and then answer the following question(s).
The graph indicated by a "1" demonstrates which principle of community ecology?

A) biodiversity
B) ecological dominants
C) facilitation
D) resource partitioning
E) competitive exclusion

Question 73

G. F. Gause's experiments with interaction of Paramecium caudatum and P. aurelia resulted in his describing the principle of ________.

Question 74

Low genetic diversity, narrow geographic distribution of species, and few different species in an area would be correlated with low ________.