Deck 55: Ecology of Individuals and Populations

Question 1

The biotic potential representing growth without limits at its maximal rate is indicated by what symbol?

A)r_i
B)N
C)K
D)dN/dt

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the life history adaptation called where organisms produce offspring several times over many seasons?

A)semelparity
B)iteroparity
C)biparity
D)polyparity

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Life history adaptations of ___________ populations are characterized by an early age of first reproduction and short maturation time and life span.

A)r-selected
B)K-selected

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Effects that are dependent on the size of the population and regulate the growth of populations are called ___________ effects.

A)K-related
B)density-independent
C)environmental resistance
D)density-dependent

Question 5

Which is an example of a density-independent factor on a population?

A)weather
B)nesting sites
C)intraspecific competition
D)amount of prey

Question 6

A small group of mice were released on an island.The island previously had no mice on it, but had abundant food and no predators.After several years of growth, the size of the new island population stabilizes.However, at this point a hurricane drastically reduces the population.How would you describe the situation?

A)The biotic potential of the population has been reduced.
B)The new population size is a result of density-dependent regulation.
C)The new population size is a result of density-independent regulation.
D)The island mouse population can now act as a sink metapopulation.

Question 7

In the sigmoid growth curve, the number of individuals at any one time is indicated by what symbol?

A)r_i
B)N
C)K
D)dN/dt

Question 8

The rate at which a population of a given species will increase when no limits are placed on its rate of growth is called its

A)maximum growth.
B)carrying capacity.
C)biotic potential.
D)optimal growth.

Question 9

A group of population members all of the same age is called a ________.

A)deme
B)species
C)cohort
D)tribe

Question 10

Species that have a delayed reproductive stage, are competing for limited resources, and have smaller numbers of slowly maturing large offspring show ________________ adaptations.

A)K-selected
B)r-selected

Question 11

Populations of endotherms that live in colder climates tend to have shorter ears and limbs than populations of the same species in warm climates.This is called ____________ Rule.

A)Allen's
B)the K-Selected
C)the r-Selected
D)Edward's

Question 12

In the sigmoid growth curve, the carrying capacity of the environment is indicated by what symbol?

A)r_i
B)N
C)K
D)dN/dt

Question 13

Clumped or patched populations that undergo local periodic extinction and recolonization are called what?

A)randomly spaced populations
B)uniformly spaced populations
C)metapopulations
D)over-sized populations

Question 14

The range of a population

A)is very fluid and changes frequently in a random fashion.
B)is stable and almost never changes.
C)only changes after a disaster has wiped out a former range.
D)changes over time due to external events.

Question 15

A small group of mice are released on an island without mice but with abundant food for mice and no predators.Initially, the growth of the mouse population will be limited mainly by what?

A)the carrying capacity
B)the biotic potential
C)only density-dependent factors
D)only density-independent factors

Question 16

Demographic studies include all of the following except what?

A)age structure
B)growth rates
C)mortality and survivorship curves
D)sex ratio
E)measurements of interspecific competition

Question 17

The statistical study of populations including sex ratio, age structure, and predicting growth rates is called _________.

A)ethology
B)demography
C)population genetics
D)biometrics

Question 18

The trade-off between investments in current reproduction and in growth that promotes future reproduction is referred to as the total cost of what?

A)adaptation
B)selection
C)reproduction
D)genetic change

Question 19

The size at which a population stabilizes in a particular place is defined as the __________ for that species.

A)growth potential
B)optimum
C)range
D)carrying capacity

Question 20

Organisms such as lizards that need to maintain body temperature through external means do so by

A)shivering to produce heat.
B)sunbathing.
C)swimming in geothermal pools.
D)running frequently to warm up.

Question 21

In the logistic growth model, as the number of individuals in the population (N) approaches the carrying capacity (K), what happens to the intrinsic rate of growth (r_i)?

A)It will be affected by an increased birth rate.
B)It will be affected by a decreased death rate from predation.
C)It will be affected by increased competition with other species.
D)It will be affected by increased competition within the species.
E)It will not change.

Question 22

Which factor increases the likelihood of population extinction?

A)large population size
B)isolation of a population from density-independent effects
C)isolation of a population from sources of immigrants
D)high resource availability

Question 23

Which is an example of a clumped distribution of a population?

A)A tree species releases a poison to defend the soil around its roots, resulting in trees spaced evenly like a grid.
B)Antelope travel in herds.
C)Two male hummingbirds have a confrontation on the border between their territories.
D)Multiple species join each other at the waterhole to drink. Social interactions between members of a species can lead to clumped distributions.Many species live and move around in large groups (such as flocks, herds, or prides).These groupings can provide many advantages, including defense against predators, decreased energy cost of moving through air and water, and access to the knowledge of all group members.

Question 24

Allen's rule states that mammals from colder climates have shorter ears and appendages than individuals of the same species from warmer areas.The related Bergman's rule states that mammal body size varies with latitude, with larger body size in populations located closer to the poles and smaller body size in populations located closer to the equator.What can explain both of these rules?

A)Larger bodies can store proportionally more fat as insulation than smaller bodies.
B)Smaller bodies can store proportionally more fat as insulation than larger bodies.
C)Heat loss increases as the surface area to volume ratio of the animal increases.
D)Larger bodies have a proportionally larger surface area, and heat radiation varies with volume.

Question 25

Which of the following statements about the graph is true?

A)Oysters live longer than Hydra.
B)Hydra and humans have parallel life spans.
C)Humans and oysters have similar life spans.
D)Humans have low mortality rates early in life.

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of a species with r-selected adaptations?

A)house fly
B)blue whale
C)gorilla
D)horse

Question 27

What are population pyramids used to show?

A)death rates
B)birth rates
C)competition
D)age composition of a population

Question 28

What is the Allee effect?

A)when fitness increases independently of population size
B)when fitness and growth rates increase with decreasing population size
C)when fitness and growth rates increase with increasing population size
D)when growth rates increase independently of population size

Question 29

You construct a life table for a plant species and find that in all cases about the same proportion of the cohort survive to the beginning of the next time interval.What would you call this?

A)a Type I survivorship curve
B)a Type II survivorship curve
C)a Type III survivorship curve
D)a semelparous life history adaptation

Question 30

Which species would be most likely to have a Type III life history?

A)whale
B)coconut palm
C)lion
D)gorilla
E)pine tree

Question 31

A species colonizes an island, goes through a phase of exponential growth, and reaches the carrying capacity of the island.At what stage is the growth rate slowest?

A)initial colonization
B)exponential phase
C)approaching K
D)after reaching K

Question 32

What kind of population spacing would you expect for a species that is strongly territorial?

A)uniform
B)clumped
C)random
D)uniform or clumped depending on whether it is a source or sink metapopulation

Question 33

Populations have three basic types of dispersion patterns-clumped, random, and uniform.What situation supports random distributions?

A)When individuals of the populations do not interact strongly with one another.
B)When individuals of the population are in competition for resources.
C)When there is an even distribution of resources.
D)When individuals of the population display social interactions.

Question 34

What often describes organisms with a Type III life history?

A)K-selected
B)r-selected
C)idiopathic
D)at their carrying capacity

Question 35

Parental care of the young is usually associated with species with a Type ___ survivorship curve.

A)I
B)II
C)III
D)I or II (depending on the sex ratio)

Question 36

During the late 1800s, cattle egrets arrived in South America from Africa and began to colonize.Their range has expanded dramatically over the years.Why were they able to do this?

A)The habitats that they left in Africa were not suitable for any further colonization; thus, they were forced to emigrate.
B)The habitats that they encountered in South America were suitable to them and unoccupied.
C)There were abundant cattle for the birds to gather around in South America; furthermore, various animals that the egrets had lived around in Africa had become quite scarce because of over hunting and poaching, causing the birds to extend their range.
D)The food resources in South America were far superior to those in Africa, allowing the egrets more opportunity to grow and reproduce and ultimately expand their range. Clarify question:

Question 37

What do we call populations of organisms that are usually near the carrying capacity?

A)K-selected
B)r-selected
C)predators
D)parasites

Question 38

Many times species are composed of networks of distinct populations called metapopulations.When do metapopulations occur?

A)When a population is large and uniformly distributed.
B)When a population in poor habitat continually sends out dispersers to bolster populations in better habitats.
C)When a population in a better habitat does not send out colonizers into less suitable habitats.
D)When suitable habitat is patchily distributed and separated by areas of unsuitable habitat.

Question 39

There are three aspects of entire populations that are important and often studied.Select the best choice from the ones listed.

A)a population's range, the pattern of spacing of individuals within the range, and the size that the population attains
B)a population's range, the amount of food available within the range, and the size that the population attains
C)a population's range, the parental care received by each offspring within the population, and the size that the population attains
D)a population's range, the size home range of an individual in the population, and the parental care expended for each offspring

Question 40

Which is an example of a species with K-selected adaptations?

A)dandelion
B)fruit fly
C)herring
D)bobcat

Question 41

Which one of the following expressions from the logistic equation (dN/dt = rN ((K - N)/K) represents the proportion of unused resources remaining for use by the population?

A)the carrying capacity (K)
B)the population size (N)
C)the biotic potential (rN)
D)(K - N)/K

Question 42

Kettle ponds derive from a hole left by a retreating glacier that is subsequently filled with rainwater.A certain region has a series of disconnected kettle ponds, but occasionally heavy rains flood them and create streams.Which type of animal is most likely to be present in this area as a metapopulation?

A)a fish
B)an aquatic bird
C)a mosquito
D)a dragonfly Clarify question:

Question 43

A zoo in Southern California has been successfully breeding arctic wolves and they want to exchange some of their extra wolves for kangaroos from a zoo in southwestern Australia.Since it is July, it is quite cold in the other zoo compared to Southern California.What discussion might the zookeepers have about transferring the wolves?

A)Since Arctic wolves are well-adapted to cold, this should pose no problems.
B)After several generations in Southern California, the wolves have lost their adaptive genes for cold temperatures.
C)After growing up in Southern California, the individual wolves have lost their ability to adapt to cold temperatures, but their progeny will still get the cold-adapted genes.
D)Although the wolves are genetically adapted to cold weather have not grown their cold weather coats. Clarify question:

Question 44

You and your friends have just stepped off the plane in Cusco, Peru (11,200 ft).Your friends are so eager to see Machu Picchu they want to start off hiking the Inca Trail right away and not waste any time.How do you respond?

A)"Sounds good, but we had better pack extra water."
B)"Sounds good, but we had better bring our warmest clothes."
C)"No problem -- we had the whole plane ride to acclimatize to the high altitude."
D)"Waiting a few days might be smart, since it takes time to acclimate to high altitude."

Question 45

You and your friend are on vacation at Yellowstone Park.The plaque in front of a sulfur hot spring reads: "This sulfur spring is 80 $\degree$ C, has a pH of 2, and contains large amounts of sulfur which is oxidized by Sulfolobus species of archaea." Your friend is excited."Boy, if those microbes are that tough they should be easy to grow in the lab.I think I'll work with those for my summer project." What do you think?

A)You agree, and decide to partner with your friend to work on this organism as well.
B)A species adapted to such extreme conditions would probably not be easy to culture in the very different conditions of a lab.
C)The sulfur spring is pretty extreme, but after a few days the individual archaea should have adapted to lab culture conditions.
D)The sulfur spring is pretty extreme, but after a few generations the species should have adapted to the lab culture conditions. Clarify question:

Question 46

Within a genus that normally produces large numbers of offspring, one particular species evolves maternal care behavior.What do you predict will happen to the survivorship curve?

A)No change is likely.
B)It may change from type I to type III.
C)It may change from type III to type I.
D)It may change from type I to type II.

Question 47

You work for a successful company that sells maternity clothes.They have asked you to evaluate whether Australia or Singapore would be a better country to expand into with new stores.What keyword will help you find the data you need to make this evaluation?

A)range expansion
B)dispersal
C)metapopulation
D)demographics

Question 48

What is the most reasonable conclusion that can be made from data graphed in the figure?

A)After high mortality early in life, survivorship becomes constant for the rest of life.
B)Survivorship is constant throughout life.
C)After low mortality early in life, mortality increases to a constant rate for the rest of life.
D)After following a constant rate early in life, mortality becomes low late in life.

Question 49

There are not many species of fish living deep in the oceans, but the deep-sea fish occasionally pulled up by fisherman have been bizarre creatures, such as the deep-sea anglerfish with its giant fangs and bioluminescent lure.Why have these fascinating deep-sea fish never been shown live on exhibit in an aquarium?

A)Their diet is too specialized.
B)They are adapted to cold temperatures and total darkness.
C)They might frighten visitors.
D)They are adapted for high pressure, and will die at low pressure. Clarify question:

Question 50

A graduate student is studying the feeding behavior of a small octopus that must be laboriously collected from the shores of a remote island.Her intern wishes to do experiments to look at the octopus's mating behavior.Why might the graduate student veto this idea?

A)The octopus has semelparous reproduction, and will eat its mate.
B)The octopus has iteroparous reproduction, and will eat its mate.
C)The octopus has semelparous reproduction, and will die after laying one batch of eggs.
D)The octopus has iteroparous reproduction, and will die after laying one batch of eggs.

Question 51

Under which condition will a population experience growth?

A)when N equals K
B)when N is less than K
C)when dN/dt equals zero
D)when r equals zero

Question 52

What environmental challenge is posed to young plants by an old growth forest?

A)low humidity
B)high temperatures
C)low light
D)thick leaf litter Clarify question:

Question 53

Which organism is most likely to have a type III survivorship curve?

A)an oak tree
B)a domestic dog
C)corn in a farmer's field
D)Paramecium Clarify question:

Question 54

An unscrupulous dog breeder has been selecting for dogs that have very large litters, with the goal of maximizing profits.Why might this strategy be counterproductive?

A)It will cost too much money to feed all those puppies.
B)Litter size is not influenced by genetics.
C)The puppies from large litters are likely to be malnourished, and the mother will have few resources to devote to future litters.
D)Intrauterine cannibalism will reduce the number of puppies. Clarify question:

Question 55

Select the description of a population pyramid for a population that has the largest potential for exponential growth.

A)broad at the base, narrow at the top, with more females than males
B)broad at the base, narrow at the top, with more males than females
C)uniform at all age classes, with more females than males
D)broad at the top, narrow at the base, with more males than females

Question 56

The figure included shows the body temperature of lizards versus air temperature in two different habitats-open and shaded forest.Which one of the following conclusions is best supported by these data.

A)Lizards are more active in open habitats.
B)Lizards sunbathe more in open habitats.
C)Lizards in shaded forest habitats eat more to maintain their temperature.
D)The body temperature of lizards is more constant in open than in shaded forest habitats.

Question 57

You are earning your Ph.D.in marine biology, studying the microbial ocean community.This year, you are shocked to discover that one of your study sites has become contaminated due to an industrial waste water pipe.This dumping is drastically raising the temperature and lowering the salinity of the water.What do you expect to find in your survey of the ecosystem, and what might you find in a survey years from now?

A)Most species will be wiped out this year, and in subsequent years even fewer will remain.
B)The individuals will turn on genes to adapt to these changes, and the populations will end up largely the same this year and following years.
C)Many species will have decreased or disappeared from this site, but later some species may increase in population if they acquire adaptive mutations.Also you may see some new species expand into the site.
D)Most species will be wiped out this year, and it will take millions of years for new species to evolve -- until then the site will be devoid of life. Clarify question:

Question 58

A farmer's land includes a wilderness area that is home to an endangered species of bird.He wants to sell the land to a developer, and you have been hired to evaluate the environmental concerns."This little patch of land is not crucial for the bird species!" the farmer says, "In fact, my land is surrounded by several other wilderness patches that also have that bird." You reply: "It is possible that your land acts as the ____________ and the other areas are ___________ .If that's the case, development would be devastating to the population."

A)sink; sources
B)source; sinks
C)population; metapopulation
D)metapopulation; population Clarify question:

Question 59

Which factor allows bacteria species to adapt to environmental changes faster than fish?

A)shorter generation time
B)smaller size
C)smaller nutrient needs
D)lack of a nuclear membrane Clarify question:

Question 60

Most density-dependent factors show negative feedback relative to population size.Which one of the following is more likely to show positive feedback relative to population size?

A)competition in small populations
B)competition in large populations
C)fecundity in small populations
D)fecundity in large populations

Question 61

This summer, you are returning to the research station in Costa Rica to follow up on the population of butterflies you have been studying.You are disappointed to find that there are fewer this year than last.In fact, at dinner your friends studying frogs and birds are complaining about the same thing.What type of influence do you suspect?

A)a density-independent effect like an introduced predator
B)a density-dependent effect like environmental disruption
C)a density-independent effect like environmental disruption
D)a density-dependent effect like an introduced predator Clarify question:

Question 62

What age group on a population pyramid would you examine to predict the population in 25 years?

A)0-5
B)10-15
C)20-25
D)25-30

Question 63

You are working in an aquarium that has been breeding an endangered species of fish for return into the wild.You have a batch of progeny from the first generation of breeding.The staff are discussing whether to return those fish to an area that has been completely depleted, or add them to a partially depleted population."Considering the Allee effect, what do you say?

A)"They may survive better in a large school, and will have an easier time finding mates."
B)"They may do better in the empty area without any competition for food."
C)"They may do better in the empty area without any competition for territory."
D)"The area with the other fish may reduce the partially depleted population's exposure to disease." Clarify question:

Question 64

A group of international students is having a heated discussion in the dining hall."Your country needs to get its population under control!" asserts a student from the United States."Perhaps," replies the Indian student, "but your country ______________________."

A)has the highest per capita resource consumption, ten times greater than mine
B)also has a big population overgrowth problem
C)has a much higher birth rate
D)has the lowest infant mortality rate

Question 65

What would be the best approach to curbing excessive human population growth?

A)lowering birth rates through education and family planning
B)a return to historical health care practices
C)encouraging women to postpone children till after age 35
D)embracing traditional agricultural practices

Question 66

True or False: An r-selected species is more likely to become an invasive pest than a K-selected species.

Question 67

A rancher is suspected of shooting wolves near Yellowstone National Park, and you have been enlisted to go have a chat with him.The rancher doesn't see any benefit to having the wolves there.What do you say?

A)"If there are no predators like wolves, just one pair of jackrabbits can quickly create a population with explosive, logistic growth.Wolves help reduce the fecundity rate, keeping the population at a reasonable level."
B)"If there are no predators like wolves, just one pair of jackrabbits can quickly create a population with explosive, exponential growth.Wolves help reduce the carrying capacity, keeping the population at a reasonable level."
C)"If there are no predators like wolves, just one pair of jackrabbits can quickly create a metapopulation.Wolves help reduce the biotic potential, keeping the population at a reasonable level."
D)"If there are no predators like wolves, just one pair of jackrabbits can quickly create a population with explosive, density-dependent growth.Wolves help reduce the age structure, keeping the population at a reasonable level." Clarify question: