Deck 54: Community Ecology

Question 1

Figure 54-1 ​

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In Experimental Condition 2 of the accompanying figure, the distribution of Chthamalus suggests that:

A) interspecific competition kept Chthamalus from extending lower into the intertidal area.
B) intraspecific competition kept Chthamalus from extending lower into the intertidal area.
C) a limiting factor kept Chthamalus from extending lower into the intertidal area.
D) a barnacle parasite kept Chthamalus from extending lower into the intertidal area.
E) predation kept Chthamalus from extending lower into the intertidal area.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Competitive exclusion is a result of:

A) interspecific competition.
B) intraspecific competition.
C) character displacement.
D) succession.
E) community complexity.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following could be an example of a limiting resource?

A) Genetic mutations
B) Plenty of nesting sites
C) Amount of precipitation
D) Abundant food
E) Growth rate

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Suppose a bacterium needs glucose to reproduce. Glucose is defined as the bacterium's:

A) niche.
B) resource.
C) facilitator.
D) community.
E) habitat.

Question 5

Resource partitioning may include which of the following?

A) Relocating nesting sites
B) Feeding at the same time of day
C) Eating the same prey
D) Overlapping reproductive seasons
E) Intraspecific competition

Question 6

Which scenario best describes facilitation?

A) A species interaction that modifies and enhances the local environment for other species
B) A species interaction that modifies and detracts from the local environment, inhibiting other species
C) An interaction between members of a population that enhances the local environment for other members of the same population
D) An interaction between members of a population that detracts from the local environment, inhibiting other members of the same population
E) A species interaction that enhances the local environment for a previously extant species

Question 7

Which are the three main roles played by organisms in community life?

A) Producer, detritivore, decomposer
B) Consumer, detritivore. decomposer
C) Producer, consumer, decomposer
D) Facilitator, decomposer, consumer
E) Realized niche, fundamental niche, habitat

Question 8

Large-scale experiments conducted in oak forests of the northeastern United States linked bumper acorn crops to booming mouse populations. The conclusion from these experiments is that:

A) increased levels of first trophic level productivity cause an increase in disease vector activities.
B) competition can result in a more limited realized niche.
C) increased levels of first trophic level productivity cause a decrease in disease vector activities.
D) extermination of mouse populations is the most effective way of reducing Lyme disease transmission.
E) potential threat of Lyme disease in human beings is eliminated following a bumper crop of acorns.

Question 9

Habitat is best described as:

A) the local environment in which a species lives.
B) what a species eats.
C) what competes with a species.
D) the abiotic components of a species' environment.
E) the totality of adaptations by a species to its environment.

Question 10

Which of the following is an INCORRECT statement regarding a community in the natural world?

A) A community is an association of populations of different species.
B) The species in a community live and interact, directly and indirectly with each other, in the same place at the same time.
C) The definition for community is deliberately broad.
D) Communities refer to ecological categories that vary greatly in size and have precise boundaries.
E) Communities are rarely completely isolated.

Question 11

A biological community and its abiotic environment together comprise which of the following?

A) Ecosystem
B) Association
C) Population
D) Biosphere
E) Rhizosphere

Question 12

Suppose it is ideal for a fish to live in fast-moving water, but the fish can also survive in slow-moving water. Fast-moving water is best described as the fishes':

A) fundamental niche.
B) realized niche.
C) displaced niche.
D) excluded niche.
E) limited niche.

Question 13

The community found on a rotting log would include:

A) sunlight.
B) rainwater.
C) bacteria.
D) gases.
E) minerals.

Question 14

Niches apply to:

A) individual organisms.
B) individual species.
C) groups of species.
D) communities.
E) ecosystems.

Question 15

Which of the following is an INCORRECT description of how one species functions compared to other species in a community?

A) Positive effects
B) Negative effects
C) Direct effects
D) Indirect effects
E) Independent existence

Question 16

One reason that the realized niche and fundamental niche are not typically the same is:

A) limiting resources.
B) reproductive potential.
C) extinction event.
D) species diversity.
E) species sparsity.

Question 17

Figure 54-1 ​

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In Experimental Condition 1 of the accompanying figure, the distribution of Balanus suggests that:

A) interspecific competition kept Balanus from extending higher into the intertidal area.
B) intraspecific competition kept Balanus from extending higher into the intertidal area.
C) an unfavorable environmental factor kept Balanus from extending higher into the intertidal area.
D) Balanus is less motile than Chthamalus .
E) Balanus is more motile than Chthamalus .

Question 18

The associated figure provides support for which of the following processes? ​

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A) Secondary succession
B) Competitive exclusion
C) Coevolution
D) Mutualism
E) Resource partitioning

Question 19

The realized niche for the green anole was determined by:

A) a limiting resource.
B) competition.
C) symbiosis.
D) coevolution.
E) disease.

Question 20

An organism's role within the structure and function of a particular community is its:

A) habitat.
B) trophic level.
C) population.
D) ecological niche.
E) competition.

Question 21

Which country would be expected to have the greatest species richness per unit area?

A) Japan
B) United States
C) Brazil
D) Canada
E) New Zealand

Question 22

Which organisms may be a keystone species in a tropical rain forest?

A) Gray wolves
B) Fruit-eating bats
C) Poison arrow frogs
D) Fig trees
E) Fruit-eating monkeys

Question 23

A transitional zone where two or more communities meet is known as which of the following?

A) Interzone
B) Biota
C) Ecozone
D) Ecotype
E) Ecotone

Question 24

In accordance with the time hypothesis, which of the following countries would be expected to have the LEAST species richness?

A) Canada
B) Brazil
C) Cameroon
D) Papua New Guinea
E) Burundi

Question 25

In a parasitic relationship where the host contracts a disease and sometimes dies, the parasite is called a(n):

A) predator.
B) keystone species.
C) mutualistic symbiont.
D) interspecific competitor.
E) pathogen.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT an example of a predator-prey relationship?

A) A mountain lion eating a deer
B) A deer eating grass
C) A fish eating plankton
D) An owl eating a mouse
E) All of these are examples of predator-prey interactions.

Question 27

An example of mutualism is:

A) mycorrhizae and epiphytes.
B) epiphytes and tapeworms.
C) monarch and viceroy butterflies.
D) silverfish and army ants.
E) Rhizobium and legumes.

Question 28

The idea that older, more stable habitats have greater species richness than habitats subjected to frequent, widespread disturbances is known as:

A) natural selection.
B) the time hypothesis.
C) island biogeography.
D) the theory of community stability.
E) the disturbance hypothesis.

Question 29

Mycorrhizae are associations between:

A) coral animals and dinoflagellates.
B) two types of insects.
C) fungi and plant roots.
D) wasps and orchids.
E) epiphytes and rainforest trees.

Question 30

The relationship between reef-building coral animals and zooxanthellae is classified as:

A) mutualism.
B) commensalism.
C) Batesian mimicry.
D) parasitism.
E) character displacement.

Question 31

An example of both chemical protection and coevolution can be seen in:

A) yellow goldenrod spiders and goldenrod.
B) milkweeds and monarch caterpillars.
C) the poison arrow frog and flying insects.
D) coral animals and dinoflagellates.
E) mycorrhizae.

Question 32

The difficulty encountered by many species in reaching and colonizing an isolated geographic location is known as which of the following?

A) Distance effect
B) Edge effect
C) Diversity index
D) Complexity index
E) Opportunity index

Question 33

If you were to study all of the insect-eating birds in a forest, you would see that many birds eat insects, yet you may not see any evidence of competition. What is the most probable explanation?

A) The birds have coevolved.
B) The birds are exhibiting resource partitioning.
C) The birds are exhibiting intraspecific competition only.
D) There is no keystone species in this community.
E) There is not enough species richness to see evidence of competition.

Question 34

Traditionally, most ecologists have assumed that community stability is a consequence of:

A) competition.
B) predation.
C) community complexity.
D) the relative size of realized niches among species.
E) disease.

Question 35

Animals with chemical defenses are also typically:

A) fast runners.
B) aposematic.
C) small in size.
D) large in size.
E) camouflaged.

Question 36

Keystone species:

A) are always symbionts.
B) are typically not the most abundant species in the community.
C) illustrate secondary succession.
D) always form the base of a food chain.
E) are only found in tropical communities.

Question 37

In a lake, a certain native species of zooplankton is found evenly distributed in the water column. After introduction of a different species of zooplankton, the native species is only found in the shallow water zone. This is most likely an illustration of:

A) character displacement.
B) species richness.
C) primary succession.
D) secondary succession.
E) competitive exclusion.

Question 38

Many poisonous snakes share warning colors of red, yellow, and black. This is an example of:

A) Batesian mimicry.
B) mutualism.
C) camouflage.
D) Müllerian mimicry.
E) character displacement.

Question 39

A frog that lacks chemical defenses, yet resembles a poison arrow frog, would exhibit:

A) Batesian mimicry.
B) mutualism.
C) camouflage.
D) Müllerian mimicry.
E) epistasis.

Question 40

Which habitat would be expected to have the greatest species richness?

A) An island
B) a polar habitat
C) an ecotone
D) An agricultural habitat
E) A mountain top

Question 41

The orderly replacement of one community by another is known as:

A) character displacement.
B) succession.
C) coevolution.
D) the edge effect.
E) competitive exclusion.

Question 42

Adaptations that exert a strong competitive force on a predator are the result of coevolution.

Question 43

Which habitat would most likely have the greatest species richness?

A) Prairie
B) Savanna
C) Tundra
D) Temperate desert
E) Tropical rain forest

Question 44

The current concept of a climax community states that forest communities:

A) never reach a state of permanent equilibrium.
B) never are disturbed.
C) are determined solely by climate.
D) are not permanently affected by fires or floods.
E) are the inevitable end-point of succession.

Question 45

In which of the following lakes would you expect to find the highest species richness?

A) High pH
B) Low pH
C) High salt
D) Agricultural
E) Freshwater

Question 46

In accordance with the species richness hypothesis, the critical importance of any one species is expected to be the least in which of the following habitats?

A) Savanna
B) Tundra
C) Tropical rain forest
D) Desert
E) Alpine lake

Question 47

A lake in which of the following locations would be expected to have the highest species richness?

A) City
B) Farm
C) Metal mine
D) National forest
E) Grazed pasture

Question 48

The potential ecological niche of a species is its realized niche.

Question 49

Explain Gleason's individualistic model describing community structure.

Question 50

Explain the ecological significance of limiting resources, using three specific examples in your discussion.

Question 51

Figure 54-2
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Use the accompanying figure to summarize the key concepts relating to species richness from studies of birds in the South Pacific islands. Each dot in the figure represents an island.

Question 52

When the structural complexity of the vegetation is more complex, what can generally be said of the species richness?

A) Species richness is not correlated to structural complexity of the vegetation.
B) Species richness increases.
C) Species richness decreases by a small amount.
D) Species richness decreases by a moderate amount.
E) Species richness decreases by a large amount.

Question 53

In which of the following habitat types would species diversity be expected to be relatively low?

A) High environmental stress
B) Low environmental stress
C) Continental ecosystems
D) Ecotones
E) Mature successional communities

Question 54

Competition between species 1 and species 2 is beneficial for species 1 and harmful for species 2.

Question 55

Species diversity is often very high in the region between two distinct communities, known as a(n):

A) ecotone.
B) secondary successional area.
C) primary successional area.
D) fundamental niche.
E) realized niche.

Question 56

Based on latitude only, which of the following U.S. states would be expected to have the highest species richness?

A) Georgia
B) Utah
C) Kansas
D) Pennsylvania
E) North Dakota

Question 57

Primary succession may be seen:

A) on new lava or on sand dunes.
B) after a fire.
C) when farmland is abandoned.
D) only in tropical rain forests.
E) in any community that has periodic disturbances.

Question 58

In one sentence, summarize the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.

Question 59

Define predation and describe how natural selection shapes the behavior and bodies of both predator and prey. Include a brief discussion of two specific examples.

Question 60

Which of the following is an ideal example of where to study secondary succession?

A) A volcanic eruption
B) A retreating glacier
C) Abandoned mining waste
D) An abandoned agricultural field
E) An undisturbed rain forest

Question 61

In an ecosystem's bottom-up processes, predators affect the abundances of other populations in the ecological community.

Question 62

The association of nitrogen fixing bacteria of the genus Rhizobium with legumes such as peas is an example of mutualism.

Question 63

Species richness is a measure of both the number of species and the relative importance of each species based on its abundance, productivity, or size.

Question 69

Describe why identifying and conserving keystone species are important, provide an example of a keystone species

Question 71

In Müllerian mimicry a defenseless species is protected by its resemblance to a dangerous species.

Question 72

The impact of a keystone species is proportionate to its abundance in an ecosystem.

Question 74

Humans have small mites that live in hair follicles and oil glands around the nose and eyelashes. What would you need to know to classify them as exhibiting mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism?

Question 76

Cryptic coloration advertises a species unpalatability to potential predators.

Question 77

Describe the ongoing research concerning the relationship between species richness and community stability. What research supports or fails to support this relationship?

Question 78

Nicotine synthesis is an adaptation of plant chemical defense against insects.