Deck 8: Natural Resource Use and Planning

Question 1

Natural resources include

A) only biological resources, because "abiotic" refers to human-made materials.
B) non-biological resources only, including petroleum and ores.
C) any naturally occurring substance.
D) human-made materials, because humans are natural.
E) all naturally occurring materials that have the potential to be useful to humans.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following is not an example of a biotic resource?

A) Lobsters
B) Honey
C) Gasoline
D) Crude oil
E) Pristine forests

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of an abiotic resource?

A) Water used for generation of hydroelectricity
B) Agricultural crops
C) Hydroponically grown tomatoes
D) Silk worms
E) Free-range chickens

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following statements about abiotic resources is true?

A) Abiotic resources are non-renewable.
B) Sand is not an abiotic resource despite being naturally occurring, because it has no value.
C) Steel is an abiotic resource because it is a natural product.
D) Water is a renewable abiotic resource.
E) Soil used in organic farming is an abiotic resource, but soil used in traditional farming is not.

Question 5

Which of the following is not an example of the cornucopian theory about natural resources?

A) Using weapons to control dwindling resources
B) Fracking (cracking rock for enhanced natural gas extraction)
C) Confined feeding operations for mass production of animals
D) Installing motion detectors that automatically turn of lights in empty rooms
E) Encouraging economic growth to stimulate the search for new and alternative resources

Question 6

Which of the following statements about sustainable populations is true?

A) Extinction of species due to overharvesting has been a major problem throughout human history.
B) Populations decline when individuals are removed faster than they can be replaced through reproduction.
C) Extinction of a species is only temporary until populations recover.
D) Harvesting of populations can proceed at any rate needed to support humans because the targeted species are generally resilient to these pressures.
E) Human population growth and improvement in technologies are directly responsible for fewer species becoming extinct.

Question 7

Exploitation of resources

A) requires careful management for both biotic and abiotic resources.
B) is ultimately unsustainable regardless of management practices.
C) to the point of extinction is called underexploitation.
D) cannot be managed to allow a balance between economic advantages and impacts on populations.
E) for nonrenewable resources inevitably leads to complete resource depletion.

Question 8

Harvesting nearly all of a given population every year is a sustainable practice for all the following except

A) rice.
B) wheat.
C) beef cattle.
D) apples.
E) deer.

Question 9

The greatest problem in sustainable natural resource management is

A) ineffective fertilizers for growing food.
B) the finite lifespan of the sun.
C) high populations of humans.
D) insufficient advancements in technology.
E) eroding infrastructure.

Question 10

In comparing biotic resources to abiotic resources, which of the following is true?

A) Harvesting of biotic resources is easy to manage because biotic resources always grow back.
B) Because the supply of abiotic resources is finite, recycling and reuse are key components in sustainable development.
C) Despite the growing population of humans, abiotic resources cannot be depleted.
D) Earth is far too resilient for humans to make a lasting impact.
E) Human ingenuity can overcome all the mistakes we make.

Question 11

_______ is/are a factor in density dependent growth.

A) Environmental factors
B) Food availability
C) Habitats
D) Predators
E) All of the above

Question 12

Which of the following statements most accurately represents the concept of maximum sustainable yield?

A) Maximum sustainable yields are similar for all species.
B) Species with the highest reproduction rates are the most sensitive to high rates of harvesting.
C) Large mammals tend to have a lower maximum sustainable yield because they are far less adaptable than smaller animals.
D) Maximum sustainable yields are difficult to predict.
E) Wildlife managers build in a safety margin by setting maximum sustainable yields slightly higher than maximum rate of population growth.

Question 13

In the context of the maximum sustainable yield, organisms that mature quickly

A) can tolerate high harvest levels.
B) are intolerant to being harvested.
C) have the same maximum sustainable yield as organisms that mature slowly.
D) are typified by large, hardwood trees.
E) are generally considered to be pests.

Question 14

One strategy of harvesting plants and animals is to harvest as many individuals as are needed without regard to biology-based management. A potential outcome to this approach includes

A) severely slowed recoveries, even if the species is abundant and demand is low.
B) extinction of the harvested species when demand exceeds recovery.
C) no impact regardless of the situation.
D) eventual extinction of the harvested species regardless of the demand/recovery.
E) continued sustainable populations under all circumstances.

Question 15

Harvesting a fixed percentage of a population is a management strategy used by many fish and game services. Which of the following is not part of this strategy?

A) Seasonable adjustment of maximum number of individuals harvested
B) Allowing populations to recover when populations are low
C) Maintaining accurate records of the population of the harvested species
D) Making exceptions based on human need
E) Problems associated with some species, such as fish that form schools at lower densities

Question 16

Which of the following is not an effective strategy for managing populations to avoid overexploitation while optimizing economic yield?

A) Fixed quotas in which a specific number of individuals are harvested each year
B) Banning of harvesting regardless of the population health
C) Seasonally adjusted harvesting to account for cycles in reproduction
D) Issuing a limited number of permits for harvesting
E) Limiting harvesting to a specific sex or age within the population

Question 17

One of the strategies in managing forests for lumber is to strip the land of all trees and immediately replace the trees with saplings. Why would this be considered a bad strategy of sustainable resource management?

A) The forest is being used for lumber and lumber production is non-sustainable.
B) It is better to replace a diverse ecosystem with a monoculture.
C) The newly planted trees will always be approximately the same size as they grow and the best habitat for wildlife has diversity in tree size.
D) Lumber companies are not interested in sustainable development and should not be allowed to harvest trees.
E) Burning trees is a better forest management system than cutting them for lumber.

Question 18

Sustainable development requires which of the following?

A) Monitoring the well-being of humans
B) Tracking the health of impacted resources
C) Future social/cultural and environmental benefits
D) Laws and rigorous enforcement to prevent damaging activities
E) All of the above

Question 19

Which of the following statements regarding sustainable development is true?

A) The extinction of some plant and animal species should not be viewed negatively when those species have no apparent beneficial use.
B) Every action taken by humans negatively impacts our ecosystems. Therefore, human development is unsustainable.
C) Practices that have been in place for decades must be sustainable, otherwise they would have been abandoned.
D) Sustainability should be a goal at the local, state, regional, national, and global levels.
E) Economic viability and sustainability are the same thing.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about sustainable development is true?

A) Sustainable development cannot be profitable.
B) Practices that have been profitable for generations must be sustainable.
C) Sustainable development considers social, cultural, and ecological benefits now and in the future.
D) Sustainability is possible only in a non-industrial economy.
E) Scale is not a consideration in sustainability; if it works on a small scale, it will work on a large scale.

Question 21

Which of the following would not be a component of Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDP)?

A) Use of animal labor rather than machines for removing resources in order to avoid damaging sensitive environments
B) Establishment of local factories to convert natural resources into usable products
C) Passing laws to make mining and logging illegal
D) Development of practices that simultaneously allow harvesting of resources and conservation of sensitive ecosystems
E) During construction, elevating pipelines well above the ground to allow unimpeded migration of herds of animals

Question 22

The sustainability of extractive reserves in Brazil has become threatened because

A) global demand for petroleum has led to more drilling.
B) strip mining has destroyed a portion of the mountain range.
C) the rainforest is a dangerous place.
D) ecotourism has created a new economy around ancient ruins.
E) competition for forest land has created conflict with other economic activities.

Question 23

What are agricultural reserves?

A) Deep, rich soils like those in the US Midwest
B) Traditional beverages brewed through fermentation
C) Wild relatives of row crops used in traditional farming
D) Long-term supplies of food
E) Land set aside in which no crops are grown

Question 24

Land use planning is the study of _______ the use of land to meet the _______ needs of humans and other species that occupy the earth.

A) optimizing; competing
B) maximizing; exclusive
C) minimizing; essential
D) abandoning; ancient
E) intensifying; economic

Question 25

Which of the following statements best describes land use planning?

A) Proper land use planning requires unanimous agreement among all those in the community.
B) Land use planning is limited to the local scale.
C) Designating certain land to provide green space is not land use planning because the green space is never developed.
D) Reserving a high fraction of the land within a community for industrial development may be an acceptable form of land use.
E) Land use planning cannot occur at an international level because the United Nations does not own property.

Question 26

Explain how overpopulation can lead to an environmental crisis.

Question 27

Give a real life example of the realization of the neo-Malthusian theory of the impacts of current trends of population and environmental pressure. Justify your answer.

Question 28

Give a real life example of the realization of the cornucopian theory of the impacts of current trends of population and environmental pressure. Justify your answer.

Question 29

Refer to the graph below showing the change in the number of individuals over time for a population limited by density dependence.

-Growth in the population is similar when the population is low and when it approaches its carrying capacity. Explain why the growth rate is similar under such different circumstances.

Question 30

Refer to the graph below showing the change in the number of individuals over time for a population limited by density dependence.

-In which portion of the graph will harvesting have the least impact on the harvested population? Why?

Question 31

Explain why maximum sustainable yields are difficult to predict and difficult to achieve.

Question 32

The United Nations and the Ecological Society of America have slightly different definitions of sustainable development. List three components of sustainable development that are common to both definitions.

Question 33

Forest fires are typical during periods of hot, dry weather and/or drought. Forests burning out of control are sometimes blamed on "environmentalists" who strongly lobby for limited development of forests and limited removal of trees. Give two reasons why this is worthy criticism and two reasons why this criticism is misguided.

Question 34

Why do we want to preserve the wild varieties of certain crops when these varieties have poor crop yields compared with modern crops?

Question 35

Primack is quoted as saying: "All else being equal, more people equals less biodiversity." Explain why this is true and give at least two examples.