Deck 4: Biodiversity and Evolution

Question 1

Mass extinctions, with 25─95% of species going extinct, have occurred how many times in the history of the earth?

A)1 or 2
B)3-5
C)6-8
D)9-12
E)20-23

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Mutations are not caused by which of the following?

A)ultraviolet light
B)a physical accident to a parent
C)radioactivity
D)certain chemicals
E)X rays

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Scientists have used genetic engineering to do all of the following, except

A)develop modified crop plants
B)develop human clones
C)develop new drugs
D)develop pest resistant plants and animals
E)develop oil eating bacteria

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The number of different species an ecosystem contains is its

A)speciation
B)species evenness
C)species niche
D)species richness
E)habitat

Question 5

Some individuals in a population have genetic traits that are favored by environmental conditions because the trait enhance their ability to survive and produce offspring, a process called

A)natural selection
B)adaptability
C)genetic drift
D)mutation
E)scientific theory

Question 6

The variety of processes, including matter cycling and energy flow within ecosystems, which result from species interacting with one another in food webs is called

A)functional diversity
B)genetic diversity
C)intellectual diversity
D)ecosystem diversity
E)species diversity

Question 7

How many sharks are killed each year by humans?

A)501
B)150,000
C)1.3-2.7 million
D)22-47 million
E)79-97 million

Question 8

Which of the following is not an adaptation that has made humans so successful?

A)strong opposable thumbs
B)physical strength
C)upright walking
D)complex brain
E)All of these have made us successful.

Question 9

Biological evolution by natural selection is when genes ____, individuals ____, and populations ____.

A)evolve; mutate; are selected
B)are selected; mutate; evolve
C)mutate; evolve; are selected
D)evolve; are selected; mutate
E)mutate; are selected; evolve

Question 10

Biodiversity is believed to be the result of the interaction between

A)geographic isolation and reproductive isolation
B)speciation and extinction
C)mass extinction and background extinction
D)speciation and genetic engineering
E)reproductive isolation and extinction

Question 11

From a scientific point of view, which of the following is true?

A)Evolution leads to survival of the strongest.
B)Evolution leads to survival of the most valuable.
C)Organisms develop traits because they need them.
D)Fitness is a matter of reproductive success.
E)Evolution follows a plan of nature.

Question 12

The diversity that enables life on earth to adapt and survive environmental changes is called

A)functional diversity
B)genetic diversity
C)intellectual diversity
D)ecosystem diversity
E)species diversity

Question 13

Sharks are an important part of biodiversity for all of the following reasons, except

A)they remove dead and dying fish
B)they could teach us how to not get cancer
C)they are an important food source for whales
D)they remove dead and dying aquatic mammals
E)their immune systems could teach us how to heal without becoming infected

Question 14

The movement of the continents influences evolution in which of the following ways?

A)increases the level of carbon dioxide
B)changes the earth's climate
C)changes the spin of the earth
D)decreases soil nutrient richness
E)changes magnetic fields and disrupts migration patterns

Question 15

Biodiversity includes all of the following components except

A)functional diversity
B)genetic diversity
C)intellectual diversity
D)ecological diversity
E)species diversity

Question 16

Geographic isolation may result from which of the following?

A)volcanic eruptions
B)migrations of subgroups
C)mountain ranges
D)roads
E)all of these

Question 17

How many humans are injured or killed each year by sharks?

A)5-15
B)20-35
C)40-55
D)60-75
E)135-150

Question 18

For natural selection to occur, an adaptive trait

A)must be to a physical trait
B)must be to a physiological trait
C)must be to a psychological trait
D)must be to a heritable trait
E)must not be to a heritable trait

Question 19

Which of the following is not true of the conditions on earth that make life possible?

A)gravitational mass keeps atmospheric gasses from flying off
B)spin of the earth keeps the sun from overheating any one part of the planet
C)balance of consumer and producer organisms keeps oxygen levels at correct level
D)for last 2 billion years unreliable ozone levels have caused mutations
E)distance from the sun keeps temperature in a narrow range

Question 20

A change in the genetic characteristics of a population from one generation to another is called

A)emigration
B)mutation
C)natural selection
D)evolution
E)genetic drift

Question 21

Shark species have been around for more than 400 million years.

Question 22

Biodiversity is a vital part of the natural capital that sustains all life.

Question 23

A species in an ecosystem that plays a central role in the health of that ecosystem, and whose removal may cause the collapse of the ecosystem, is called a(n)

A)foundation species
B)indicator species
C)native species
D)keystone species
E)specialist species

Question 24

Charles Darwin is the only person who came up with the idea that organisms change over time and are descended from a common ancestor.

Question 25

Which of the following is true?

A)The higher the species richness, the lower productivity.
B)The higher the species richness, the lower the sustainability.
C)The lower the species richness, the more the productivity.
D)The lower the species richness, the more the sustainability.
E)The higher the species richness, the more the sustainability.

Question 26

A huge body of evidence supports the idea of biological evolution through natural selection.

Question 27

Which of the following is not an example of a cause for the decline of amphibians?

A)habitat loss
B)prolonged rainy periods
C)pollution
D)increases in UV radiation
E)parasites

Question 28

Which of the following is another name for a nonnative species?

A)native
B)invasive
C)keystone
D)indicator
E)foundation

Question 29

The role a species plays in its ecosystem is the

A)function
B)habitat
C)ecological niche
D)geographical location
E)ecological job

Question 30

More plant species have been identified than any other group of organisms.

Question 31

All of the following would be true of a specialist species, except

A)live in only one habitat
B)use only one or a few types of food
C)have a narrow range of climactic conditions
D)less prone to extinction
E)can tolerate only a few environmental conditions

Question 32

For every shark that injures a person, humans kill at least 1 million sharks.

Question 33

A species with a broad niche is considered a(n)

A)endemic species
B)endangered species
C)specialist species
D)native species
E)generalist species

Question 34

Which of the following would not be considered a generalist species?

A)humans
B)cockroaches
C)pandas
D)raccoons
E)white-tailed deer

Question 35

Most of what we know about the earth's history comes from fossils.

Question 36

A species in an ecosystem that shapes communities by creating and enhancing habitats in ways that benefit other species is called

A)foundation species
B)indicator species
C)native species
D)keystone species
E)specialist species

Question 37

Individuals evolve.

Question 38

An ecological niche includes all of the following except

A)the place where the species lives
B)how much water the species needs
C)how much sunlight the species needs
D)how much space the species needs
E)temperatures the species can tolerate

Question 39

Most mutations occur because of exposure to artificial external agents, such as radiation.

Question 40

The fossils found so far probably represent about 50% of the species that have ever lived.

Question 41

The golden toad of Costa Rica is now extinct, perhaps one of the first victims of global warming.

Question 42

Genetic engineering allows scientists to transfer genes between different species that would not interbreed in nature.

Question 43

Long-term climate changes determine where plant and animal species can survive.

Question 44

Mutations are the source of natural selection.

Question 45

The earth has often times been struck by large asteroids, but they have seldom done much to alter evolution.

Question 46

Houseflies would probably adapt to an environmental change much more quickly than a human.

Question 47

In geologic history mass extinctions have been followed by an increase in species diversity.

Question 48

Endemic species are particularly vulnerable to extinction.

Question 49

If the percentage of atmospheric oxygen increased only by about 4% the atmosphere would likely become a giant fireball.

Question 50

In speciation, two species interbreed to form one new species.

Question 51

Humans are playing a decreasing role in the process of extinction.

Question 52

Species that are successful during one period of time because of selected adaptations may not be successful when environmental conditions change.

Question 53

A tropical rain forest is likely to have high species evenness and low species richness.

Question 54

Estimates indicate the average annual background extinction rate is one to five species for each million species on earth.

Question 55

Genetic engineering has resulted in antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Question 56

Survival of the fittest refers to those individuals that leave the most offspring.

Question 57

The earth's spinning on its axis prevents one side from being too hot and the other side too cold for water-based life to exist.

Question 58

Pandemic species are species found only in one area.

Question 59

According to the theory of evolution, a giraffe evolved a long neck because it needs it.

Question 60

Mutations that occur in any cell are passed from generation to generation as a heritable trait.

Question 61

A single Asian cockroach and its offspring can add about 10 million new cockroaches in a year.

Question 62

Even if a beneficial heritable trait is present in a population, the population's ability to adapt may be limited by its ____________________.

Question 63

Charles Darwin and ____________________ both came up with the concept of natural selection as the mechanism for biological evolution.

Question 64

All nonnative species are villains.

Question 65

Genetic variation in a population is the result of ____________________.

Question 66

Scientists learn about species richness by studying species on mountains.

Question 67

The best guess of the total number of species on earth is between __________ and __________.

Question 68

Any heritable trait that enables an organism to survive through natural selection and produce more offspring under prevailing environmental conditions is a(n) ____________________.

Question 69

Amphibians are sensitive to changes in the environment and their decline suggests a decline in the environmental health of the earth.

Question 70

New species form when one species splits into two or more different species, a process called _______________.

Question 71

____________________ diversity is the most obvious component of biodiversity.

Question 72

Keystone species have a large effect on the types and abundances of other species in an ecosystem.

Question 73

According to an IUCN 2009 study __________ percent of the world's open ocean shark species are threatened with extinction.

Question 74

The world's cumulative body of discovered fossils is called the ____________________.

Question 75

Among his many accomplishments, Edward O.Wilson is working on Harvard University's ____________________, an online database of the earth's known and name species.

Question 76

Two-hundred-twenty-five million years ago, one super continent, called ____________________, was home to all terrestrial organisms.

Question 77

As _______________ species, many sharks play crucial roles in helping to keep their ecosystems functioning.

Question 78

Under rapidly changing environmental conditions it is better to be a specialist species.

Question 79

For natural selection to work, a heritable trait must lead to _______________, which enables individuals with the trait to produce more offspring than others members of the population.

Question 80

Large regions such as forests and deserts, with distinct climates and species, are called _______________.