Deck 11: Intraspecific Population Regulation

Question 1

________ occurs when individuals use a common resource that is in short supply relative to the number seeking it.

Answer 1

Competition

Question 2

A plant grown at high density will produce ________ seeds than the same plant grown at low density.

Answer 2

more

Question 3

The part of an animal's home range that is defended against intruders is its ________.

Answer 3

territory

Question 4

The factors that influence a population in proportion to its size are called ________ factors.

Question 5

Briefly explain the concept of 'new ecology'.

Question 6

Define home range versus territory.

Question 7

Density-independent population regulation

A)is usually catastrophic.
B)primarily affects large populations.
C)may involve disease transmission among individuals of the population.
D)is the result of the competition for available resources.

Question 8

Competition among individuals of the same species is referred to as ________ competition.

Question 9

Which of the following is considered a density-dependent factor that regulates population growth?

A)hurricane
B)disease
C)earthquake
D)forest fire

Question 10

Explain root grafts in jack pine stands. How are they like altruism?

Question 11

________ growth is the inverse relationship between population density and individual growth.

Question 12

Factors that influence population growth that do not change systematically with the density of the population are called ________ factors.

Question 13

When competing individuals deplete a shared resource without direct interaction, it is called ________ competition.

Question 14

How does the behaviour of wild wolf packs differ from observations made in experimental studies?

Question 15

Individual organisms spaced out more than is expected from a random occupancy of suitable habitat is an alternate (and appropriate)definition of ________.

Question 16

The progressive decline in density and increase in biomass of remaining individuals in a population is known as ________.

Question 17

The area that an animal normally uses during a year is its ________.

Question 18

One hypothesis of population regulation in animals is that increased crowding and ________ cause stress.

Question 19

The form of competition in which some competing individuals claim enough resources while denying others a share is called

A)scramble competition.
B)contest competition.
C)exploitation competition.
D)interference competition.

Question 20

________ competition occurs when an organism actively defends a site and/or resource and denies access to other individuals.

A)Scramble
B)Contest
C)Exploitation
D)Interference

Question 21

Social organization

A)is restricted to invertebrates and rarely appears in vertebrate populations.
B)becomes disruptive to normal social interaction.
C)stabilizes relationships and minimizes fighting.
D)is not believed to play a role in population regulation.

Question 22

As intraspecific competition increases, the growth of individuals decreases.

Question 23

When experimental plants (Atriplex prostrata)were grown at high densities

A)individual growth rates increased.
B)the proportion of resources allocated to leaf production increased.
C)individual plant weight increased.
D)net photosynthetic rate increased.

Question 24

As the density of a population increases, the

A)survival rate increases.
B)reproductive rate increases.
C)intensity of intraspecific competition decreases.
D)individual growth rate increases.

Question 25

Resource availability is the only density-dependent factor affecting a population.

Question 26

In the wild, the regional population size of wolves is controlled by

A)alpha male dominance.
B)beta female reproduction.
C)other predators.
D)food supply.

Question 27

The home range of an animal is usually larger for

A)a carnivorous species than for a herbivorous species of the same body size.
B)females than males of the same species.
C)an immature male than for an adult male of the same species.
D)a smaller species than for a larger species.

Question 28

In general, the size of an animal's territory

A)is smaller when food is abundant and concentrated.
B)is larger when food is abundant and concentrated.
C)is unrelated to animal body size.
D)is unrelated to food availability.

Question 29

The influence of density-independent factors on populations is generally less predictable than the influence of density-dependent factors.

Question 30

Fecundity

A)is unrelated to population density.
B)decreases as population density increases.
C)increases as population density increases.
D)decreases for females only as population density increases.

Question 31

Which statement is correct?

A)When a resource shortage brings about dispersal, it is usually the reproductive adults that are forced out.
B)Dispersal rarely leads to the expansion of a population's range.
C)Dispersal functions as an important mechanism regulating the growth of populations.
D)Dispersal is one way to reduce the chance of inbreeding.

Question 32

Contest competition results in some individuals in the population getting more resources than others.

Question 33

Most natural populations grow in size indefinitely.

Question 34

Plants that capture space, may increase their fitness at the expense of others. This is known as

A)altruism.
B)territoriality.
C)pre-emption.
D)self-thinning.

Question 35

Competition for resources is a density-dependent factor affecting a population.

Question 36

Which statement about stress is incorrect?

A)Stress increases as population density increases.
B)Stress may trigger the release of specific chemical signals or pheromones.
C)Stress can stimulate growth and increase the rate of reproduction.
D)Stress may result in increased vulnerability to disease.

Question 37

The individuals that disperse as a response to high population density

A)are the oldest members of the population.
B)rarely survive.
C)include mostly females.
D)are usually superior competitors.

Question 38

Self-thinning

A)is found only in populations of sessile organisms.
B)occurs at high population densities.
C)functions to increase the survival rate of all individuals in the population.
D)is a type of scramble competition.

Question 39

Which of the following factors is most likely to be a density-independent regulator of population growth?

A)drought
B)disease
C)starvation
D)parasites

Question 40

________ is a behaviour in some animals that appears to contradict the principles of natural selection.

A)Altruism
B)Social dominance
C)Intraspecific competition
D)Territoriality

Question 41

Within a social group of animals, resources are usually divided up evenly and peaceably, thus strengthening group cohesion.

Question 42

Why are social organization and territoriality adaptive? How do human populations exhibit these two behaviours?

Question 43

Fire is an example of a density-independent factor that affects a population.

Question 44

Why do some species have a larger home range than others? Explain why a carnivorous mammal requires a larger home range than an herbivorous mammal of similar body size.

Question 45

Discuss the impact of high-density conditions on non-modular organisms using amphibians as examples.

Question 46

The rate of aggressive interactions among individuals increases as population density increases.

Question 47

Dispersal plays an active part in regulating population size.

Question 48

When a given area is saturated with territories, excluded individuals who lack a territory soon die of starvation.

Question 49

Fecundity is unrelated to body size.

Question 50

Plants can capture and defend space.

Question 51

Explain why the timing of dispersal during low- or high-population density states can have very different impacts on the population.

Question 52

High-density conditions caused no noticeable shift in the behaviour of experimental tadpoles (Rana sylvatica).

Question 53

As the density of a population increases, dispersal usually decreases.

Question 54

What is competition? Compare and contrast scramble and contest competition.

Question 55

Among mammal species, the home range size is negatively correlated with body size.

Question 56

As the density of a population increases, the rate of reproduction increases.

Question 57

Territorial behaviour includes some form of advertisement, threat, and combat.

Question 58

Explain how altruism may not be in conflict with the principles of natural selection.

Question 59

Contrast the density-dependent and density-independent mechanisms of population regulation.

Question 60

Explain why high population density might stress an organism. Provide several examples of some of the negative impacts of stress on an organism.

Question 61

Explain direct and indirect effects of predation and food supply on the reproductive success of song sparrows.

Question 62

Compare and contrast space capture in plants and territoriality in animals.

Question 63

Give a specific example of how a density-independent factor affects a population. Explain why density-independent factors are less predictable in their effects than density-dependent factors.