Deck 27: Large-Scale Patterns of Biological Diversity

Question 1

The dinosaurs and many other animals became extinct at the end of the

A)Cambrian period.
B)Permian period.
C)Cretaceous period.
D)Pleistocene epoch.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The end of the Permian period was characterized by a mass extinction of

A)shallow-water marine invertebrates.
B)dinosaurs and other large reptiles.
C)small mammals.
D)large mammals.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

As latitude increases,the number of terrestrial species ________.

Answer 3

decreases

Question 4

Total species diversity,or species richness,across all communities within a geographic area is referred to as ________ diversity.

Question 5

Which of the following is the correct order of plant evolutionary appearance (geologically oldest to present date)?

A)angiosperms,gymnosperms,psilopsids,pteriodophytes
B)gymnosperms,angiosperms,psilopsids,pteriodophytes
C)psilopsids,pteriodophytes,gymnosperms,angiosperms
D)pteriodophytes,gymnosperms,angiosperms,psilopsids

Question 6

A mass extinction of large mammals occurred during the ________ epoch.

Question 7

As latitude increases,marine productivity ________.

Question 8

Species richness of terrestrial plants and animals increases with

A)latitude.
B)the structural diversity of plant communities.
C)elevation.
D)flatter terrain.

Question 9

The number of species of living organisms on the planet is probably closest to

A)100,000.
B)1,000,000.
C)10,000,000.
D)100,000,000.

Question 10

As elevation increases,the number of terrestrial species ________.

Question 11

Variation in species richness of terrestrial species in North America correlates most strongly with estimates of

A)actual or potential evapotranspiration.
B)annual temperature.
C)solar radiation.
D)precipitation.

Question 12

Total species diversity,or species richness,of individual communities is referred to as ________ diversity.

Question 13

As latitude increases,the number of marine species ________.

Question 14

In marine environments,

A)both species richness and productivity increase with latitude.
B)species richness increases and productivity decreases with latitude.
C)species richness decreases and productivity increases with latitude.
D)both species richness and productivity decrease with latitude.

Question 15

As structural diversity within plant communities increases,the number of animal species ________.

Question 16

Over the past 600 million years,the overall trend in the number of species has been ________.

Question 17

The end of the Pleistocene epoch was marked by a mass extinction of

A)shallow-water marine invertebrates.
B)dinosaurs and other large reptiles.
C)small mammals.
D)large mammals.

Question 18

Which of the following shows the correct chronological order (geologically oldest to most recent)of near or total extinctions for the organisms listed?

A)dinosaurs,psilopsids,marine invertebrates,large mammals
B)psilopsids,marine invertebrates,dinosaurs,large mammals
C)large mammals,marine invertebrates,dinosaurs,psilopsids
D)marine invertebrates,dinosaurs,psilopsids,large mammals

Question 19

Patterns of species diversity for pelagic and benthic organisms appear to be influenced by the ________ of primary production rather than by the total productivity.

Question 20

Compare two environments at 45°N latitude: environment A's altitude is 50 meters and environment B's altitude is 3000 meters.Which environment will support the greater level of species richness for mammals and birds?

A)Environment A will have the greater level of species richness.
B)Environment B will have the greater level of species richness.
C)Environments A and B will have the same species richness.

Question 21

The 1.4 million species identified are equally distributed across the Earth's surface.

Question 22

As the structural diversity of plant communities increases,the species richness of animals also increases.

Question 23

In terrestrial habitats,species richness is negatively correlated with primary productivity.

Question 24

A conservation biologist sampled an area for fern species richness,and she compares her data to that previously collected by other researchers.Her data differ from the other researchers' data by (1)the size of the area sampled and (2)the number of samples collected.What method should she choose to perform a valid statistical comparison?

A)Resample at the site and construct an accumulation curve.
B)Resample the total pool of samples from the data and construct an accumulation curve.
C)Resample at the site and construct a rarefaction curve.
D)Resample the total pool of samples from the data and construct a rarefaction curve.

Question 25

The diverse topography of mountainous regions generally supports more species of plants and animals than the consistent terrain of flatlands.

Question 26

Over the past 100 million years,species richness has declined for gymnosperms and has increased for angiosperms.

Question 27

An ecologist samples trees in 50 plots in a forest to determine the number of species in the forest.When a species accumulation curve is used to plot the cumulative number of tree species (y axis)against the number of samples taken (x axis),the optimal sample size needed to determine species richness is represented by the point at which the curve

A)is steepest.
B)is highest,after which it dips downward.
C)flattens.
D)is lowest.

Question 28

Patterns of species migrations,such as birds that nest in North America during the spring and in South America during the winter,do not alter seasonal patterns of regional diversity for a wide range of taxonomic groups.

Question 29

On a geological time scale,changes in climate do not influence overall regional patterns of species diversity.

Question 30

Primary productivity in the oceans is lower in tropical latitudes than in temperate latitudes,primarily due to a permanent thermocline in tropical latitudes.

Question 31

All living species of organisms have now been described by scientists.

Question 32

Humans are responsible for more than 75 percent of all present-day extinctions since A.D.1600.

Question 33

Species richness in both terrestrial and marine environments generally declines with latitude.

Question 34

As temperatures increase during seasonal fluctuations in marine environments,

A)both species richness and species dominance increase.
B)species richness increases and species dominance decreases.
C)species richness decreases and species dominance increases.
D)both species richness and species dominance decrease.

Question 35

The species richness of terrestrial plants and animals generally increases with elevation.

Question 36

Seasonal variation in surface temperatures of the ocean functions to increase primary productivity.