Question 1

In the Hawaiian Islands, _______, which is an introduced disease, has been responsible for wiping out nearly all endemic bird species living below an elevation of 1,500 meters

Accepted Answer

Avian malaria is an introduced disease that has devastated bird populations in the Hawaiian Islands, especially at elevations below 1,500 meters. The other options are not associated with the destruction of endemic bird species in Hawaii.

Question 2

According to the species-area relationship, a 90 percent loss of habitat will result in _______ loss of the species that live in that habitat.

Accepted Answer

The species-area relationship suggests that a 90 percent loss of habitat typically results in about a 50 percent loss of species, as the relationship is not linear but follows a power law.

Question 3

Which of the following statements about habitat corridors is true?

Accepted Answer

Habitat corridors connect fragments of natural habitats, allowing organisms to move from one area to another. They mitigate the negative impact of habitat fragmentation by reducing the isolation effect on populations of species.

Question 4

Which of the following statements about introduced species is true?

Accepted Answer

Introduced species have significantly impacted Australian marsupials, leading to extinctions. Zebra mussels were accidentally introduced, and native plants are typically more adapted to local herbivores than introduced plants.

Question 5

Conservation biologists rely heavily on _______ to estimate how many species will be lost due to habitat loss.

Accepted Answer

Conservation biologists use the principles of species-area relationships to estimate the number of species that will be lost due to habitat loss. This relationship shows that as habitat area decreases, the number of species living in that area also decreases. By measuring the size of the habitat that is being lost, conservation biologists can predict how many species are likely to be impacted by the loss.

Question 6

Suppose a lumber company proposes to clear-cut a large area of forest, but it aims to leave small patches of forest to provide habitat for forest animals. Which of the following is a weakness of this method of conservation?

Accepted Answer

All of the listed options are potential weaknesses of the method of conservation proposed by the lumber company. Small patches may not be able to support species that require large areas, only small populations can survive in those patches, and due to edge effects, small patches have higher temperatures, stronger winds, and lower humidity levels than larger forest tracts. In addition, species that live in the clear-cut areas may invade the edges of the patches, compete with or prey on the species living there, and may also increase the risk of disease transmission.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about the tropical forest of Central America is true?

Accepted Answer

The statement indicates that there has been a significant loss of forest cover between 1950 and 1985. Option A is incorrect because it implies that there was no significant loss of forest cover during this period. Option C and D are also incorrect because they suggest that most of the remaining forest was concentrated in one large region, which is not necessarily true. Finally, option E is incorrect because it is too extreme and suggests that there is no forest left, which is not true.

Question 8

Our ability to predict how many species will go extinct is limited because of our limited knowledge about

Accepted Answer

Our limited knowledge about the number of species, their distribution, and interconnectedness makes it challenging to accurately predict extinction rates. Without a thorough understanding of the biodiversity of the planet, it is difficult to estimate the magnitude of its loss.

Question 9

Introduced species that spread widely and become unduly abundant are known as _______ species.

Accepted Answer

The term used to describe introduced species that spread widely and become unduly abundant is "invasive." A is incorrect because "spreader" is not a commonly used term for invasive species. C and D are incorrect because "super" and "extravagant" do not accurately describe the characteristics of invasive species. E is incorrect because "hammerhead" is not a term used to describe invasive species.

Question 10

Various species are either extinct or threatened in the United States, including certain freshwater mussels, flowering plants, and mammals. Which of the following represents the correct ranking (from most endangered to least endangered) of these groups of organisms?

Accepted Answer

Freshwater mussels are the most endangered group due to habitat degradation and water pollution. Flowering plants are also threatened by habitat loss and invasive species, but their range and distribution are more widespread than freshwater mussels. Mammals have some endangered species, but they have more protection and conservation efforts than the other two groups, making them the least endangered of the three.

Question 11

The most significant cause of species endangerment in the United States is

Accepted Answer

Habitat loss is the most significant cause of species endangerment in the United States as it reduces the amount of suitable habitat available for species to live and reproduce. This can be caused by human activities such as deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture. Endangered species often require specific habitats to survive, and once those habitats are lost, so are the species that depend on them. While the other options (air pollution, climate change, the introduction of exotic species, and acid rain) can also have negative impacts on species, they are not as significant as habitat loss in terms of causing species endangerment in the United States.

Question 12

Compared to the area inside a forest, the areas at the edge of a forest have

Accepted Answer

The edge of a forest is more exposed to environmental elements, leading to stronger winds compared to the sheltered interior.

Question 13

According to the basic rule of thumb of conservation biology, if 300 species of grasshoppers reside in a habitat of 20,000 ha, about _______ species of grasshoppers should persist if that habitat is reduced to 2,000 ha.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the basic rule of thumb...

Question 14

Invasive plant species would be expected to

Accepted Answer

Invasive plant species often allocate more resources to reproduction to spread rapidly and establish in new areas.

Question 15

Which of the following statements about habitat is true?

Accepted Answer

None of the given statements are true. Small patches of habitat may not be qualitatively similar to patches of larger size as smaller patches may have different edge effects, microclimates, and species interactions. Edge effects generally decrease as habitat size increases. Habitat loss can have a significant impact on neighboring areas of remaining habitat through fragmentation, isolation, and edge effects.

Question 16

If tropical rainforests continue to be lost at the present rate, about _______ species are in danger of going extinct during this century.

Accepted Answer

Estimates suggest that about 50,000 species are lost each year due to deforestation, and it is expected that more than half of these extinctions could occur in tropical rainforests. If this continues, about 1,000,000 species are in danger of going extinct during this century.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about the tropical rainforest is true?

Accepted Answer

The statement that the tropical rainforest is Earth's most species-rich biome is true (a), and the statement that it is being lost at a rate of about 2 percent of the remaining forest each year is also true (c). The statement that its area has been relatively constant during the last 50 years is false (b).

Question 18

Which of the following is not a reason for the dramatic increase in the number of species driven to extinction in recent years?

Accepted Answer

Natural predation is a natural process and has been occurring for millions of years. It is not a recent cause for the dramatic increase in the number of species driven to extinction in recent years. The other options (A, B, C, and E) are all major reasons for the increase in species extinction in recent years.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about human predation is true?

Accepted Answer

The hunting of tigers for the medicinal use of their body parts is indeed a primary threat to their survival, as it leads to illegal poaching and a decline in tiger populations.

Question 20

Forest fragmentation has led to increases in cowbird populations because fragmentation has

Accepted Answer

Forest fragmentation has resulted in the separation of previously connected habitats, leading to the emergence of new and smaller habitat patches. As these patches can only support a limited number of species, it often leads to the crowding of certain species, including cowbirds. These crowded populations of cowbirds are then forced to interact with other species of birds that they may not have encountered before. This can lead to new opportunities for cowbirds to parasitize the nests of these new bird species. Therefore, fragmentation has caused cowbirds to be exposed to species of birds previously unknown to them.

Quiz 59: Conservation Biology