Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Biology Flashcards
The evolution of mating systems is most likely affected by
a) territoriality
b) certainty of paternity
c) population density
d) sexual dimorphism
e) None of the options are correct
d) sexual dimorphism
The colour of throats of males in a population of side-blotched lizards is determined by
a) their receptiveness to mate
b) stage of development/maturity
c) the success of the mating behaviour of each of the throat colour phenotypes
d) ambient temperature - blue = cold; orange = normal; yellow = hot
e) the frequency of homozygous recessive genotype
c) the success of the mating behaviour of each of the throat colour phenotypes
In guppies, females may copy the mate choice of conspecifics even if it means choosing a male with less extensive orange colouration than would be chosen with no female present. This decision may increase
a) ornamentation of offspring
b) the number of resulting offspring
c) male competition for mates
d) paternal care of offspring
e) the probability of fitness of male offspring
e) the probability of fitness of male offspring
The mating system in which females are more ornamented than males is
a) monogamy
b) polygyny
c) Polyandry
d) promiscuity
e) polygamy
c) polyandry
Which of the following is not a display of altruistic behaviour?
a) Richardson’s ground squirrel emitting an alarm call to unaware neighbours
b) green lacewing producing a hybrid courtship song
c) worker honeybee stinging an intruder and subsequently dying
d) vervet monkey alarm calling when spotting an eagle
e) non-reproductive naked mole rat protecting the queen from predation
b) green lacewing producing a hybrid courtship song
According to the small-population approach, what would be the best strategy for saving a population that is in an extinction vortex?
a) determining the minimum viable population size by taking into account the effective population size
b) reducing the population size of its predators and competitors
c) introducing individuals from other populations to increase genetic variation
d) determining and remedying the cause of its decline
e) establishing a nature reserve to protect its habitat
c) introducing individuals from other populations to increase genetic variation
Of the following ecosystem types, which have been impacted the most by humans?
a) desert and high alpine
b) open and benthic ocean
c) tundra and arctic
d) wetland and riparian
e) taiga and second-growth forests
d) wetland and riparian
What term did E. O. Wilson coin for our innate appreciation of wild environments and living organisms?
a) biophilia
b) bioethics
c) biophobia
d) biremediation
e) landscape ecology
a) biophilia
Small populations are most vulnerable to ________ and ________.
a) loss of variation, small mate choice
b) genetic drift, heterozygosity
c) loss of adaptability, heterozygosity
d) inbreeding, genetic drift
e) inbreeding, disease
d) inbreeding and genetic drift
Which of the following provides the best evidence of a biodiversity crisis?
a) climate change
b) decrease in regional productivity
c) high rate of extinction
d) the incursion of a non-native species
e) increasing pollution levels
c) high rate of extinction
Which of the following statements is consistent with the principle of competitive exclusion?
a) Natural selection tends to increase competition between related species
b) Bird species generally do not compete for nesting sites
c) Two species with the same fundamental niche will exclude other competing species
d) The random distribution of one competing species will have a positive impact on the population growth of the other competing species.
e) Even a slight reproductive advantage will eventually lead to the elimination of the less well-adapted of two competing species.
e) Even a slight reproductive advantage will eventually lead to the elimination of the less well-adapted of two competing species.
Why do tropical communities tend to have greater species diversity than temperate or polar communities?
a) There are fewer parasites to negatively affect the health of tropical communities.
b) Tropical communities are generally older than temperate and polar communities.
c) Tropical communities are low in altitude, whereas temperate and polar communities are high in altitude.
d) More competitive dominant species have evolved in temperate and polar communities.
e) They are less likely to be affected by human disturbance.
b) Tropical communities are generally older than temperate and polar communities.
Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem?
a) a pond and all of the plant and animal species that live in it
b) interactions between all of the organisms and their physical environment in a tropical rain forest
c) the intricate interactions of the various plant and animal species on a savanna during a drought
d) all of the brook trout in a 500 hectare2 river drainage system
e) the plants, animals, and decomposers that inhabit an alpine meadow
b) interactions between all of the organisms and their physical environment in a tropical rain forest
Why does a vegetarian leave a smaller ecological footprint than an omnivore?
a) Eating meat is an inefficient way of acquiring photosynthetic productivity.
b) There is an excess of plant biomass in all terrestrial ecosystems.
c) Vegetarians require less protein than do omnivores.
d) Fewer animals are slaughtered for human consumption.
e) Vegetarians need to ingest less chemical energy than omnivores.
a) Eating meat is an inefficient way of acquiring photosynthetic productivity
The growing season would generally be shortest in which of the following biomes?
a) tropical rain forest
b) savanna
c) temperate broadleaf forest
d) coniferous forest
e) temperate grassland
d) coniferous forest
If you are interested in observing a relatively simple community structure in a clear water lake, you would do well to choose diving into
a) an oligotrophic lake
b) a lake with consistently warm temperatures
c) a relatively shallow lake
d) a nutrient-rich lake
e) a eutrophic lake
a) an oligotrophic lake
A population of ground squirrels has an annual per capita birth rate of 0.06 and an annual per capita death rate of 0.02. Calculate an estimate of the number of individuals added to (or lost from) a population of 1000 individuals in one year.
a) 20 individuals added
b) 120 individuals added
c) 400 individuals added
d) 20 individuals lost
e) 40 individuals added
e) 40 individuals added
Which of the following is not an example of density-dependent regulation?
a) a severe frost
b) territoriality
c) competition and predation
d) disease
e) intrinsic physiological factors
a) a severe frost
In the evolution of whelk-eating behaviour in crows, which of the following was optimized through natural selection?
a) the average total energy used to break shells
b) the average number of drops required to break the shell
c) the average thickness of the shells dropped by the birds
d) the average height a bird flew to drop a shell
e) the average size of the shells dropped by the birds
a) the average total energy used to break shells
The presence of altruistic behaviour is most likely due to kin selection, a theory maintaining that
a) critical thinking abilities are normal traits for animals and they have arisen, like other traits, through natural selection.
b) natural selection has generally favoured the evolution of exaggerated aggressive and submissive behaviours to resolve conflict without grave harm to participants.
c) companionship is advantageous to animals because in the future they can help each other.
d) genes enhance survival of copies of themselves by directing organisms to assist others who share those genes.
e) aggression between sexes promotes the survival of the fittest individuals.
d) genes enhance survival of copies of themselves by directing organisms to assist others who share those genes.
Imagine that you are designing an experiment aimed at determining whether the initiation of migratory behaviour is largely under genetic control. Of the following options, the best way to proceed is to
a) perform within-population matings with birds from different populations that have different migratory habits. Rear the offspring in the absence of their parents and observe the migratory behaviour of offspring.
b) observe genetically distinct populations in the field and see if they have different migratory habits.
c) perform within-population matings with birds from different populations that have different migratory habits. Do this in the laboratory and see if offspring display parental migratory behaviour.
d) bring animals into the laboratory and determine the conditions under which they become restless and attempt to migrate.
e) All of the options are equally productive ways to approach the question.
a) perform within-population matings with birds from different populations that have different migratory habits. Rear the offspring in the absence of their parents and observe the migratory behaviour of offspring.
Which of the following statements is true about certainty of paternity?
a) Males that guard females they have mated with are certain of their paternity.
b) Certainty of paternity is high in most species with internal fertilization because the acts of mating and birth are separated by time.
c) Paternal behaviour exists because it has been reinforced over generations by natural selection.
d) Young or eggs laid by a female are likely to contain the same genes as another female’s eggs in a population of birds.
e) Certainty of paternity is low when egg laying and mating occur together, as in external fertilization.
c) Paternal behaviour exists because it has been reinforced over generations by natural selection.
Which of the following best describes “game theory” as it applies to animal behaviour?
a) The total of all of the behavioural displays, both male and female, is related to courtship.
b) The evolutionary “game” is played between predator and prey, wherein the prey develops a behaviour through natural selection that enables it to be less vulnerable to predation, and the predator counters with a new reciprocal predatory behaviour.
c) The fitness of a particular behaviour is influenced by other behavioural phenotypes in a population.
d) An individual in a population changes a behavioural phenotype to gain a competitive advantage.
e) The play behaviour performed by juveniles allows them to perfect adult behaviours that are needed for survival, such as hunting, courtship, and so on.
c) The fitness of a particular behaviour is influenced by other behavioural phenotypes in a population.
Which of the following examples poses the greatest potential threat to biodiversity?
a) trapping and relocating large predators, such as mountain lions, that pose a threat as they move into areas of relatively dense human populations
b) allowing previously used farmland to go fallow and begin to fill in with weeds and then shrubs and saplings
c) releasing sterilized rainbow trout to boost the sport fishing of a river system that contains native brook trout
d) importing an Asian insect into the United States to control a weed that competes with staple crops
e) replanting, after a clear cut, a monoculture of Douglas fir trees on land that consisted of old-growth Douglas fir, western cedar, and western hemlock
d) importing an Asian insect into the United States to control a weed that competes with staple crops
According to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), the difference between an endangered species and a threatened one is that
a) only endangered species are vertebrates.
b) threatened species are endangered species outside the U.S. borders.
c) a threatened species is closer to extinction.
d) endangered species are mainly tropical.
e) an endangered species is closer to extinction.
e) an endangered species is closer to extinction.
Which of the following is a type of research in which a conservation biologist would be involved?
a) determining the effects of hunting white-tailed deer in Vermont
b) studying species diversity and interaction in the Florida Everglades, past and present
c) studying population ecology of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park
d) determining the effect of protection programs on the recovery of the North Atlantic cod fishery
e) reestablishing whooping cranes in their former breeding grounds in North Dakota
e) reestablishing whooping cranes in their former breeding grounds in North Dakota
Review the formula for effective population size. Imagine a population of 1000 small rodents. Of these, 300 are breeding females, 300 are breeding males, and 400 are nonbreeding juveniles. What is the effective population size?
a) 1200
b) 300
c) 1000
d) 400
e) 600
e) 600
To better comprehend the magnitude of current extinctions, it will be necessary to
a) focus on identifying more species of mammals and birds.
b) identify more of the yet unknown species of organisms on Earth.
c) use the average extinction rates of vertebrates as a baseline.
d) monitor atmospheric carbon dioxide levels more closely.
e) differentiate between plant extinction and animal extinction numbers.
b) identify more of the yet unknown species of organisms on Earth.
An event that changes resource availability and removes individuals from a community is a
disturbance
Which of the following would be most significant in understanding the structure of an ecological community?
a) determining the kinds of interactions that occur among organisms of different species
b) determining how many species are present overall
c) determining how many species are present overall, which particular species are present, the kinds of interactions that occur among organisms of different species, and the relative abundance of species
d) determining the relative abundance of species
e) determining which particular species are present
c) determining how many species are present overall, which particular species are present, the kinds of interactions that occur among organisms of different species, and the relative abundance of species
Trophic efficiency is
a) the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.
b) about 90% in most ecosystems.
c) a measure of how nutrients are cycled from one trophic level to the next.
d) usually greater than production efficiencies.
e) the ratio of net secondary production to assimilation of primary production.
a) the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.
The rate at which nutrients move through an ecosystem is most often limited by
a) density of primary consumers.
b) decomposition rate.
c) density of tertiary consumers.
d) primary production.
e) density of secondary consumers.
b) decomposition rate
A rain shadow is
a) the windward side of the mountain that receives much of rain.
b) the windward side of the mountain that receives little rain.
c) the leeward side of the mountain that receives dry air.
d) the region close to shore sheltered by the mountains.
e) regions near 30 degrees N and 30 degrees S latitude that have dry air.
c) the leeward side of the mountain that receives dry air
Population ecologists are primarily interested in
a) how humans affect the size of wild populations of organisms.
b) understanding how biotic and abiotic factors influence the density, distribution, size, and age structure of populations.
c) the overall vitality of a population of organisms.
d) how populations evolve as natural selection acts on heritable variations among individuals and changes in gene frequency.
e) studying interactions among populations of organisms that inhabit the same area.
b) understanding how biotic and abiotic factors influence the density, distribution, size, and age structure of populations.
Which of the following best defines a cohort?
a) a group of the individuals from the same age group, from birth until they are all dead
b) the number of individuals that annually die or emigrate out of a population
c) a group of individuals that inhabits a small isolated region within the range for the species
d) the reproductive males and females within the population
e) all of the individuals that are annually added to a population by birth and immigration
a) a group of the individuals from the same age group, from birth until they are all dead
The central concept of sociobiology is that
a) the behaviour of an individual cannot be modified
b) the social behaviour of humans is homologous to the social behaviour of other social animals.
c) human behaviour is rigidly predetermined.
d) most aspects of our social behaviour have an evolutionary basis.
e) human behaviour consists mainly of fixed action patterns.
d) most aspects of our social behaviour have an evolutionary basis
Two populations of the highly ornamented white-crested sparrow species are spatially separated by a mountain range. Males from the two populations exhibit differing elaborate courtship displays. When a female appears, the males from the eastern population approach the female while bobbing their heads and spreading their wings, while the western population approaches a female by hopping and flapping their wings. Individuals from each population reared in isolation exhibited the same courtship displays as those in the wild.
After mating a female from the eastern population to a male from the western population, the resulting male offspring exhibited a hybrid courtship display, bobbing their heads and flapping their wings. This indicates that
a) the elicited courtship display depends on female response.
b) courtship displays are a result of environmental pressures.
c) courtship displays are under the control of more than one gene.
d) associative learning is involved in courtship displays.
e) courtship displays are a learned behaviour.
c) courtship displays are under the control of more than one gene
Feeding behaviour with a high energy intake-to-expenditure ratio is called
a) optimal foraging.
b) heterotrophy.
c) search scavenging.
d) autotrophy.
e) herbivory.
a) optimal foraging
Which of the following statements about evolution of behaviour is correct?
a) Natural selection will favour behaviour that enhances survival and reproduction
b) Innate behaviours can never be altered by natural selection.
c) If a behaviour is less than optimal, it will eventually become optimal through natural selection.
d) An animal may show behaviour that minimizes reproductive fitness.
e) All of the statements are correct.
a
Animals that help other animals of the same species
a) are bigger and stronger than the other animals.
b) are always male.
c) have excess energy reserves.
d) are usually related to the other animals.
e) have defective genes controlling their behaviour.
d) are usually related to the other animals.
The primary difference between the small-population approach (S-PA) and the declining-population approach (D-PA) to biodiversity recovery is
a) S-PA is interested in bolstering the genetic diversity of a threatened population rather than the environmental factors that caused the population’s decline.
b) D-PA would use recently collected population data to calculate an extinction vortex.
c) S-PA kicks in for conservation biologists when population numbers fall below 500.
d) S-PA would investigate and eliminate all of the human impacts on the habitat of the species being studied for recovery.
e) D-PA would likely involve bringing together individuals from scattered small populations to interbreed in order to promote genetic diversity.
a) S-PA is interested in bolstering the genetic diversity of a threatened population rather than the environmental factors that caused the population’s decline.
How might the extinction of some Pacific Island bats called “flying foxes” threaten the survival of over 75% of the tree species in those islands?
a) The bats pollinate the trees and disperse seeds
b) The bats roost in the trees and fertilize soil around the trees with their nitrogen-rich droppings.
c) The bats eat the insects that harm competitor plants.
d) The bats consume the fruit including the seeds that would disrupt the trees’ reproductive cycle.
e) The bats pierce the fruit, which allows the seeds to germinate.
a) The bats pollinate the trees and disperse seeds
If the sex ratio in a population is significantly different from 50:50, then which of the following will always be true?
a) The effective population size will be less than the actual population size.
b) The genetic variation in the population will decrease over time.
c) The effective population size will be greater than the actual population size.
d) The population will enter the extinction vortex.
e) The genetic variation in the population will increase over time.
a) The effective population size will be less than the actual population size.
Which of the following is the most direct threat to biodiversity?
a) habitat destruction
b) increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide
c) overexploitation of selected species
d) the depletion of the ozone layer
e) zoned reserves
a) habitat destruction