Ecology Real quizzes Flashcards
An ecologist interested in how the grazing activity of deer affects tree growth would study at the level of the
Community
An ecologist interested in world-wide distribution of freshwater and ice would study at the level of the ___
biosphere
The study of ecology could include___
- how energy flows through a food web
- why specific biomes are located at particular places around the planet
- how water movees through a landscape
When Robert MacArthur studied how so many species of warbler birds could inhabit the same woodland, he used __
an observational approach
Why does the Earth have geographic variation in temperature___
the Earth is a sphere
Why does the Eath experience seasons?
The earth orbits around the sun
the Earth is tilted on its axis
At the equater_____
warm,moist air rises and rain falls
Between 30 degrees north and the equator, wind travels along the surface of the planet. Which direction does it travel?
from north to south
The Earth’s rain-forests are found at ___
0 degrees
This soil layer contains a mixture of minerals, clay, silts, and sand
A horizon
In the __, evaporation exceeds precipitation and soils are thin and nutrient poor
desert
___ is characterized by permafrost in the soils, a short growing season with very long day lengths, and very short plants with shallow roots
Tundra
Plants in the __ are tolerant of a long, hot, dry summer and are fire-adapted
Mediterranean woodland
__% of the surface of the planet is covered by water
71%
__% of the water on Earth is liquid, freshwater
1%
The average depth of the oceans is approximately
4,000m
80% of solar energy striking the ocean is absorbed in the Photic Zone, which is represented by the first ___
10m
Most of the ocean is ____,___,and___
dark
nutrient poor
comparatively oxygen-poor
cold
The chemical conditions in lakes, rivers, and streams relate most directly to ___
the surrounding landscape
Organisms living in ____ must be able to tolerate both wet and dry conditions
Intertidal zones
___marine habitats are some of the most biodiverse and productive on Earth
Nearshore
Temperate lakes exhibit a distinct thermocline with, warm floating at the surface, during ___
the summer
Organisms living in__ must be able to tolerate changing conditions of salinity
estuaries
Lake color is a direct result of __ and ___
biological activity, light absorption by particles
An adaptation gives an advantage in__
a specific environment
Charles Darwin’s work on evolution did NOT focus on __, __, or ___
genetic drift, mutation, or immigration and emigration
An ecologist notices that side-botched lizards seem to have larger body sizes in some populations and smaller body sizes in other populations. This oculd be evidence of ___, ___,___, or __
selection by predators, response to differences in local climate, ecotypes, inbreeding depression in some populations
Which of these are conditions required for Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium?
All genotypes equally fit
If a hawk always targets the largest voles in the population as prey, what kind of natural selection do you think will occur in the population of voles?
Directional
In a population of butterflies, the genetic variance is extremely low but each butterfly’s pattern looks different from the next. The heritability of pattern is
Probably very low
Sticky cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa) platns found at three elevations have different body forms. These are known as
Ecotypes
Seastar twins were separated as larvae. Once was raised in normal seawater and the other in reduced salinity salt water. At sexual maturity, each was tested for levels of stress hormones, first in the water in which it was raised and then in opposite environment. Both seastars showed elevated stress in the environment different than the one it was raised in. This could be an example of ___
acclimation
In general, less generic variation can be associated with___,___,___,____
island populations, small populations, isolated populations, higher extinction rates
Symptoms of inbreeding depression in a population can include____,____,___
low fertility, small offspring, low juvenile survival
Microclimate can be influenced by ___,__,and____
what vegetation is present, the color of the soil, elevation
Rainbow trout fish have two different forms of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. What is the utility of this?
they function at different temperatures
Average monthly daytime temperatures in Monterey, CA range between 15 C to 20 C but in Turlock, CA they range from 12 C to 34 C. The two cities are only 86 miles apart. What best explains this?
Water’s high specific heat capacity
A fish that is not tolerant of changing temperatures would most likely live in __
a deep pool in a river
Photosynthesis rates in the desert are most directly limited because____
water is very limited
Species that live in the ____ would most likely have a narrow thermal neutral zone
Tropical savannah
On a hot summer day in the desert (37C), a desert tortoise is able to stay relatively cool (30C). Whih of these could be related to how this happens?___and___
The tortoise hides in a burrow underground, the tortoise slows its metabolic rate
Big pelagic fish, like tunas and sharks, are able to ____ by having counter-current heat exchange
Reduce heat loss
Plants can reduce heat loss by__and__
retaining dead leaves, growing fuzzy hairlike pubescence
Which terms describe the skunk cabbage, the bloom, of which is able to melt through the snow in the earliest spring days?
Homeotherm and Endotherm
Which term describes the period of time when a ground squirrel lowers its metabolic rate and becomes dormant for the long, cold winter?
Hibernation
An organism that has its best performance at very cold temperatures would be called
Psychophilic
In general, ecologists might study populations by considering___,_____,and___
number of individuals, density of individuals,distribution of individuals, or growth rates
The geographic distribution of population could be restricted because of__
ability to tolerate environmental extremes, presence of competitors
A species of oropendula birds birds build their long, woven nests in just one particular species of tree. After building a nest, the pair of birds tends the eggs and then the young. Based on this information, during the breeding season, you would expect to see a ____ distribution for the population.
Clumped
A potential reason why young seedling plants could show a clumped distribution is because____,___, and___
- they only germinate in spots where the physical conditions are perfect
- an animal buried a large number of seeds in one spot
- they all fell to the ground directly under the parent plant, which died during the winter
In general, the larger an aquatic invertebrate species is___
the lower its density in the stream
While walking on a trail through the rain forest, you hear an insect with an interesting call. It seems to you that you walk past an individual insect every ten steps. What is an ecologist’s most likely explanation?
the insect is territorial and aggressive
Three considerations are made when placing a species into a “Rarity” category. Which are they?
- local population sizes
- geographical range
- habitat tolerance
Which factors played into the eventual distribution of adult barnacles in the intertidal zone __,__,and__
- abiotic factors
- competition
- predation
Of these organisms, which do you predict has the greatest disperal ability in its natural habitat?
-Coconut palm
Dispersal is very important in stream-associated insects like dragonflies because___,___,and___
- the aquatic larva is constantly being pushed downstream
- during high flow, animals are washed downstream in spates.
- this phase (dispersal) completes the colonization cycle.
California Quail birds have a large number (12 to 16) of small chicks. Because it is difficult to keep track of so many young, many will fall prey to predators in their first to weeks. Once they are larger, they have excellent survival and most live to an old age. This is typical of Type____survivorships
|||
Which of these is not a method for estimating patterns of survival?
distribution-abundance curve
An age of distribution for a population of wild organisms can warn of future extinction risk if __,___,__, and___
- the vast majority of indviduals are sexually mature.
- many age categories are missing from the distribution
- there are very few young individuals
- there are mostly males in the population
Which of these plants most likely has a longer generations time than a pine tree does?
Giant redwood
A calculation of the net reproductive rate of a population takes into account___and___
survivorship and number of offspring produced at different age categories
Organisms with geometric populations growth have discrete generations. MAny of these have individuals that___
live only for one year
Exponential population growth
- requires continuous generations
- occurs when resources are not limited
The carrying capacity
- limits population size
- can be influenced by resource availability
- can be influenced by pathogens
Which of these is an example of a density-independent factor that could influence a population’s growth?
a tsunami
Growth rates, as measured by the per capita rate of increase, should be highest in which organism?
Escherichia coli bacteria
In Galapagos finches, during drought years___
Feeding activity in the wetter season reduces food abundance in the dry season
Taking the number of births in a population and subtracting the number of deaths is one way calculate a ___
Population growth rate
Which statement is true about the global human population?
it continues to grow
Which of the following is NOT included in the study of life histories
Proportion that survives to maturity
A bird that produces large eggs most probably also produces ___
fewer eggs
In fishes, there are differences in life history__,___,__
- between different species
- between populations of the same species
- within a population
Very large seeds most likely are dispersed by
Being carried and buried by vertebrate animals
The advantage to having large seeds is___,__, and__
greater likelihood of survival of the seedlings, larger seedlings, increased recruitment
Which of these is not a characteristics r-selected species
late age of sexual maturity
Male side-blotched lizards display at one another, and if necessary, physically fight to win ownership of a rock to bask on. This describes ____
Interference competition
If one creosote bush in the desert absorbs a volume of water during a rain, that water is not available for other creosote bushes to take up. This describes____compeitition
Intraspecific competition
If two species are in competition for the same resource for many, many generations, the end result could be___
- one species goes locally extinct
- both species undergo directional selection
- character displacement
When two species are in competition for the same resource___
both experience a negative effect
Intraspecific competition can result in___
lower survivorship
- longer time to develop
- smaller body size
- fewer or smaller offspring
The outcome of competition between the two species of Tribolium flour beetles was___
partly dependent on whether the parasite, Adelina, was present
Which of the following does not provide a refuge for prey?
parasite resistance
Which of these factors play a role in population cycles of snowshoe hares?
- solar radiation
- disease
- lynxes
An ecological relationship where one species gets a benefit and the other is negatively impacted is called__
exploitation
Gause (the paramecium guy) was able to establish prey population cycling in the lab when___
he provided a refuge
Size can be a refuge, because for the predator___
the potential benefit of a meal is not worth the risk of injury
What do we need in order to show mutualism between corals and zooxanthellae?
Zooxanthellae receive a benefit from corals and corals receive a benefit from zooxanthellae
Termites cannot digest wood without their endosymbiont protozoans, and these species of protozoans do not live anywehre else except in the gut of termites. This is an example of __
obligate mutualism
What benefits do ants receive from bullshorn acacia__
- a place to live
- Beltian bodies for food
- nectar for food
What evidence showed that bullshorn acacia receive a benefit from ants?
Plants with ants grew much gaster
The ant mutualism with aspen sunflowers cannot become obligate due to
Periodic late frost that destroys all the flowers for that year
The evidence presented showing that crabs get a benefit from protecting corals was
coral lipids in the crab digestive tract
The interacting (and potentially interacting) species occupying a given area are described as a __
community
The number of different species in an area is the __
species richness
Most species in a community are ___
intermediate in abundance
Diversity takes into account
- number of species
- relative abundances
Disturbance events can impact the diversity in a community. Disturbance can__,___,__, and ___
- increase diversity
- decrease diversity
- result in a change in the parrticular species present
- initiate succession
The dominant species in a community__
- has high biomass
- has a big influence
Which of these describes an indirect interactions
-When ranchers kill gopher snakes, the gopher population increases
A keystone species has__biomass and___impact
low, high
In a trophic cascade,__and___
top-down influences occur, a predator can influence the entire community
Primary succession starts from__
bare rock
In general, during succession ___,___,__,___
the species in the community change over time, soil overall and soil horizons individually become deeper, moisture is better and better retained, organic content in soil increases
In succession, the climax community___and ___
is relatively stable and can resist further change, unless there is a disturbance
Which of the following is not one of the important factors relating to habitat space?
H’
The shape of a habitat can be very important if the species of interest either relies on or avoids ___ and__
the edge of the habitat type and ecotones
Current landscape structure can be the result of __, ___, ___,and__
the activities of living things, abiotic events, disturbances, and human influences
The besst predictor of species richness on an island or a continent is ___
area
The predicted equilibrium number of species found on an island is dependent on__ and__
extinction rate, immigration rate
What is true of greenhouse gases?
All of em:
- they include water vapor, CO2, and methane
- the hold heat near the surface of the Earth
- they are currently increasing in the atmosphere
- human activities are contributing to their increase in the atmosphere
- Human activities are contributing to their increase in the atmosphere
The primary reason so many species are currently at risk of endangerment or extinction is ___
habitat loss
