Exam 1

Question 1

What does the ribeiroia parasite cause in amphibians?

Answer 1

a cyst that eventually leads to extra limbs

Question 2

How do we know that pesticides weaken the immune system?

Answer 2

decreased levels of eosinophils in the blood

Question 3

What fungus is responsible for the global loss of amphibians?

Answer 3

chytrid fungus

Question 4

Why are amphibians a good target for the ribeiroia parasite?

Answer 4

skin is permeable and eggs have no protective shell

Question 5

What does abiotic mean?

Answer 5

of or referring to the physical/nonliving environment

Question 6

What does adaptation mean?

Answer 6

a physiological, morphological, or behavioral trait with an underlying genetic basis that enhances the survival and reproduction of its bearers in their environment

Question 7

What is a biosphere?

Answer 7

the highest level of biological organization, consisting of all living organisms on earth plus the environment they live in

Question 8

What does biotic mean?

Answer 8

refers to the living components of an environment

Question 9

What is the definition of climate change?

Answer 9

directional change in climate over a period of three decades or longer

Question 10

What is a community?

Answer 10

a group of interacting species that occur together at the same place and time

Question 11

What is a consumer?

Answer 11

an organism that obtains its energy by eating other organisms and their remains

Question 12

What is the definition of ecology?

Answer 12

the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments

Question 13

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 13

all the organisms in a given area as well as the physical environment in which they live (can include 1+ communities)

Question 14

What is a trait that cannot evolve by natural selection?

Answer 14

a trait that is the result of an individuals life experiences and does not have a genetic basis

Question 15

Are humans apart of ecology’s subject matter?

Answer 15

yes

Question 16

What is an example of a biotic feature of the environment?

Answer 16

the density of consumers

Question 17

Why are amphibians especially good biological indicators of environmental conditions?

Answer 17

they live in both terrestrial and aquatic environments

Question 18

What sequence represents the correct order of biological levels of organization?

Answer 18

biosphere, ecosystem, community, population

Question 19

What is an example of physically defined community?

Answer 19

all the species in a sand dune, a mountain stream, or a desert

Question 20

What is an example of a biologically defined community?

Answer 20

all the species associated with a kelp forest, a freshwater bog, or a coral reef

Question 21

What is a guild?

Answer 21

group of species that use the same resources

Question 22

What is a functional group?

Answer 22

species that function in a similar way

Question 23

What is species diversity?

Answer 23

combines species richness and species evenness

Question 24

What is species richness?

Answer 24

the number of species in a community

Question 25

What is species evenness?

Answer 25

relative abundances compares with one another

Question 26

What is used to create a diversity index?

Answer 26

species evenness and species richness

Question 27

What is the most commonly used diversity index?

Answer 27

the Shannon index

Question 28

What does the Shannon index measure?

Answer 28

diversity

Question 29

What does a higher H value mean (Shannon index)?

Answer 29

more diverse

Question 30

What are examples of direct interactions between two species?

Answer 30

competition, actual fighting, predation, facilitation

Question 31

What is an indirect interaction?

Answer 31

the relationship between two species is mediated by a third (or more) species

Question 32

What did Darwin investigate?

Answer 32

impact of cats on red clovers... cats eat mice so where there are more cats there are more red clover. the mice eat the honeycombs that pollinate the red clover... cats are destroying predation to the flower

Question 33

What is true about the presence of cougars and white tail deer in Zion National Park?

Answer 33

the human disturbances push away cougars but attract the deer

Question 34

How do sea otters regulate kelp forests?

Answer 34

they eat the sea urchins that would otherwise consume the kelp forests. (the kelp forests are home to many fish species that would also die without the kelp)

Question 35

What is an interaction web?

Answer 35

a concept that describes both the trophic and non trophic interactions among the species in a traditional food web

Question 36

What is a trophic cascade?

Answer 36

a change in rate of consumption at one trophic level that results in a series of changes in species abundance or composition at lower trophic levels

Question 37

What is a competitive network?

Answer 37

interaction among multiple species in which every species has a negative effect on every other species (no one species takes the fall)

Question 38

What is interaction strength?

Answer 38

magnitude of the effect of one species on the abundance of another species

Question 39

What is an ecosystem engineer?

Answer 39

a species that creates, modifies, or maintains a physical habitat for themselves and other species

Question 40

What is an example of an ecosystem engineer?

Answer 40

beaver

Question 41

What is a keystone species?

Answer 41

a species with strong effects because of their role in a community, effect is large in proportion to their biomass/abundance

Question 42

How did the return of the beavers affect the system?

Answer 42

increase in wetlands which leads to more biodiversity

Question 43

What is a foundation species?

Answer 43

a species that has large effects on their community by virtue of their large size/abundance

Question 44

What is succession?

Answer 44

a change in species composition in communities overtime

Question 45

What is an example of succession?

Answer 45

coral bleaching

Question 46

What is disturbance?

Answer 46

events that injure or kill some individuals and create opportunities for other individuals

Question 47

What is stress?

Answer 47

abiotic factors that reduce growth, reproduction, and survival of individuals

Question 48

Is the climax stage an endpoint?

Answer 48

not really because species are always changing

Question 49

What is primary succession?

Answer 49

colonization of habitats without of life

Question 50

What is secondary succession?

Answer 50

reestablishment of a community in which some but not all organisms have been destroyed