Exam 2 Flashcards
1
Q
The scientific study of relationships between organisms and their environment
A
Ecology
2
Q
Synthesis done by green plants using solar energy
A
Photosynthesis (primary producers)
3
Q
A population of morphologically similar organisms that can reproduce sexually among themselves but cannot produce fertile offspring when mated with other organisms
A
Species
4
Q
A group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area
A
Population
5
Q
The populations of plants, animals, and microorganisms living and interacting in a certain area at a given time
A
Biological community
6
Q
A complex, interlocking series of individual food chains in an ecosystem
A
Food web
7
Q
the sequence of organisms through which energy and materials are transferred, in the form of food, from one trophic level to another
A
Food chain
8
Q
Organisms that consume organic litter, debris, and dung
A
Detritivores
9
Q
Fungi and bacteria that break down complex organic material into smaller molecules
A
Decomposers
10
Q
The number or amount of something
A
Abundance
11
Q
The number of species present in a community, as well as the relative abundance of each species
A
Diversity
12
Q
A theory that explains how random changes in genetic material and competition for scarce resources causes species to change rapidly
A
Evolution
13
Q
The mechanism for evolutionary change in which environmental pressures cause certain genetic combinations in a population to become more abundant
A
Natural selection
14
Q
A species whose impact on its community or ecosystem are much larger and more influential than would be expected from mere abundance
A
Keystone species
15
Q
Species whose critical tolerance limits can be used to judge environmental conditions
A
Indicator species
16
Q
A
Ecosystem resilience and resistance
17
Q
A change from one stable ecological state to another
A
Regime shift
18
Q
The average age that individuals born in a particular time and place can be expected to attain
A
Life expectancy
19
Q
How long you live
A
Life span
20
Q
A
Survivorship
21
Q
Species which are specialists
A
have narrowly specific habitat requirements.
22
Q
As ecological development proceeds, a biological community
A
becomes more diverse.
23
Q
Oysters attach their shells to hard surfaces under the water. More and more oyster shells will attach in the same area to form a reef. This reef serves as a habitat for other organisms like small fish. Which term best describes the oyster’s role in the ecosystem?
A
ecosystem engineer
24
Q
Some communities are prevented from reaching a true climax stage by periodic disruption by events such as fire.
A
True
25
On the island of Hawai’i, lava flows covered land then hardened into rock or created new land as it flowed into the ocean. Ecosystems develop on this new land via what process?
primary succession
26
In the partnership of a lichen, the fungus provides ________ and the relationship is best described as ________
structure and moisture-holding ability; mutualism
27
Taxonomy is a branch of science which
describes relationships among species.
28
Some communities, such as grasslands, may never really reach F.E. Clements's concept of a climax stage because
they are adapted to periodic disturbance.
29
Resource partitioning tends to lead to a high degree of ________ in species.
specialization
30
Evolution occurs as a result of
better survival or reproduction rates by individuals with a particular characteristic.
31
Two birds, a titmouse and a chickadee are living in the same territory and are using some of the same resources. This interaction can be best classified as
interspecific competition.
32
Primary succession occurs when a community develops ________, while secondary succession occurs when one ________.
on bare rock; biological community replaces another
33
A keystone species is a species whose presence
influences the population size of many other species in its community.
34
Natural selection will ultimately make a species
better adapted to its environment
35
Indicator species, such as lichens, generally have a(n) ________ tolerance range for a ________.
narrow; critical factor
36
A climax community is one that
is relatively stable and long lasting.
37
Certain night-active moths and day-active birds are specialized nectar feeders. How do these species coexist if they are using the same resource for food?
They do not compete for the nectar because they feed at different times of the day.
38
In a biological community where diversity is great, such as a tropical rainforest, the abundance of any one species is likely to be
small
39
Primary productivity is the direct result of
photosynthesis
40
Morpheus has been led into a wilderness environment and left to fend for himself for the summer. Luckily, he has a good coat because it looks like there may be a frost during the night and the mosquitoes are everywhere. As he looks around, he is relieved because he recognizes some of the plants. There are some mosses, lichens, small shrubs, sedges, and grasses. Which biome is he in?
tundra
41
The word "conifer" distinguishes plants that are
cone-bearing
42
Tree growth in the taiga is limited by
extreme cold and short summers.
43
Tropical seasonal forests are specially adapted to tolerate
annual cycles of severe drought and heavy rain.
44
Trinity and Neo are in an area that has many lakes and bogs. The majority of the trees are coniferous. As they look around, they also see deciduous trees, including birches, aspens, and maples. What type of forest are they in?
boreal forest
45
In what continent would you find a polar desert?
Antarctica
46
Tundra biomes occur
at high latitudes and altitudes, where the growing season is short.
47
Vertical zonation shows that not only do different biomes occur at different latitudes, but also at different ________.
altitudes
48
In the graph of precipitation and temperature, the area marked A has a
wide temperature range and narrow precipitation range
49
Deciduous forests
have trees that shed their leaves seasonally.
50
You are in an area that is relatively hot. You bend down and notice that there are tracks in the soil that are very old. Since you know that this area is easily destroyed by human activity and the harsh climate slows recovery from human damage, you conclude that this biome is
a desert
51
A biome is described by
broadly similar environmental conditions.
52
Cloud forests are found in the ________ areas in tropical regions.
cool mountainous
53
Soils in tropical rainforests are
thin and nutrient poor
54
Location of specific biomes can be predicted based on
precipitation and temperature
55
Which of the following is an example of a specialization that plants in the desert may have?
storing water in stems or roots, reducing water loss with thick epidermal layers, and salt tolerance
56
Many people in the United States take trips in the spring to see annual flowers that grow and flower before they are shaded by canopy. Where are these people going?
temperate deciduous forests
57
In the graph of precipitation and temperature, desert biomes would fall in the area marked by the letter:
A
58
In the graph of precipitation and temperature, temperate forest biomes would fall in the area marked by the letter:
B
59
Neo and Trinity are in a biome that has relatively stable temperatures and abundant rainfall. They have a graph of precipitation and temperature similar to the one shown. Which letter marks the biome they are located in?
C
60
The longest period of life that a given type of organism can reach is known as
life span
61
Logistic strategies are better adapted to
fairly stable environments
62
An island has formed off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has determined that there is enough land area for a herd of 100 elk, yet they say the carrying capacity is only 60 elk. This inequality can best be explained by the fact that the
Physical factor of space is only one of the determiners for population size in a community.
63
Explosive growth better characterizes logistic growth than exponential growth.
False
64
You are studying an organism that is fairly large, matures slowly, lives fairly long, and cares for its offspring. This organism probably has a(n) ________ population growth strategy.
K-adapted
65
In general, abiotic regulatory factors tend to be ________ while biotic factors tend to be ________.
density-independent; density-dependent
66
Natality is usually
variable, depending on environmental conditions
67
Many species exhibit both exponential (________) and logistic (________) population growth characteristics.
r selected; K selected
68
Which of the following is an abiotic population control mechanism?
water shortages
69
Which of the following organisms would have the highest biotic potential?
mosquitoes
70
In the real world, many factors determine the numbers of organisms in any one population. Yet, a "superfly" with unlimited food and no mortality would show what type of growth?
exponential growth
71
The highest number of game or commercial species that can be harvested in a single season without limiting growth for future seasons is the maximal sustainable yield.
True
72
Which of the following is not a density-dependent population control factor?
drought
73
Widespread starvation is an example of ________ population control.
density-dependent
74
Island biogeography explains the phenomenon of ________ terrestrial species on islands small and far from the mainland when compared to larger islands that are closer to the mainland and have ________ terrestrial species.
fewer; more
75
Genetic diversity is lost in a small population when
only a few individuals survive a catastrophe.
76
A dieback or population crash, often occurs after a species ________ its environmental carrying capacity.
overshoots
77
Which of the following is a biotic population control mechanism?
pathogens
78
Population growth patterns over time typically
exhibit complex patterns produced by complex causes.
79
Exponential growth refers to any pattern of increase of the size of a plant or animal population.
False
80
An example of primary productivity would be
a wild raspberry plant growing 30 grams of new leaf mass during a day of photosynthesis.
81
Where is the largest portion of a human’s microbiome?
the gut
82
A generalist is a species that
occupies a wide range of ecological niches.
83
Intraspecific competition is competition among ________ for resources.
members of a single species
84
Which of the following is NOT a strategy for successfully avoiding interspecific competition?
All of these are strategies for successfully avoiding interspecific competition
85
Territoriality is an important form of ________ for many animal species.
intraspecific competition
86
A biological community's productivity is a measure of
the amount of biomass produced in the community
87
Complexity in an ecological community has to do with the number of
species and each trophic level
88
A community that changes very little over time is said to have great
constancy
89
There are usually many tolerance limits responsible for limiting the number and location of a species. However, some organisms have ________ that limit/limits their distribution.
a specific critical factor
90
Humans can best be described as
generalists
91
Attributes of a broad niche could include an organism having
a wide range of foods eaten
92
Indicator species are important because
their presence indicates something about the ecosystem as a whole
93
Development of an ecological community on a site previously devoid of life is called secondary succession.
False
94
Which of the following fish species would be the best indicator of clean, well-oxygenated water?
Rainbow trout
95
The temperate broad-leaved forest has become the most supportive of human occupation of any major biome.
True
96
Humid tropical forests have extraordinary biological diversity
despite the poor, weathered soils
97
Neo finds himself sweating in a moist forest but there aren't many streams or wetlands. He is amazed by the tremendous amount of biodiversity including an abundance of biting mosquitoes. Has he inadvertently gotten closer to his goal of finding a boreal forest?
no, the description is that of a tropical rainforest
98
In the graph of precipitation and temperature, the area marked D has a
narrow precipitation and temperature range
99
The most important factor in determining the type of biome to develop in a given area of those listed is
precipitation
100
Vertical zonation refers to
vegetation zones defined by elevation.
101
Grasslands typically lack trees because seedlings have difficulty surviving the
frequent occurrence of fire
102
What is the leading cause of land conversion from natural ecosystems to human-driven land use?
agriculture
103
The biome type that has a short growing season and is summer feeding and breeding grounds for caribou and musk-ox is the
Arctic tundra
104
Red winged blackbirds chase away other red wings from the area around their nests. This behavior is called ________ and is an example of ________ competition.
territoriality, intraspecific
105
Which of the following parts of the adaptive cycle model is the phase that most closely resembles primary succession?
rapid growth phase
106
A viceroy butterfly that closely resembles the bad tasting monarch is an example of ________, and the example of beetles that look like stinging wasps is an example of ________.
Batesian mimicry; Batesian mimicry
107
The most common reason that introduced species negatively impact an environment is because they
disrupt preexisting niches
108
Longleaf pine savannas are maintained by regular fire disturbances. These fires burn excess fuel and control competitive species. After a fire, many native plants including wildflowers and other grasses will quickly start to grow back in the cleared forest floor. Of what phase of the adaptive cycle model would this be an example?
release phase
109
Most organisms' niches are controlled by
genetic trait for adaptive characteristics.
110
Which of the following terms refers to the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and keep its fundamental structure or identity?
resilience
111
Which of the following would not be an act of predation?
a crow feeding on a road-kill rabbit
112
________ is the term used to describe two species that look alike and are both danergous or unpalatable.
Mullerian mimicry
113
Predation influences evolution when
prey species develop defensive characteristics over generations.
114
In a biological community where diversity is great, such as a tropical rainforest, the abundance of any one species is likely to be
small
115
Species which are specialists
have narrowly specific habitat requirements.
116
In some species, young individuals float freely as plankton while mature members are fixed on the seafloor. This is an effective strategy because
the different life phases of these species do not compete for food.
117
In some very large trees, there are spaces that are large enough to allow soil to form where a branch meets the trunk of the tree. There are small animals that live in this soil. The soil doesn't impact the tree, but it's a good home for the small animals. This is an example of
commensalism
118
Which of the following is a species interaction in which both species benefit?
mutualism
119
Primary succession occurs when a community develops ________, while secondary succession occurs when one ________.
on bare rock; biological community replaces another
120
An example of primary productivity would be
a wild raspberry plant growing 30 grams of new leaf mass during a day of photosynthesis.
121
An organism’s fertility is ________.
the actual number of offspring produced
122
Which of the following types of population curves would best represent a group of elephants that enter a new, open habitat and become a stable part of that ecosystem?
S-shaped curve
123
Population growth can be affected by the number of resources in the area. In the formula for population growth, this is represented by the variable ________.
K
124
In cases of exponential growth rates, a population _______ each year.
is multiplied by a constant number
125
A collection of separate populations that interact with each other is called a metapopulation.
True
126
Fishing down the food chain refers to
the practice of fishing top predators nearly to extinction then moving on to smaller, less desirable fish.
127
Survivorship is determined by
the percentage of a cohort that survives to a certain age.
128
The carrying capacity of a habitat refers to
the number of animals that the habitat can support.
129
Oysters spawn hundreds of thousands of eggs and sperm into the water column. Some of these eggs will be fertilized and grow to be larvae. In order for larvae to grow to adult oysters, they must land on a hard surface. There are many opportunities for an oyster larva to not reach adulthood. Oysters are represented by a
Type 3 survivorship curve.
130
When the similarities in population increases and decreases in prey and predators, it lead us to the conclusion that
the abundance of both the prey and predator can affect the other species.
131
Natality is usually
variable, depending on environmental conditions.
132
Oysters spawn hundreds of thousands of eggs and sperm into the water column. Some of these eggs will be fertilized and grow to be larvae. Oysters do not participate in rearing or protecting their offspring. Which life history strategy best describes the oyster?
r-selected species
133
In the 19th century, the American bison faced extinction because of overhunting. Very few individuals remained, but because small herds were protected within national parks, the remaining individuals have been able to reproduce to grow the number of individuals. Because the genetic diversity of the current bison population originated from a very small population of bison, this is an example of
a demographic bottleneck
134
A population founded when just a few members of a species survive a catastrophic event or colonize a new habitat that is geographically located from other members of the same species
Demographic bottleneck
135
The gradual changes in gene frequencies in a population due to random events
Genetic drift
136
Early pioneers expand and colonize territory
rapid growth phase
137
Disturbance, rapid change, disruption
release phase
138
Secondary succession, specialization, stability
conservation phase
139
Renewal, growth, invention, innovation
reorganization phase
