Exam 2 Flashcards
Q1: Which is a community-level ecological question?
A: C. How does competition between species influence diversity in a rainforest?
Q2: Which abiotic factor limits cactus distribution in a tropical rainforest?
A: D. Lack of sunlight
Q3: Biogeography is strongly influenced by:
A: C. Plate tectonics and glaciation history
Q4: Niche modeling is useful because:
A: C. It forecasts potential species distributions based on environmental data
Q5: What explains similar desert ecosystems on different continents?
A: C. Convergent evolution
Q6: What drives major climate patterns on Earth?
A: C. Solar radiation and Earth’s tilt/rotation
Q7: What limits species distribution due to interaction with another organism?
A: B. Parasitism
Q8: The fundamental niche of a species is:
A: A. The full range of conditions it can theoretically occupy
Q9: Invasive species challenge traditional biogeography because:
A: C. They spread to new areas outside their native range
Q10: Which ecological level studies energy/nutrient flow?
A: B. Ecosystem
True/False:
- T – A realized niche is always smaller than the fundamental niche.
- T – Glaciation has shaped present-day species distributions.
- F – Ecology studies interactions at multiple levels (organism
population
- T – Rain shadows create dry environments on one side of mountains.
- T – Biotic and abiotic factors interact to influence survival.
Q1: A clumped dispersion pattern might indicate:
A: B. Social behavior or patchy resources
Q2: Density-independent factors include:
A: C. Natural disasters
Q3: What defines carrying capacity (K)?
A: B. Maximum population size the environment can sustain
Q4: What happens when a population exceeds K?
A: B. Resources become limited and population declines
Q5: What causes population cycles (e.g.
hare-lynx)?
A: C. Interactions between predators and prey/resources
Q6: Population momentum refers to:
A: B. Continued growth due to age structure despite reduced fecundity
Q7: Which is a density-dependent factor?
A: B. Competition for food
Q8: What is a metapopulation?
A: B. Populations connected by migration and gene flow
Q9: Which distribution shows even spacing?
A: C. Uniform
Q10: Age structure diagrams predict:
A: B. Future population growth trends
True/False:
- T – Birth
death
- T – Density-dependent regulation increases with population size.
- F – Carrying capacity can change (e.g.
more resources = higher K).
- T – Populations with many young individuals tend to grow rapidly.
- T – Emigration decreases population size.
Q6: Which interaction negatively affects both species?
A: B. Competition
Q7: Competitive exclusion occurs when:
A: B. One outcompetes the other for a resource
Q8: Character displacement is evidence of:
A: A. Niche differentiation from natural selection
Q9: An inducible defense is:
A: B. Triggered by the presence of a predator
Q10: Which is a mutualism?
A: A. Bees pollinating flowers
Q11: Top-down control is exerted by:
A: B. Predators
Q12: Bottom-up control starts with:
A: C. Producers
Q13: Keystone species:
A: A. Have a disproportionate effect on ecosystems
Q14: A trophic cascade results from:
A: B. Changes at one trophic level affecting others
Q15: Which species alters the physical environment?
A: B. Ecosystem engineer
Q16: A disturbance is:
A: B. An event disrupting community structure/function
Q17: Secondary succession:
A: B. Follows a disturbance that leaves soil intact
Q18: Primary succession is driven by:
A: C. Formation of new substrate with no soil
Q19: Species richness is influenced by:
A: A. Island size and distance from mainland
Q20: Island biogeography explains:
A: B. Patterns of species richness
True/False:
- F – Keystone species don’t need large populations (e.g.
sea otters).
- T – Succession can be influenced by chance/history.
- T – Beavers (engineers) reshape environments.
- T – Trophic cascades can affect plants via herbivores.
- T – Species richness is highest near the equator.
