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BIO 141 > FINAL EXAM > Flashcards

FINAL EXAM Flashcards

1
Q

the formation of the great desert regions on the Earth is/are a result of :

A

Hadley cell circulation

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2
Q

Plants need nitrogen atoms to manufacture proteins. Plants can get nitrogen:

A

~ From the decomposition of protein molecules in dead organic matter.

~From chemically-manufactured fertilizer

~From the conversion of N2 to NH4 and NO3 by certain bacteria (peanuts. example.. only certain kind of organisms can convert nitrogen.)

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3
Q

A species’ fundamental niche includes…

A

~It’s position in a food chain or web.

~Only the habitat in which it is found

~The place it hides from predators

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4
Q

A species’ realized niche is :

A

~The geographical area in which it can be found

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5
Q

What are the units of gross primary productivity?

A

mass (grams), time (per year), space (meters squared)

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6
Q

What is Gross Primary Productivity?

A

Density of carbon production annually.

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7
Q

The inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels…

A

~is generally about 2% for endotherms, irrespective of trophic level. ( b/c warm blooded organisms waste a lot of their energy as heat)

~ultimately limits the number of trophic levels in ecosystems.

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8
Q

What is true about non-native species?

A

~non-native species can out-compete native species and cause extinctions.

~non-native species can alter fire regimes and nutrient cycles
(ex. nothing wants to eat english ivy, sucks up nutrients from soil, expensive to remove.)

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9
Q

Limiting factors within marine biomes:

A

~nutrients
~light

temperature is not a limiting factor because there are no highs or lows, there are no fluctuations, it stays constant.

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10
Q

Ecology is

A

~the study of interactions that influence the distribution and abundance of organisms

~the study of the relationships between living things and their environment

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11
Q

What is generally true about tropical environments?

A

They’re warmer because more direct sunlight on equator. They’re wetter because of the ITCZ

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12
Q

To what does “Life History Theory” refer?

A

~a model that examines the timing and intensity of reproduction over an individual’s lifetime.

~Food/Sex/Death” the tradeoffs of living and reproducing.

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13
Q

Natural selection drives patterns of biological evolution by acting directly upon…

A

Individuals!

1) variation in heritable traits
2) differential reproduction
3) some traits better represented in subsequent generations
4) Traits are called adaptions, changes in traits over time=evolution.

selection acts on individuals not groups.

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14
Q

Energy vs. Matter

A

Energy gets used up, must get replenished.

Matter gets recycled via decomposition

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15
Q

Which of the following biomes has the highest level of precipitation?

1) Temperate grassland
2) Tropical rain forest
3) Savanna
4) Desert

A

Tropical rainforest.

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16
Q

When deciding whether to test an ecological hypothesis using a lab or a field experiment:

a) It is safer to generalize from the results of a lab study than those of a field study.
b) it is safer to generalize from the results of a field study than those of a lab study.

c) whether a study is conducted in the lab or the field does not influence our ability to
generalize from its results.

A

It is safer to generalize from the results of a field study than of a lab study.

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17
Q

The Scientific Method, why do we need science?

A

*Science is there to help us better understand the natural world.

1) Make observations, look for patterns.
2) Ask questions about those patterns (“what, why, how?”
3) Generate Hypothesis (a testable explanation)
4) Make Predictions based on hypothesis
5) Gather more information: tests, data

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18
Q

TRUE OR FALSE: Scientists follow the scientific method to prove that a particular theory is correct.

A

FALSE. Scientists don’t prove anything, they can only disprove the hypotheses.

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19
Q

Iteroparity

A

an organism breeds several times during its lifetime.

examples: steelhead, humans

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20
Q

Semelparity

A

an organism breeds once and then dies

examples: salmon, yucca

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21
Q

A mean without variance means…

A

NOTHING.

22
Q

A comparative study of soil pH in areas where English Ivy is naturally present and absent is
an example of WHAT approach? OBSERVATIONAL or EXPERIMENTAL (circle one).

A general strength of this
approach is:

A general weakness of such an approach is:

A

Observational

A general strength of this approach is:
*** observing in nature without manipulation can show you a lot about what is naturally occurring.

A general weakness of such an approach is:
*** without any kind of manipulation and a controlled variable you can’t be sure that your data is accurate.

23
Q

What is decomposition?

A

Decomposition is the breakdown of organic matter in dead organisms to their elemental state.

24
Q

Why is decomposition an important process in ecosystems?

A

This is important for ecosystems because it recycles elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, and
carbon that are essential for life processes.

25
Q

If the process of decomposition suddenly ceased, what would be the consequences within an ecosystem?

A

If decomposition stopped, there would be two major
results:

1) there would be a huge pile-up of dead bodies, since these would no longer decompose,
creating a limit on space availability.

2) there would be a severe limitation on the availability of
nutrients that would lead to drastic reductions in primary productivity, leading to the collapse of
trophic pyramids/food webs.

26
Q

Endotherm

A

Endotherms use internally generated heat to maintain
body temperature.

Their body temperature tends to stay steady regardless of environment.

~body temperature is usually much warmer than the temperature of the environment and usually stays about the same temperature.

~Endotherms are called “warm-blooded” animals.

27
Q

Ectotherm

A

Ectotherms depend mainly on external heat sources, and their body temperature changes with the temperature of the environment.

28
Q

What is top-down control?

A

When a top predator controls structure or population dynamics of an ecosystem.

example: kelp forest ecosystem (sea otters

29
Q

Which of these indicate top- down control of prey populations?

a) When sea otters are exterminated from an area, the sea urchin population increases.

b) When sea stars are removed from intertidal habitats, mussel populations increase and invertebrate
species diversity falls.

c) On an island where lynx (predator) are absent, snowshoe hare (prey) populations fluctuate cyclically.
d) When grass becomes more abundant, as in a high-rainfall year, rabbit numbers increase.

A

a) When sea otters are exterminated from an area, the sea urchin population increases.

b) When sea stars are removed from intertidal habitats, mussel populations increase and invertebrate
species diversity falls.

30
Q

What is a keystone species?

A

A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

31
Q

A keystone predator within a natural habitat does what?

A

increases the biodiversity of its competitors within a community.

32
Q

Crouses’ study of loggerhead sea turtles demonstrated that:

A

~ the use of turtle excluder devices on shrimp trawlers can reverse a declining turtle population trend.

~ population modeling can be a good way to test the effectiveness of different management strategies.

33
Q

Adaptive responses to exploitation by a consumer that might evolve over time include:

a. plants producing toxic chemicals that deter herbivores
b. prey species mimicking the appearance of other, unpalatable prey.
c. stronger, longer legs that increase speed.
d. extinction of the predator.
e. None of the above.

A

a. plants producing toxic chemicals that deter herbivores
b. prey species mimicking the appearance of other, unpalatable prey.
c. stronger, longer legs that increase speed.

34
Q

Predator and prey populations may coexist in natural environments because:

a. The complexity of the environment prevents predators from being able to find, and thus to eat, the
entire prey population.

b. Individual predators deliberately avoid eating all of their prey to maintain a food supply for the future.
c. Both individual predators and individual prey receive a net benefit from their interaction.
d. Predators often switch to alternative food source when a particular prey species becomes scarce.
e. None of the above

A

a. The complexity of the environment prevents predators from being able to find, and thus to eat, the
entire prey population.

d. Predators often switch to alternative food source when a particular prey species becomes scarce.

35
Q

What contributes to quantitative estimates of diversity?

A

1) species richness
2) species evenness
3) the proportional representation of each species within the community.

36
Q

What’s a good way to tell if species X and Y are competing for food?

A

Remove one of the species and see if the number of other increase

37
Q

Niche partitioning

A

the process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist.

Example: (birds with similar dietary needs within a forest occupy different parts of trees)

38
Q

population oscillations are most commonly shown by

A

a predator and a prey species

39
Q

Obligate mutualism

A

one organism cannot survive without the other.

both organisms are obligated, or forced to, rely on one another.

(ex. ant and acacia plant)

40
Q

Facultative mutualism

A

both organisms do not depend on one another for existence.

(plants producing fruits eaten by birds) “can benefit because birds will disperse seeds, but ultimately not dependent.

41
Q

mutualism is considered a ______ interaction between two species.

A

+/+

42
Q

Exploitative interspecific competition

A

also referred to as resource competition, is a form of competition in which one species consumes and either reduces or more efficiently uses a shared limiting resource and therefore depletes the availability of the resource for the other species. NOt actually fighting for it., its indirect. ( example plant species that sucks nutrients out of soil faster than others)

43
Q

Interspecific competition vs Intraspecific competition

A

When it occurs between individuals of different species it is interspecific competition.

When these organisms belong to the same species it is referred to as intraspecific competition.

44
Q

What term is this an example of ?

a dove species is seen in a broader range of habitats when another species is absent

A

competitive release

45
Q

what term is this an example of ?

Juveniles are excluded from a habitat by adults of the same spp.

A

intraspecific competition

46
Q

areas where prey may escape their predators

A

refugia

47
Q

a coral reef fish with a planktonic larval phase is an example of what kind of popuation?

A

an open population.

48
Q

the shift as juveniles transition into the adult population

A

recruitment

49
Q

a predicted lack of coexistence between two species that compete for the same
resources (i.e., interspecific competition)

A

competitive exclusion principle

50
Q

Why is the competitive exclusion principle less severe than the intraspecific competition based on the niche theory?

A

because of things such as niche partitioning and disturbance, keystone predation, character displacement.

BIO 141 (1 decks)

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