General Ecology Finals Part 1 Flashcards
Ecology
includes the study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
The abiotic components of forest include
soil salinity and pH
If you are interested in the drought tolerance of zebras, you study:
organismal ecology
Patterns of species change and succession are one focus of
community ecology
In the US, there are over ___________ invasive species are recognized.
4500
Which factors are the most devastative for the global change?
Habitat distruction
E. O. Wilson has referred to the threats of life on Earth with the acronym
RHINO
LION
HIPPO
FISH
HIPPO
What is the difference between ecology and environmental science?
Ecology is larger than Environmental Science ; Ecology has a partial overlap with Environmental Science ; Ecology is within Environmental Science; Environmental science is included in Ecology
Ecology is within Environmental Science
Which environment has the highest net primary production based on the area on Earth? wetland, estuary, tropical rainforest, open ocean
open ocean
Which of these organisms is a heterotroph?
Diatom
Moss
Oak tree
Fish
Fish
The production efficiency is _________ in ectotherms than in endotherms. higher, lower, the same
higher
A caterpillar ingests 500J from its food, 200J is used in cellular respiration, 180J of feces is produced and 120J goes to growth, what is the production efficiency?
38%
The trophic level transfer efficiency averages about
0.1%
1%
10%
50%
90%
10%
Consumption efficiencies vary dramatically between different ecosystems. In a grassland ecosystem, the consumption efficiency is ________ than a tropical rainforest ecosystem.
higher
lower
higher
Which organisms are the most important consumers of energy in a Estero Bay mangrove forest?
mangroves and algae
shrimps and nematodes
fish
bacteria
mangroves and algae
If there are 20 species in a food web, what are the potential number of links, assuming links go only in one direction?
190
If there are 20 species and 20 links in a food web, the actual connectance is:
0.105
If there are 20 species and 40 actual links in a food web, the linkage density is:
2
Tropical fruit trees are vital to the survival of toucans, monkeys and other fruit eaters and can be thought of as
Flagship species
Secondary producers
Keystone species
Ecological engineers
Indicator species
Keystone Species
Species whose status provides information on the overall health of an ecosystem are called
Flagship species
Keystone species
Indicator species
Heterotrophs
Indicator species
The Florida Panther, a symbol of Florida’s conservation campaign, may be called a(n)
Flagship species
Keystone species
Heterotrophs
Indicator species
Flagship Species
Species within a community that have a role out of proportion with their abundance or biomass are called
Flagship species
Secondary producers
Keystone species
Indicator species
Keystone species
Ecosystem engineers
have a role out of proportion with their abundance or biomass.
have habitat requirements so large that protecting them would protect other species.
provide information on the overall health of an ecosystem.
create, modify and maintain habitat.
create, modify and maintain habitat.
Which organism is the best indicator species for air pollution?
corals
polar bears
peppered moths
peppered moths
Net primary production is larger than gross primary production.
True
False
False
Coastal and estuary water is limited by
phoshorus
nitrogen
carbon
iron
nitrogen
Ocean primary productivity is generally high in coastal zone and _______ .
high latitude zone
low latitude zone
high latitude zone
Leaves contain four different components, water-soluble materials, cellulose and hemicellulose, microbial products and what?
Amino acid
Sugar
Lignin
Lignin
Decomposition involves three different processes: leaching, fragmentation and what?
Primary production
Dehydration
Chemical alteration
Chemical alteration
In terrestrial ecosystems, detrivores carry out ______ of the consumption of the plant matter.
5-10%
20-30%
80-90%
Which organism is not important in the process of chemical alteration in a decomposition process?
earthworms
bacteria
fungi
Earthworms
Plant biomass is nutrient-rich and decomposed quickly than animal carcasses.
True
False
False
The growth of yield of a plant is limited by that factor which is present in a relatively small amount (limiting factor). This is an explanation of principle known as
Theory of relativity
Liebig’s law of the minimum
Richardson’s law of the minimum
Liebig’s law of the minimum
The concentration of certain chemicals, such as DDT, in higher trophic levels, is known as:
Eutrophication
Biomagnification
Biogeochemical cycling
Energy transfer
Turnover
Biomagnification
In Florida, __% of the freshwater we use comes from underground aquifers.
30
50
90
90
What is a major problem with the water cycle for Lake Chad, Africa?
dam construction
drought caused by global climate change
irrigation
overfishing
irrigation
In Florida, ___% of the freshwater we use comes from underground aquifers.
25
50
90
90
Which of the following nutrients does not cycle globally?
Carbon
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Sulfur
Water
Phosphorus
Microbial transformation of ammonia to nitrate is called:
nitrogen-fixation
nitrification
denitrification
nitrification
Denitrification is prominent in
aerobic environments
anaerobic environments
oligotrophic environments
anaerobic environment
Some cyanobacteria have the capability to perform
nitrification
denitrification
nitrogen-fixation
nitrogen fixation
Acid rain in the U.S. has _________ .
increased
decreased
decreased
Which biogeochemical cycle is the least important for acid rain pollution?
nitrogen cycle
phosphorus cycle
sulfur cycle
phosphorus cycle
Deforestation may __________ nitrogen runoff.
increase
decrease
increase
Now _______ fix nitrogen more than the natural microbial process.
blue-green algae
human
domestic animals
acid rain
humans
The growth and biomass of forest trees could be recorded based on
EEH
DBH
DCH
DBL
BDH
DBH
Dissolved oxygen concentrations below ____ mg/L stress most warm water species of fish.
1
3
5
10
3
Conductivity is mainly and directly affected by
the presence of inorganic dissolved solids.
primary production.
oxygen concentration.
primary production
When the pH of Florida pond become the highest in a hot summer day?
early morning
noon
late afternoon
midnight
midnight
If there were 1 g/m2 of fish and 12 g/m2 of zooplankton produced in a lake over a year, at trophic level n, and 100 g/m2 of phytoplankton production, at trophic level at n-1, the trophic-level transfer efficiency between phytoplankton and zooplankton would be ___%.
12%
Charles R. Darwin
sailed on a three year survey around the world. ; had a thorough understanding of genetics.; formulated a theory of natural selection. ; examined fossil beds in China.
knew little of geological change.
formulated a theory of natural selection.
Who traveled the Amazon and conceived the idea of natural selection nearly the same time as Charles Darwin?
AR Wallace
GJ Mendel
JB Lamarck
EO Wilson
AR Wallace
Most of Darwin’s focus was on the Galapagos and where?
South America
North Africa
Europe
Antarctica
South America
Which explanation does not fit to Darwin’s natural selection theory?
Purpose & effort influence the next generation.
A better-adapted organism would acquire more resources.
A better-adapted organism would acquire more offspring.
Purpose & effort influence the next generation.
The first person to publish a theory that species change over time was
Lamarck
Plato
Wallace
Mendel
Darwin
Lamarck
An individual with two identical copies of a gene is said to be
homozygous
heterozygous
monozygous
cryptozygous
homozygous
A large effective population size is important so that a species: will not lose large amounts of genetic diversity in the near future, can maintain an adequate habitat range, can minimize edge effects, does not change its trophic relationship.
will not lose large amounts of genetic diversity in the near future.
The Hardy-Weinberg equation states that p2 +2pq + q2 = 1; the genotype frequency of heterozygotes is represented by
p2
p2 + q2
p2 + 2pq
2pq
2pq
In the Hardy-Weinberg equation, the letters p and q represent
the number of individuals of different phenotypes in a population.
the number of individuals of different genotypes in a population.
the frequencies of individuals of different genotypes in a population.
frequencies of alleles in a population.
frequencies of alleles in a population.
Below is a list of the phenomenon that can occur in a population, which of these would violate the conditions for the Hardy-Weinberg equation?
Migration does not occur between different populations.
Mating is nonrandom.
No new mutations arise.
Natural selection is not occurring.
The population is large.
Mating is nonrandom.
If a population is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, this implies that
the population is very ancient, one or more of the conditions required for equilibrium are being violated and the population is evolving, the population is going extinct, the population is fragmented.
one or more of the conditions required for equilibrium are being violated and the population is evolving.
What is not a recognized pattern of natural selection?
Balancing
Evolutionary
Stabilizing
Directional
Disruptive
Evolutionary
The change in color of peppered moths in polluted areas is an example of which pattern of natural selection?
Evolutionary
Balancing
Disruptive
Directional
Stabilizing
Directional
Directional selection is exhibited by:
Clutch size in birds
Sickle-cell disease in human
Gray and Himalayan rabbits
Beak size of Medium ground finch
Beak size of Medium ground finch
Stabilizing selection favors:
Intermediate phenotypes
Phenotypes at an extreme
Genetic diversity
The survival of two phenotypes
Intermediate phenotypes
An example of stabilizing selection involves:
Color frequency in aphids
Clutch size in birds
Beak size in Galapagos finches
Sickle cell frequency in humans
Color frequency in peppered moths
Clutch size in birds
Under the condition of the malaria prevalence, which genotype shows a higher fitness?
Homozygote with dominant alleles
Homozygote with recessive alleles
Heterozygote
Heterozygote
_______________ speciation involves spatial separation of populations by a geographical barrier.
Semipatric
Allelopathic
Allopatric
Sympatric
Allopatric
Individual herbivorous insects are restricted to individual host plant species. Which speciation was involved in this case?
Allopatric
Semipatric
Allelopathic
Sympatric
Sympatric
Which type of speciation occurred between Panamic porkfish (Anisotremus taeniatus) and Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus)?
Allelopathic
Semipatric
Sympatric
Allopatric
Allopatric
The ______________ species concept advocates that members of a single species are identified by a unique combination of characters.
biological
evolutionary
ecological
phylogenetic
phylogenetic
George Gaylord Simpson (1961) proposed the _____________ species concept whereby a species is distinct from other lineages if it has its own ______________ tendencies and historical fate.
evolutionary
biological
phylogenetic
ecological
evolutionary
What is the best-known species concept?
evolutionary species concept
biological species concept
ecological species concept
biological species concept
The cotton mouse, Peromyscus gossypinus, exists as 6 subspecies. Each subspecies possesses a slightly different coat color which resembles the color of the local habitat and sometimes different lengths of tail and hindfeet which are related to climbing ability in different habitats. Which species concept was used for this study?
phylogenetic
biological
ecological
evolutionary
phylogenetic
American biologist Leigh Van Valen (1976) proposed the _______________ species concept in which species occupy a distinct ecological niche, a unique set of habitat requirements.
biological
ecological
evolutionary
phylogenetic
ecological
The greatest threat to most species
habitat destruction.
invasive species.
direct exploitation.
pollution.
__________ ecology is the study of how behavior contributes to the differential survival and reproductions of organisms.
Behavioral
In nature, which fitness has the higher priority?
Intermediate fitness
Personal fitness
Inclusive fitness
Personal fitness
Males of which species usually kill infants when they take over groups of females from other males?
Common cuckoo
lion
naked mole rat
Gray wolf
lion
What is NOT a major issue of small animal population?
disequilibrium
inbreeding
genetic drift
disequilibrium
A behavior that benefits others at a cost to oneself is
benevolence.
altruism.
mutualism.
cooperation.
altruism.
The raising of alarm calls by sentries in Belding’s ground squirrel is NOT an example of
kin selection.
inclusive fitness.
eusociality.
altruism.
In a diploid organism, the coefficient of relatedness, r, betwen father and daughter is:
0.5
0.75
1.0
0.25
0.5
The system of sex discrimination in which some offspring are haploid and others diploid is referred to as
Haplodiploidy.
Viviparity.
Eusociality.
Dihaploidy.
Haplodiploidy.
In a haplodiploid organism, the coefficient of relatedness, r, between father and sons is:
0.25
0.5
0.125
0
0
The total number of copies of genes passed on through reproductive output and through relatives is termed
inclusive fitness
individual selection
Reciprocal altruism
inclusive fitness
According to kin selection, a cat should die to save the life of
eight cousins.
one brother.
three nephews.
two uncles.
The selection that lowers an individual’s own fitness but enhances that of a relative is known as _____ selection.
kin
Cooperative predators may perform worse than solitary predators
when the group reaches the optimal group size.
when the group size goes over the stable group size.
when they contain young individuals.
when the group size goes over the stable group size.
Why might unrelated individuals engage in altruistic acts?
The individuals are part of the same large flock.
If it is possible they may mate with each other.
If they are trying to mate with each other.
If the altruism is likely to be reciprocated.
If the altruism is likely to be reciprocated.
Which conclusion can be drawn from the hawk/dove game?
ESS is usually 100% hawk, 100% dove or 100% bourgeois.
ESS is dependent on the value of the rewards.
Fighting strategy is independent of what others are doing.
ESS is dependent on the value of the rewards.
In a contest where the reward for winning is +100, the cost of injury is -50, the cost of the display is -20 and loses get 0, on average, who gets the largest payoff?
a mixture of hawks & doves
hawks
doves
In a group of pigeons,, if each pigeon occasionally looks up to scan for a hawk, then the bigger the group the more likely one bird will spot the hawk early enough for the flock to take flight. This is known as the ________ eyes hypothesis.
many
Hamilton proposed that an altruistic gene will be favored by natural selection when:
B is the benefit of the recipient, C is the cost incurred by the donor.
rB>C
Br-C = 0
r=C/B
B=C/r
C>Br
rB>C
Female sticklebacks select males based on:
nesting and dancing skills
the size of the nuptial gift
tail feather adornments
quality of songs
What is the effect of polygyny on a population’s genetic composition?
effective population size will be smaller than actual population size.
effective population size will be greater than actual populations size.
effective population size will be smaller than actual population size.
In polygynous mating system:
Many different females mate with many different males.
One male mates with one female.
One male mates with many different females.
One male mates with many different females.
In what type of mating system would sexual dimorphism be unlikely?
monogamy
polygyny
polyandry
monogamy
Eusociality is common in
Aloe
Himeroptera
Ursus
Himeroptera
Selfish-herd theory was proposed by
William Hamilton
J. B. Lamarck
Gregor J. Mendel
William Hamilton
