Questions Flashcards
Ecology is not
the study of interactions among organisms and their environments.
environmental science.
a subdiscipline of biology.
a basic science.
environmental science.
Which of the following is not necessary for formation of prevailing easterly and westerly winds on a planet (the trade winds)?
The planet is round.
The planet is spinning.
The sun’s differential heating of earth, causing air near the equator to heat up and rise, and eventually fall back down
The tilt of the planet on its axis.
The tilt of the planet on its axis.
If ____ is strong, an allele that decreases an individual’s fitness has a chance of becoming fixed in the population. This is more likely if the population size is ____.
genetic drift; small
genetic drift; large
natural selection; small
gene flow; large
genetic drift; small
Selective pressure can come from:
Group of answer choices
(a) the environment
(b) other organisms
(c) both a and b
(c) both a and b
Pick whether each of the following items describe a pool of carbon or a flux of carbon. Units for each variable are in parentheses.
Atmoshpere (g C per m3)
Respiration (g C per day)
Herbivory (mg C per m² per day)
A longhorn (kg C)
Pool
Flux
Flux
Pool
If the NPP of a grassland is 200 gC m-2 yr-1 and autotrophic respiration is 80 gC m-2 yr-1, what is the GPP of the grassland?
NPP=GPP-AR
200=GPP-80
280=GPP
Which of the following is part of the calculation of NEE (net ecosystem exchange) but is not part of the calculation of NPP (net primary productivity)?
Autotrophic respiration
Heterotrophic respiration
Photosynthesis
Heterotrophic respiration
Which of the following are general plant adaptations that might be found in dry environments? Choose all that apply.
Sclerophyllous leaves
Evergreen broad leaves
Tall-statured trees
Succulent leaves
Sclerophyllous leaves
Succulent leaves
In general, more trees are found in biomes with ________ rainfall. In addition, fewer trees are found in biomes with __________ fire.
higher; less
lower; more
lower; less
higher; more
higher; more
When the precipitation line drops below the temperature line on a climate diagram, this generally means:
There is insufficient water to support plant growth
It is too cold to support plant growth
There is insufficient water to support plant growth
What is the main new source of phosphorus (P) as well as many other micronutrients to ecosystems? (That is, not recycled phosphorus, but new P that enters an ecosystem.)
Precipitation
Bedrock
Atmosphere
Bedrock
The river continuum concept describes how the dominant organisms in streams shift from ______ to _____ and ____ with increasing stream order.
collectors, grazers, shredders
grazers, collectors, shredders
shredders, grazers, collectors
collectors, shredders, grazers
shredders, grazers, collectors
In an ecosystem nutrient cycle, mineralization is:
the transformation of organic molecules to inorganic molecules
the transformation of inorganic molecules to organic molecules
the process of bacteria incorporating nutrients into their cells
a pathway of nutrient loss from an ecosystem
the transformation of inorganic molecules to organic molecules
How each of factors below apply to this process of adaptive evolution in speed up, slow down, or have mixed effects on the pace of evolution?
Big population size
Very high mutation rate
Immigration/ emigration
Environmental heterogeneity
Big population size: speeds up
Very high mutation rate: mixed effects (mostly disadvantegous alleles and favorable alles)
Immigration/ emigration: slow down
Environmental heterogenity: slow down
Which factor would be most helpful in speeding pace of adaptive evolution?
Big population size
More beneficial mutations, effective natural selection
Give biome will see lakes with these characteristics
needle leaved
sclerophyllous leaves
broad leaved deciduous
broad leaved evergeen
boreal (taiga)
temperate shrubland/woodland
temperate deciduous trees
tropical rainforest
List two major aspects of physical environment that are useful for predicting ecology of aquatic environment but less important for terrestrial biomes
Light penetration
Water temperature
Salinity
Velocity of water
Depth
Whey are there different controls on ecology between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems?
Due to water have higher heat capacity so less variation in temperature
Long-lived leaves often have high C:N ratios while short-lived leaves have low C:N ratios. What might that mean for decomposition and N availability in boreal forests?
Boreal forests usually have ____-lived leaves
Those leaves are likely to have _______ C:N ratios.
Microbes will/will not use most of the detritus N.
Soils will/will not have a lot of N available to plants
If you have a compost pile with earthworms and a compost pile without
earthworms, which one will have a lower NEE? (Earthworms are detritivores.
Draw out a simple diagram with pools and fluxes for each pile, and recall the
equation for NEE. Even if you are not sure, what factors would be important in
answering this question?)
Discussion questions
long, high
will
will not
compost pile with earthworms (subtracting more heterotrophic respiration)
