Quiz 1

Question 1

An explanation of some aspect of the natural world that has been substantiated via repeated experiments or testing is

a) An hypothesis
b) A theory
c) A law
d) An experiment

Answer 1

a) An hypothesis

Question 2

The movement of soil over permafrost is known as

a) Gelifluction
b) Permaflux
c) Slippage
d) Gibbering

Answer 2

a) Gelifluction

Question 3

A form of natural selection in which characteristics preferred by one sex (e.g. bright plumage, deeper vocalisation) are passed down to subsequent generations is

a) Peacocking
b) Reproductive senescence
c) Sexual reproduction
d) Sexual selection

Answer 3

d) Sexual selection

Question 4

Of the 5-30 million species estimated to live on Earth, how many have been formally described?

a) 4.1 - 30 million
b)
c)
d) 1.7 million

Answer 4

d) 1.7-2 million

Question 5

The international CITES convention aims to limit what?

a) Trade in Endangered Species
b) Overuse of Tourism and Ecotourism Sites
c) Terrorism in European Society
d) Invasive species

Answer 5

a) Trade in Endangered Species

Question 6

N=NM/R is a formula used to estimate population size and is known as the

a) Pradel model
b) Lincoln-Peterson method
c) Popan method
d) Kaplan-Meier method

Answer 6

b) Lincoln-Peterson method

Question 7

The rationale to conserve biodiversity based on its inherent worth, independent of its value to anyone is its

a) Utilitarian value
b) Extrinsic value
c) Intrinsic value
d) Ecosystem service value

Answer 7

c) Intrinsic value

Question 8

The non-material benefits people gain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experience are

a) Biodiversity services
b) Ecosystem services
c) Cultural services
d) Functional services

Answer 8

b) Ecosystem services

Question 9

How many words were known and understood by Alex the African grey parrot?

Answer 9

100

Question 10

The intentional movement and release of an organism inside its indigenous range from which it has disappeared is

Answer 10

Reintroduction

Question 11

The latitudinal diversity gradient suggests species richness is likely to be highest where?

Answer 11

Equator

Question 12

Changes in gene frequency in small, isolated populations due to random sampling of genes between populations is known as

Answer 12

Genetic drift

Question 13

Which is the most effective method of controlling introduced red foxes in Australia?

Answer 13

Poison meat baits

Question 14

Which of these species is generally considered a flagship species?

Answer 14

Giant panda

Question 15

What is detection error in occupancy studies?

Answer 15

A recorded absence may in fact be a non-detection of available individuals, and not a true absence

Question 16

The method of estimating population characteristics from a sample by choosing the values of the parameters that will maximize the probability of getting the particular sample actually obtained from the population is known as

Answer 16

Maximum likelihood estimation

Question 17

Occupancy is

Answer 17

The proportion of an area occupied by a species or the faction of landscape units where the species is present.

Question 18

The theory where animals find, capture and consume food containing the most energy in the least amount of time possible is

Answer 18

Optimal foraging

Question 19

Which of these is a scansorial species?

Answer 19

Koala

Question 20

An index of species in a community that takes account of both species richness and the relative abundance of species is

Answer 20

Species diversity

Question 21

Similarities that appear independently in more than one type of organism is

Answer 21

Convergence

Question 22

You cannot draw wider inferences from a study that lacks

Answer 22

Replication

Question 23

The scientific term for the claw of an arthropod is a

Answer 23

Chela

Question 24

What is the world’s largest chameleon?

Answer 24

Parson’s chameleon

Question 25

The wild version of the llama is the

Answer 25

Guanaco

Question 26

The treaty that countries commit to maintaining the ecological character of wetlands of international importance is named after which town, where the treaty was ratified?

Answer 26

Ramsar

Question 27

Who categorised biodiversity into alpha, beta and gamma in 1972?

Answer 27

RH Whittaker

Question 28

What birds are reputed to have a skeleton that weighs less than their skeleton?

Answer 28

Frigate birds

Question 29

What type of competition is characterised by competition for a resource that is inadequate for the needs of all, but is partitioned equally among contestants, so no competitor obtains the amount it needs and in extreme cases all die?

Answer 29

Scramble competition

Question 30

Auks were once so common they were used as bait by fisherman and ships were easily provisioned from nesting colonies. What caused the extinction of the great auk Pinguinus impennis?

Answer 30

Human overharvesting

Question 31

What is the largest bird capable of hovering in still air?

Answer 31

Pied kingfisher

Question 32

A species capable of exploiting a pioneer environment in which the ecological strategy is to colonise, reproduce at high level and emigrate rather than to invest heavily in parenting is

Answer 32

An r-strategy

Question 33

A one-sidedly harmful relationship between dissimilar organisms is

Answer 33

Amensalism

Question 34

An organisms function, role or position in an ecosystem is its

Answer 34

Niche

Question 35

Toxic habitats that are deficient in nutrients are

Answer 35

Dystrophic