Quiz Questions Unit 2

Question 1

Zero population growth happens when
A) birth rates equal death rates.
B) birth rates are higher than death rates.
C) death rates equal immigration rates.
D) birth rates are lower than death rates.

Answer 1

A) birth rates equal death rates.

Question 2

Worldwide, most human populations are located close to:
A) mountains.
B) deserts.
C) oceans or rivers.
D) rainforests.

Answer 2

C) oceans or rivers.

Question 3

What is a significant pronatalist pressure in less developed countries like India?
A) the immigration rate
B) replacement fertility rate
C) childhood mortality rate
D) population momentum

Answer 3

C) childhood mortality rate

Question 4

Of all the factors cited for Kerala’s high quality of life and decreasing population rates, _____ ranked as the most significant.
A) increased child welfare
B) education of women
C) access to health care
D) land reform policies

Answer 4

B) education of women

Question 5

The reason that economic stability leads to population stability is due to:
A) increased death rates.
B) cultural norms.
C) more money.
D) better health.

Answer 5

D) better health.

Question 6

When did the world’s urban population exceed that of its rural population?
A) 2004
B) 2008
C) 1986
D) It hasn’t happened yet

Answer 6

B) 2008

Question 7

What is the urban heat island effect?
A) when urban areas are warmer than the surrounding countryside
B) when countries build cities on islands
C) when islands cause heat waves that reach the urban areas
D) when the surrounding countryside is warmer than the urban areas

Answer 7

A) when urban areas are warmer than the surrounding countryside

Question 8

Environmental justice is the concept that:
A) most communities have only a few people deciding what is best for their environment.
B) access to a clean, healthy environment is a basic human right.
C) everyone should be living in an urban area.
D) amenities can be placed anywhere as long as everyone can reach them.

Answer 8

B) access to a clean, healthy environment is a basic human right.

Question 9

Which of the following explains why urban dwellers typically have a lower ecological footprint than suburban dwellers?
A) fewer problems with waste disposal
B) more mass transit travel
C) more personal vehicle travel
D) larger living spaces in multifamily buildings

Answer 9

B) more mass transit travel

Question 10

What is a societal benefit of green spaces?
A) stormwater runoff reduction
B) wildlife habitat
C) community involvement
D) physical activity opportunities

Answer 10

C) community involvement

Question 11

Clown fish generally have what type of symbiotic relationship with sea anemones?
A) Facultative mutualism.
B) Obligate mutualism.
C) Obligate commensalism.
D) Facultative parasitism.

Answer 11

A) Facultative mutualism.

Question 12

Community ecologists study all of the _____ in a specific area.
A) nutrient cycles
B) environments
C) populations
D) biomes

Answer 12

C) populations

Question 13

The role a species plays in its community, including how it receives energy and nutrients is called its:
A) population.
B) niche.
C) ecology.
D) habitat.

Answer 13

B) niche.

Question 14

Which of the following is a characteristic of a niche generalist?
A) has a specific food source
B) cannot switch food sources
C) has a very specific habitat
D) uses a wide variety of resources

Answer 14

D) uses a wide variety of resources

Question 15

A species that is vulnerable to ecosystem changes and can give us advance warning of a problem in that ecosystem is a/an:
A) keystone species.
B) food chain species.
C) indicator species.
D) producer species

Answer 15

C) indicator species.

Question 16

What effect does higher species richness and evenness generally have on a community?
A) There is less matter and energy brought into the community.
B) The community has a simpler food web.
C) The community is less likely to collapse in a disaster.
D) There is less overall diversity in the community

Answer 16

C) The community is less likely to collapse in a disaster.

Question 17

Students inventoried the species of trees in a patch of forest near their school. They counted 55 trees and identified 12 different species of trees. Most of the 55 individual trees were either red oaks or scarlet oaks; other species were represented by less than 3 individuals each. They then inventoried a patch of forest of equal size in a nearby national forest and found 80 trees representing 28 species of trees, and there were 2 - 4 individual trees for each species in the patch.

Compared to the forest near the school, the national forest has:
A) lower species richness but greater species evenness.
B) lower species richness and evenness.
C) greater species richness but lower species evenness.
D) greater species richness and evenness.

Answer 17

D) greater species richness and evenness.

Question 18

A new neighborhood is being built in a woodland area. Many of the woodland trees are removed to create space for the neighborhood. Which of the following would increase as a result of this development?
A) species diversity
B) core habitat
C) pioneer species
D) edge habitat

Answer 18

D) edge habitat

Question 19

When individuals of the same species are trying to get a limited resource for themselves, what is the interaction called?
A) resource partitioning
B) intraspecific competition
C) commensalism
D) interspecific competition

Answer 19

B) intraspecific competition

Question 20

Pioneer species usually seen in primary succession are:
A) grasses.
B) lichens.
C) trees.
D) small shrubs.

Answer 20

B) lichens.

Question 21

The variety of all life on Earth is called
A) biodiversity.
B) ecological diversity.
C) genetic diversity.
D) community diversity.

Answer 21

A) biodiversity.

Question 22

Which taxonomic group has the most known species (and probably the most total species, if we had a tally of them all)?
A) plants
B) worms
C) vertebrates
D) insects

Answer 22

D) insects

Question 23

The most biodiverse ecosystems of the world include which of the following?A) boreal forests
B) open ocean
C) tropical rain forests
D) deserts

Answer 23

C) tropical rain forests

Question 24

Which of the following is an ecosystem supporting service?
A) wool
B) fuel
C) pollination
D) pharmaceuticals

Answer 24

C) pollination

Question 25

An example of a cultural benefit of an ecosystem is
A) production of cotton.
B) wildlife habitat.
C) flood control.
D) kayaking on a river.

Answer 25

D) kayaking on a river.

Question 26

Why did Ireland lose almost all of its potatoes to a fungal blight in the mid-1800s?
A) Farmers planted too many different varieties of potatoes and all succumbed to the fungus.
B) The fungus killed the pollinators of the potato crop
C) There was no genetic diversity in the potato crop; every plant was just like the others.
D) Increased temperatures made the potato crops more susceptible to disease.

Answer 26

C) There was no genetic diversity in the potato crop; every plant was just like the others.

Question 27

A tropical rain forest has more different kinds of trees than the same area in a boreal forest. Which of the following is true?
A) The boreal forest has more niches than the tropical rain forest.

B) The boreal forest has higher species diversity than the tropical rain forest.

C) The tropical rain forest has less ecological diversity than the boreal forest.

D) The tropical rain forest has higher species diversity than the boreal forest.

Answer 27

D) The tropical rain forest has higher species diversity than the boreal forest.

Question 28

Biodiversity hotspots are important to conservation biologists because

A) they are seen as success stories. Their number of endangered species has been drastically reduced due to effective conservation efforts.

B) they are the easiest areas to work in to help endangered species.

C) they contain a large number of endemic and endangered species.

D) they are the areas with the most public support and financial backing in support of conservation efforts.

Answer 28

C) they contain a large number of endemic and endangered species.

Question 29

Globally, the leading cause of habitat destruction is

A) agriculture.

B) housing developments.

C) climate change.

D) pollution.

Answer 29

A) agriculture.

Question 30

What is the purpose of a wildlife corridor?

A) connecting fragmented habitats

B) reducing genetic diversity of populations

C) keeping populations with high densities separated

D) increasing the number of endemic species

Answer 30

A) connecting fragmented habitats