Deck 9: Population Distribution and Abundance

Question 1

The tiger beetle Cicindela longilabris inhabits higher latitudes and elevations than other North American tiger beetles; Schultz, Quinlan, and Hadley concluded that all of the following factors contributed to these cooler environmental preferences except

A) higher metabolic rates.
B) lower body temperatures.
C) increased water proofing.
D) both higher metabolic rates and lower body temperatures.
E) both higher metabolic rates and increased water proofing.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which statement about organisms' "niches" is false?

A) The niche summarizes environmental factors influencing growth, survival, and reproduction of a species.
B) The niche concept was developed by Joseph Grinnell and Charles Elton.
C) The "fundamental" niche refers to physical, but not biological, aspects of the environment.
D) Interactions such as competition and parasitism may restrict the size of an organism's niche.
E) In the laboratory, two species with identical niches are especially easy to maintain in a mixed culture.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

"Rarity II" can be described as

A) restricted range, narrow habitat tolerances, and small local populations.
B) restricted range, broad habitat tolerances, and large local populations.
C) extensive range, narrow habitat tolerances, and large local populations.
D) restricted range, broad habitat tolerances, and small local populations.
E) extensive range, broad habitat tolerances, and small local populations.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In a ________ distribution, individuals have a much higher probability of being found in some areas than in others.

A) regular
B) clumped
C) uniform
D) random
E) partitioned

Question 5

"Rarity I" can be described as

A) restricted range, narrow habitat tolerances, small local populations.
B) restricted range, broad habitat tolerances, large local populations.
C) extensive range, narrow habitat tolerances, large local populations.
D) restricted range, broad habitat tolerances, small local populations.
E) extensive range, broad habitat tolerances, small local populations.

Question 6

Which of the following are characteristics of a population?

A) Consists of a single species
B) Has an age distribution
C) Has a birth rate
D) Has an emigration rate
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 7

Caughley's research on the distribution of three different species of Australian kangaroos (Macropus giganteus, M. fuliginosus, and M. rufus) suggests the

A) physical environment limits the distribution of the kangaroos.
B) topography limits the distribution of the kangaroos.
C) amount of rainfall limits the distribution of the kangaroos.
D) temperature limits the distribution of the kangaroos.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 8

Ehleringer and Clark found that variation in leaf pubescence among plants of the genus Encelia appears to correspond to the distribution of these species along a ________ gradient from the California coast eastward.

A) light intensity
B) moisture
C) temperature
D) both light intensity and moisture
E) both moisture and temperature

Question 9

The rarest animal is the ________ and the rarest plant is the ________.

A) Northern spotted owl; Pacific Yew
B) Siberian tiger; Asplenium septrionale
C) Tasmanian devil; Welwitschia
D) Mountain gorilla; Prichardia Monroe
E) Mountain gorilla; Asplenium septrionale

Question 10

In order to determine whether a species is common or rare, ecologists use all of the following criteria except

A) habitat tolerance.
B) evolutionary existence.
C) geographical range.
D) local population size.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 11

Donald Phillips and James MacMahon showed that the distribution pattern of creosote bush, Larrea tridentata, changes in the following sequence as they grow

A) clumped, regular, random.
B) regular, random, clumped.
C) random, regular, clumped.
D) random, clumped, regular.
E) clumped, random, regular.

Question 12

Whittaker's research on North American tree distribution examined ________ gradients and concluded that the tree distribution was ________.

A) temperature; random
B) temperature; clumped
C) moisture; clumped
D) moisture; random
E) soil; random

Question 13

Connell studied the distribution of barnacles Chthamalus stellatus and Balanus balaoides along the coast of Scotland and indicated that, along with the physiology of each barnacle, ________ also played a large role in their distribution pattern.

A) topography
B) competition
C) salinity
D) predation
E) temperature

Question 14

Which of the following word pairs are mismatched?

A) Random distribution; aggressive interaction
B) Clumped distribution; attraction to a common source
C) Regular distribution; antagonistic behaviors
D) Large scale distribution; substantial environmental changes
E) Small scale distribution; insignificant environmental changes

Question 15

The ________ defines the physical conditions under which a species might live, in the absence of interaction with other species.

A) functional niche
B) realized niche
C) principle niche
D) fundamental niche
E) primary niche

Question 16

________ is/are defined as a group of potentially breeding organisms within a species in a given space and time.

A) Density
B) Populations
C) Distribution
D) Abundance
E) Community

Question 17

Research on North American bird populations have indicated that populations are ________, distributed on a ________ scale.

A) clumped; small
B) random; small
C) regular; small
D) regular; large
E) clumped; large

Question 18

A group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a specific area is called a ________.

A) community
B) biome
C) population
D) ecosystem
E) tribe

Question 19

Density is defined as

A) the number of individuals within a population.
B) abundance.
C) the number of individuals per unit area.
D) the distribution of individuals within a given area.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 20

"Extreme Rarity" can be described as

A) restricted range, narrow habitat tolerances, and small local populations.
B) restricted range, broad habitat tolerances, and large local populations.
C) extensive range, narrow habitat tolerances, and large local populations.
D) restricted range, broad habitat tolerances, and small local populations.
E) extensive range, broad habitat tolerances, and small local populations.

Question 21

Often small scale distribution patterns gathered from mountain gradients can be used to draw conclusions about large scale distribution patterns.

Question 22

The creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) can have a random, clumped, or regular distribution pattern.

Question 23

Caughley found the distributions of the three largest kangaroo species in Australia are determined by

A) hunting pressure.
B) severe competition for den sites.
C) severe predation.
D) climate.
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 24

In general, research indicates that as the average body mass of an organism increases, population density also increases.

Question 25

Each generation of the gray whales and the monarch butterflies travels from one end of their range to the other.

Question 26

Often an organism with a broad habitat tolerance is called a generalist.

Question 27

Research by Hubble and Johnson showed that aggressive social interactions among stingless bees in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica can produce and enforce a clumped distribution.

Question 28

An organism with a narrow habitat tolerance is called a ________.

Question 29

All seven forms of rarity increase species vulnerability to extinction.

Question 30

Animals with antagonistic behaviors will most likely be distributed in a ________ pattern.

Question 31

Peters and Wassenberg (1983) showed that the population density of terrestrial mammals, aquatic invertebrates, and birds decrease with increased body size. However, compared to terrestrial mammals of similar body size, the population density aquatic invertebrates tend to be ________.