Deck 11: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

Question 1

Biodiversity enhances human food security because it ________________

A)means that there is genetic uniformity
B)is a potential source of new food items or new genetic varieties of existing foods
C)reduces the number of pollinators available to any one plant species
D)decreases the number of predators
E)increases the number of available pathogens

Answer 1

is a potential source of new food items or new genetic varieties of existing foods

Question 2

A species of lizard has gone extinct.All of the following may have contributed to this extinction EXCEPT ________________.

A)habitat destruction by humans
B)increased genetic diversity within the species
C)introduction of a species that competed for food resources
D)climate change
E)inbreeding

Answer 2

increased genetic diversity within the species

Question 3

Both ________________ and ________________ can change local species diversity but not global species diversity.

A)speciation; immigration
B)extirpation; extinction
C)immigration; extirpation
D)speciation; extinction
E)emigration; extinction

Answer 3

immigration; extirpation

Question 4

What is the greatest contributing factor in the loss of polar bears in arctic areas?

A)fires in the taiga and tundra
B)decline in sea ice
C)hunting of the polar bear by the Inuit people
D)the tundra shifting northward
E)the decline of lemmings; the primary food of the polar bear

Question 5

Species richness is affected by many variables.As one travels to higher latitudes,one would generally find ________________.

A)other factors to be more important than latitude
B)the number of species to increase
C)population viability to increase
D)the number of species to be fairly constant
E)the number of species to decrease

Question 6

The greatest species diversity is found in which of the following groups?

A)birds
B)insects
C)flowering plants
D)mammals
E)fish

Question 7

The country of Belize depends on lobster for a major portion of its income,along with fishing and tourism.Over the past 30 years the average size of an individual lobster has dropped,even as increasing numbers of Belizeans buy boats,build lobster traps,and enter the industry.This is an example of ________________.

A)the problems with monoculture
B)the results of an invasive species
C)overharvesting
D)the effects of pollution
E)habitat alteration

Question 8

The IUCN's Red List is ________________.

A)an updated list of species facing unusually high risk of extinction
B)a list of unidentified species
C)an identification list of known species
D)a list of ecologically harmful invasive species
E)a scorecard of international failures at conservation

Question 9

The Convention on Biological Diversity has goals that ________________.

A)are designed to reduce biodiversity
B)spell out future management plans for all biomes
C)ensure the distribution of biodiversity's benefits to wealthy countries who can pay for them
D)include using biodiversity in a sustainable manner
E)include a set of international laws

Question 10

Both ________________ and ________________ can change global species diversity.

A)extirpation; extinction
B)emigration; extinction
C)speciation; immigration
D)speciation; extinction
E)immigration; extirpation

Question 11

What is the greatest known cause of global amphibian declines?

A)habitat loss
B)fires
C)parasites and disease
D)pollution
E)displacement by invasive species

Question 12

Animals that are harmed by human modification of the environment tend to have all of the following characteristics EXCEPT ________________

A)being a species covering a small geographic range
B)being high on the food chain
C)being a habitat specialist
D)being a dietary generalist
E)being K -selected

Question 13

The loss of a particular population from a given area (but not the entire species globally)is called ________________.

A)extinction
B)extirpation
C)exposition
D)emigration
E)extinguishment

Question 14

Removal of which of the following species will result in the greatest changes in an ecological system?

A)a competitive species
B)a producer species
C)a keystone species
D)a carnivore species
E)a decomposer species

Question 15

The greatest cause of the worldwide loss of species is ________________.

A)decreased soil nutrients
B)air pollution
C)habitat destruction
D)water pollution
E)climate change

Question 16

The field of conservation biology ________________

A)attempts to integrate an understanding of evolution and extinction into their field research
B)developed in response to government intervention
C)tries to conserve every species,everywhere
D)endeavors to increase speciation events in order to increase biodiversity
E)was initially viewed as too measurement oriented,looking at details and not at the big picture

Question 17

The species that are generally most vulnerable to human impact are ________________.

A)keystone species
B)K -selected species
C)producers
D)decomposers
E)competitive species

Question 18

Ecotourism ________________

A)decreases biodiversity by causing increased speciation in environmentally sensitive areas
B)is a reasonable option only in impoverished countries
C)decreases biodiversity by selling souvenir organisms
D)maintains biodiversity by providing income to areas that might otherwise be destroyed
E)increases biodiversity by introducing new,rare species

Question 19

European rabbits were introduced into Australia and quickly spread,reproduced,and became a terrible pest.They eat up to $600 million worth of food and pasture crops annually,and have damaged the populations of many native plants and the populations of animals that eat the plants.Twice in the past 50 years,rabbit diseases have been introduced to try to control the population, with some success.This is a case where ________________ .

A)climate change has decreased the genetic diversity of indigenous species
B)an invasive species has caused overharvesting
C)habitat alteration resulted in decreased biodiversity
D)an extirpation has occurred
E)an invasive species has reduced the genetic diversity of indigenous species

Question 20

Changes in habitat have tremendous effects on the organisms that depend on them.These effects are ________________.

A)generally neutral; the variations within each species allow them to adapt very quickly
B)generally positive; the changes increase the habitat that is available for species to colonize
C)generally negative; organisms are already adapted to the habitats in which they occur and any change is likely to render the habitat less suitable
D)generally negative; the changes usually cause rapid extinction of most species
E)generally positive; organisms are already adapted to the habitats in which they occur and any change is likely to render the habitat more suitable

Question 21

Wildlife in the Serengeti is currently threatened by ________________.

A)plans to build a highway that passes through the park
B)an invasive fish that has been introduced into the major river that flows through the park
C)an overabundance of elephants
D)pollution from a nearby coal power plant
E)plans to legalize hunting of most of the large animal species in the park

Question 22

Which of the following activities would violate CITES?

A)Your friend shoots a bald eagle that seems to be eying the calf he has been raising for his 4 -H project.
B)Your friend brings back an ivory chess set that he bought while on safari in Lesotho.
C)Your friend catches a small -mouth bass that is technically not large enough to keep,but he keeps it and cooks it for dinner instead of releasing it.
D)Your friend transports firewood infested with emerald ash borer from Minneapolis to the Black Hills of South Dakota,inadvertently introducing the pest to Rapid City,where it destroys all of the ash trees in the city within a decade.
E)Your friend breaks into a California condor breeding facility and releases all of the condors being raised there because he feels sorry for them.

Question 23

In his 2005 book,Richard Louv maintains that today's children ________________.

A)should not participate in environmental education programs until high school
B)should not be exposed to the dangers of natural ecosystems
C)develop more balanced emotions in urban compared to natural settings
D)have a better understanding of natural environments than their grandparents
E)suffer psychologically and emotionally from "nature deficit disorder"

Question 24

The causes of the current (sixth)mass extinction include all of the following EXCEPT ________________.

A)earthquakes,tsunamis,and forest fires
B)habitat alteration and destruction
C)invasive exotic species
D)global climate change
E)pollution from pesticides,eutrophication,and other causes

Question 25

Endemic species are ________________.

A)usually the dominant species within an ecosystem
B)limited to just one location,such as an island
C)on the brink of extinction
D)widely distributed,found especially on large continents
E)well established and show the least risk of extinction

Question 26

The wood thrush makes its nest in woodlands in the northern and eastern United States.As patches of woods become smaller,increasing numbers of wood thrush nests have eggs laid in them by the brown -headed cowbird.Cowbirds live in open fields and are nest parasites; the female cowbird flies up to an unattended nest,quickly lays an egg in it,and leaves the host parents to raise their "adopted" young.Wood thrushes are decreasing in numbers because ________________.

A)climate change is reducing nest site availability
B)habitat fragmentation makes it easier for cowbird parasitism to occur
C)cowbirds are an invasive species that is rapidly increasing
D)pollution of the open fields has caused a change in cowbird behavior
E)overharvesting in the open fields has driven the cowbirds into the woodlands

Question 27

What is the Endangered Species Act? Describe one of its successes and explain some of the current controversies surrounding it.

Question 28

Paleontologists estimate that ________________.

A)99% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct
B)more than 99% of all species alive today have been discovered and described
C)extinction is tied exclusively to human activities
D)more species are alive today than ever before
E)biodiversity is evenly spread over the earth's biomes

Question 29

What is the value,to a species,of having genetic diversity?

Question 30

What do researchers hope to accomplish by performing genetic analyses on confiscated ivory?

A)They hope to determine whether the ivory came from elephants or from seals.
B)They hope to determine whether possession of the ivory violated international treaties.
C)They hope to determine how long ago each animal was killed for its ivory.
D)They hope to learn more about the extent of inbreeding of elephants in different areas of Africa.
E)They hope to determine where the elephants were poached.

Question 31

Provide several reasons why our estimates of species numbers are incomplete.

Question 32

The introduction of ________________ onto the island of Guam has resulted in the extinction of most of the endemic forest bird species on the island.

A)kudzu
B)European starlings
C)cane toads
D)Nile perch
E)brown tree snakes

Question 33

What is the value,to humankind,of biodiversity?

Question 34

Is extinction natural? How has the extinction rate changed over time? Why are extinction rates today different from rates in the past?

Question 35

What are the major causes of the sixth mass extinction event,and why is it of particular concern?

Question 36

One of the ongoing problems for wild California condors is ________________.

A)that they readily succumb to sylvatic plague,which can ravage an entire colony of condors in a matter of weeks
B)that there are so few of them that they cannot find mates
C)that the federal government refuses to list the condor as being endangered because doing so would have a negative impact on the oil and gas industry
D)that people continue to hunt condors for sport,despite the bird's being listed as federally endangered and despite the educational campaigns that teach young people the value of having condors in an ecosystem
E)that lead shot is still used for hunting,and the lead can build up in a condor's system because condors eat dead animals that have been shot

Question 37

Contrary to popular belief,the Endangered Species Act allows ________________.

A)landowners to harm a protected species in one area if they improve habitat for it elsewhere
B)international trade in protected species to aid in times of economic hardship
C)landowners to kill endangered species for food if necessary
D)habitats of protected species to be developed or logged as long as no individuals of the species are killed
E)endangered species to be hunted as long as records are kept of numbers and sex of individuals taken