Deck 59: Conservation Biology

Question 1

A major problem with hotspots is humans moving in and causing

A)habitat destruction.
B)increased genetic diversity.
C)increased immigration among species.
D)decreased introductions.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Island species are particularly vulnerable to extinction for all of the following reasons except

A)humans have altered habitats.
B)island species have lost the ability to escape predators.
C)humans have introduced competitors.
D)humans have introduced diseases.
E)fewer endemic species are found on islands.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

A friend asks you for a definition of endemic because she is writing a history paper and this word keeps occurring in the literature in reference to bison on the Great Plains of the United States.Your response is that the word endemic means

A)a species that has gone extinct since humans have evolved on Earth.
B)a species that exists in many habitats on Earth.
C)a species that has coevolved with humans on Earth.
D)a species that lives in only one area of Earth.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

As many as one-half of Earth's plants

A)may already have gone extinct in the last 100 years.
B)may be threatened with extinction at present.
C)may be considered invasive species.
D)are known to be medicinally useful.

Question 5

As we study the past 50,000 years worth of information about species' decline and extinctions around the world

A)we see rapid extinctions, especially of the larger animals, not long after humans arrive in an area.
B)we can make a rough estimate of a population's risk of a local extinction.
C)we see a steady-state rate of extinctions on all continents, only islands show a difference due to climate change.
D)we see huge extinctions, especially of the larger animals, with ice ages and global warming.

Question 6

An organism whose decline or removal from a habitat causes many other species numbers to change dramatically is called __________ species.

A)a keystone
B)a synergistic
C)a nominal
D)an introduced

Question 7

Scientists speculate that extinctions did not occur in Africa as they did on other continents because animals coevolved with _______ in Africa.

A)plants
B)diseases
C)parasites
D)humans

Question 8

Sea otters have been used as an example of the "Keystone Species" concept.This means that sea otters

A)are the base of the food chain in their ecosystem.
B)are the dominant species in their ecosystem.
C)exert a strong influence on the structure and functioning of their ecosystem.
D)have been recently introduced and are recruiting other new species to the ecosystem.

Question 9

A small island has stable populations of plants and animals, including one species of hawk but no other large predators.A ship docks at the island, and the sailors huntand kill most of the hawks.What would you expect as an immediate consequence?

A)an increase in the plants
B)an increase in the insects
C)an increase in the rodents
D)a decrease in the fish

Question 10

Regarding megafaunal extinctions, it is assumed that the driving factor was

A)climate change.
B)the Ice Age.
C)Homo sapiens.
D)a meteorite.

Question 11

Scientists estimate that about _____ of the world's eukaryotic organisms have been discovered and given scientific names.

A)1%
B)5%
C)15%
D)40%

Question 12

Historical extinction rates are best known for

A)reptiles and amphibians.
B)reptiles and birds.
C)amphibians and fish.
D)amphibians and birds.
E)birds and mammals.

Question 13

Animals that weigh more than 100 pounds are considered as

A)extinct.
B)endangered species.
C)safe from extinction.
D)sensitive species.
E)megafauna.

Question 14

Edge effects are the result of which of the following?

A)Populations of flora and fauna have emigrated from the core of their population center to the edge of their habitat.
B)Metapopulations of some of the larger fauna have become more dominant on the landscape and as a result have increased the edge of their habitat.
C)Habitat fragmentation or habitat shrinkage has occurred, and thus the edge of the habitat has increased in relative proportion.
D)Habitat fragmentation or habitat shrinkage has occurred, and thus the edge of the habitat has decreased in relative proportion.

Question 15

A small island has stable populations of plants and animals, including one species of hawk but no other large predators.A ship docks at the island, and the ship's cat escapes.If the cat was pregnant, what do you think the sailors are likely to find if they return ten years later?

A)The island will have similar flora and fauna, with the addition of a cat population.
B)The increase in nitrogenous waste from the cats will increase plant productivity.
C)The bird and lizard species on the island will have many new adaptations.
D)Some species of ground-nesting birds may have gone extinct.

Question 16

Areas with high levels of endemism are called species

A)islands.
B)fragments.
C)hotspots.
D)reserves.

Question 17

The process of examining the genomes of animals and plants for useful genes is

A)gene prospecting.
B)genetic engineering.
C)phenotypic labeling.
D)cloning.

Question 18

Conservationists have identified 25 areas worldwide as hotspots.This means these areas

A)are currently being preserved.
B)have serious pollution problems and are being targeted for cleanup.
C)have high numbers of endemic species, and those numbers are increasing.
D)have high numbers of endemic species, and those numbers are decreasing.

Question 19

Match the correct case study in conservation biology with its animal.

A)fruit bats-introduction of new species
B)prairie chickens-loss of genetic diversity
C)songbirds-introduction of new species
D)whales-pollution

Question 20

As habitats are fragmented and consequently shrinking in size, a major problem is

A)the edge effect.
B)lack of corridors.
C)overexploitation.
D)introduced species.

Question 21

Natural colonization can happen in all of the following ways except

A)a flock of birds gets blown off course.
B)a bird eats a fruit on the mainland and defecates the seed on an island.
C)people plant new species on an island.
D)lowered sea levels connect two areas previously isolated.

Question 22

A floodplain is an area adjacent a stream or river that experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.These ecosystems can be very rich in both quantity and diversity of organisms and can contain up to 1,000 times more species than a river.Many floodplains have been compromised by the construction of levees, pollution, and the draining of wetlands and marshes.A restoration project that focuses its efforts on the removal of levees and the improvement of water quality, is a plan focused on

A)restoration of species.
B)restoration of ecosystem functioning.

Question 23

Which one of the following is not an ecosystem service?

A)maintaining the quality of water supplies
B)habitat restoration
C)preventing soil erosion
D)absorbing pollutants

Question 24

The various endemic cichlid species of Lake Victoria have suffered losses in their population numbers and species due to the introduction of

A)the Nile crocodile.
B)the Nile perch.
C)a new algae species.
D)a new ectoparasite that lives on the gills.

Question 25

The West African black rhino, one of four subspecies of rhinoceros, was declared extinct in 2006.Their horns were believed by many to hold medicinal value.What is the most likely reason for the extinction of the West African black rhino?

A)habitat loss
B)overexploitation
C)introduced species
D)pollution

Question 26

Ecologists are concerned about amphibian populations because

A)their loss would be an aesthetic loss to the planet.
B)of the possibility of numerous medicinal uses.
C)they are keystone species in many areas-their loss will cause other populations to crash.
D)amphibians are very sensitive to environmental change-they may be indicating serious problems.

Question 27

In the last 20 years one concern of scientists who study amphibians is that

A)genetic diversity is being increased too rapidly for proper maintenance.
B)the edge effects are causing declines in species numbers.
C)DDT is affecting reproduction by thinning the egg membranes.
D)populations are diversifying rapidly and speciation is occurring.
E)many species are declining or have gone extinct in recent years.

Question 28

Economists have been comparing the monetary value of intact habitats with the value of using (destroying) those habitats (such as for logging or farming).They find

A)the immediate economic gain is worth it, such as in the shrimp farms in Thailand.
B)the long-term problems are minimal, and usually economically minor, it is more of an aesthetic problem than a monetary one.
C)the intact habitat is more valuable than the destroyed one in most cases studied.
D)clearing the forest for agriculture, as in Cameroon, provides jobs, housing, and long-term economic benefits.

Question 29

Which of the following whale species are recovering their population numbers as a result of whale harvesting regulations? I-right whales
II-Pacific gray whales
III-sperm whales
IV-fin whales
V-humpback whales

A)I and II
B)I, II, and III
C)II and V
D)I, II, III, and IV

Question 30

The degree of allelic diversityof a population is independent of its size.

Question 31

When New York City was given a choice to make regarding its drinking water

A)they opted for more bottled water.
B)they chose ecosystem maintenance over development.
C)they had to construct expensive filtration plants to protect against disease.
D)they chose ecosystem conversion to higher density housing for efficiency.

Question 32

The extinction vortex

A)is what happens as a population decreases and becomes more vulnerable to extinction from a variety of causes.
B)begins when one species in an ecosystem goes extinct and other species follow.
C)is what happens when competing species fight over a single niche, often driving both species to extinction.
D)is a spiral of events that occur once a species has become overcrowded through excess reproduction.

Question 33

Why might the different species of whales fail to recover even though hunting has been banned?

A)loss of genetic diversity
B)loss of habitat
C)introduction of invasive species
D)increasing predation

Question 34

A conservation group is deciding what land to preserve.Why might they want to consider an area of land where the ecosystem is partially damaged by a logging contract that cannot be overturned?

A)Conservation groups often focus of fixing damaged land and ecosystems.
B)When conservation groups choose land to preserve, they just consider what is best for the one target species that is endangered.
C)By making logging difficult, they strengthen environmentalism.
D)Human activity often leads to the evolution of unique species that take advantage of the disrupted environment.

Question 35

One of the important reasons for maintaining biodiversity is to

A)prevent loss of habitats that can be logged or farmed at some future date.
B)prevent loss of habitat leading to edge effects.
C)prevent introduction of invasive species.
D)maintain the genetic diversity of wild relatives of common crops.

Question 36

Researchers in England found that, for three out of four habitat types they were studying, the most efficient strategy was to create a system of stepping stones linking existing habitat clusters."Stepping stones" are a type of corridor.