Deck 56: Community Ecology

Question 1

The actual niche the organism is able to occupy in the presence of competitors is called its

A)fundamental niche.
B)realized niche.
C)interference niche.
D)intraspecific niche.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The way in which an organism utilizes its environment may be called

A)resource partitioning.
B)its habitat.
C)competitive exclusion.
D)intraspecific competition.
E)its niche.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which statement is an accurate interpretation of the outcome in an ecosystem when a major predator is removed?

A)The remaining community adjusts and quickly becomes stable.
B)The diversity of the ecosystem actually increases.
C)The diversity of the ecosystem decreases since there is an increase in competition.
D)The diversity of the ecosystem decreases because parasites become more of a problem.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A relationship in which both members benefit is called

A)predation.
B)parasitism.
C)mutualism.
D)commensalism.

Question 5

Competition between species is called ____________ competition.

A)interspecific
B)exploitative
C)interference
D)fundamental

Question 6

Chemical defenses are found in all of the following except

A)marine animals.
B)insects.
C)plants.
D)snakes, spiders, and fishes.
E)Batesian mimics.

Question 7

Resource partitioning can often be seen in similar species that occupy the same geographic area.These species avoid competition by living in different portions of the habitat or by utilizing different food or other resources and are called ____________ species.

A)sympatric
B)allopatric
C)competitive
D)fundamental

Question 8

Communities evolve to have greater biomass and species richness in a process called

A)sympatric interactions.
B)adaptive modifications.
C)succession.
D)symbiotic relationships.

Question 9

Insects that lay eggs on living hosts are called

A)ectoparasites.
B)endoparasites.
C)brood parasites.
D)parasitoids.

Question 10

Paleontological studies indicate that, over millions of years,

A)groups of species that have coevolved rise and go extinct together.
B)species that occurred together in the distant past still occur together today; the community has held constant.
C)the extinction of species is not related to the community in which they lived.
D)species seem to come and go individually as niches within a community become available.

Question 11

The attempt of two organisms trying to utilize the same resource is called

A)synergy.
B)parasitism.
C)competition.
D)interference.

Question 12

In _______ mimicry, unprotected species resemble others that are distasteful.

A)Müllerian
B)competitive
C)Batesian
D)aposematic

Question 13

All organisms living together in a place are called a

A)community.
B)population.
C)species.
D)ecosystem.

Question 14

In ________ mimicry, two or more unrelated but protected species resemble one another, thus achieving a kind of group defense.

A)Batesian
B)disruptive
C)Müllerian
D)cooperative

Question 15

Two species of warblers colonize the same island habitat.Both species nest in similar locations and eat the same type of prey.Eventually, competition will probably cause one species to

A)migrate.
B)grow exponentially.
C)speciate.
D)be eliminated. The competitive exclusion principle (56.2) predicts that one species would be eliminated from that community.

Question 16

Aposematic, or warning coloration, serves to protect an animal or plant by signaling to potential ________ to stay away.

A)competitors
B)predators
C)mates
D)rivals

Question 17

Cardiac glycosides, molecules causing a drastic effect on vertebrate heart function, are produced as defensive chemicals by plants belonging to

A)the milkweed and dogbane families.
B)the mustard family.
C)the grass family.
D)the poison ivy, oak, and sumac families.

Question 18

Competition shapes communities because there are usually limited

A)species.
B)resources.
C)interactions.
D)nutrients.

Question 19

Chemicals that play the dominant role in protecting plants from being eaten by herbivores or predators are called

A)primary compounds.
B)secondary compounds.
C)poisons.
D)oils.

Question 20

A _________ relationship is one in which two or more kinds of organisms live together in often elaborate and more or less permanent association.

A)symbiotic
B)parasitic
C)mutualistic
D)synergistic

Question 21

Following their respective breeding seasons, several species of hummingbirds occur at the same locations in North America and several hummingbird flowers bloom simultaneously in these habitats.These flowers seem to have converged to a common morphology and color.Birds have the most visual sensitivity to the color red.Following their breeding season, these species of hummingbirds are

A)allopatric.
B)sympatric. Clarify question:

Question 22

When there are high levels of disturbance in a community, the number of K-selected species should increase along with the overall diversity of the community.

Question 23

The difference in the fundamental niche and the realized niche is

A)the fundamental niche is the actual niche that a species occupies while the realized niche is the potential area that the species is capable of inhabiting.
B)the fundamental niche is the entire niche that a species is capable of using while the realized niche is just what is being occupied.
C)the fundamental niche is smaller than the realized niche.
D)the realized niche is theoretical while the fundamental niche is the entire niche that an organism can use.

Question 24

Two of Darwin's finches display a character displacement when they occur as sympatric species.Which of the statements correctly interprets the graph?

A)Both species have the same size beak on Santa Maria Island.
B)Both species have the same size beaks on Daphne Major.
C)Both species have the same size beaks on Los Hermanos Island.
D)The two species have different beak sizes when they occur on the same island.

Question 25

A species that plays a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community and helps to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community is known as

A)a predator.
B)a keystone species.
C)the primary species.
D)the dominant species.

Question 26

You have been studying the relationship between jackals and tigers in India.Until recently, the only relationship you have observed is that jackals will associate themselves with a particular tiger and follow it at a safe distance in order to feed on the big cat's kills.However, recently you observed a jackal alerting a tiger to a kill with a loud cry.If you continue to observe this alerting behavior, you might change the categorization of the jackal/tiger relationship from ___________ to __________________.

A)mutualism; parasitism
B)mutualism; commensalism
C)commensalism; mutualism
D)parasitism; mutualism

Question 27

Based on the following graph, what is the most likely relationship between Paramecium and Didinium?

A)Paramecium prey on Didinium.
B)Paramecium have a commensal relationship with Didinium.
C)Didinium and Paramecium have a mutualistic relationship.
D)Didinium prey on Paramecium.

Question 28

Succession happens because species in the habitat alter that habitat in ways that assist other species.There are three dynamic concepts that are of critical importance for succession to take place.They are

A)establishment, facilitation, and inhibition.
B)symbiotic relationships, facilitation, and aposematic coloration.
C)establishment, coevolution, and competitive exclusion.
D)competition, climax communities, and tolerance.

Question 29

Which statement is the correct interpretation of the graph?

A)The population of Didinium goes extinct with the addition of Paramecium on day 4.
B)The population of Didinium continues to increase and remains high even after the extinction of the Paramecium.
C)The population of Paramecium goes extinct with the addition of Didinium on day 8.
D)The population of Didinium increased but then went extinct after the population of Paramecium went extinct.

Question 30

Cattle egrets follow African ungulates such as African buffalo around and catch insects that the buffalo flush out.Oxpeckers perch on the backs of buffalo and feed on ectoparasites that infest the buffalo.Which one of the following shows the ecological interaction that the buffalo has with each bird?

A)cattle egret: mutualism; oxpecker: commensalism
B)cattle egret: commensalism; oxpecker: mutualism
C)cattle egret: competition; oxpecker: mutualism
D)cattle egret: mutualism; oxpecker: mutualism

Question 31

Chemical compounds produced by plants that are not components of major metabolic pathways.

Question 32

Alligators excavate holes in the bottom of bodies of water.During times of severe drought these holes act as refugia for various aquatic organisms that might perish if there were no water available.Thus, alligators in this system can be classified as a(n)

A)keystone species.
B)symbiotic species.
C)sympatric species.
D)allopatric species.

Question 33

Which of the following statements accurately reflects the differences between Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry?

A)In Batesian mimicry the model must behave differently than the mimic; in Müllerian mimicry they behave the same.
B)In Batesian mimicry the model must be more dangerous than the mimic; in Müllerian mimicry they are both dangerous.
C)Batesian mimicry does not differ from Müllerian mimicry.Two different scientists discovered these two types at the same time, and they disagreed on what to call it.
D)Batesian mimicry differs from Müllerian mimicry in that they occur on different continents-Batesian on the North American and Müllerian on the European.

Question 34

Geographical allopatry between species is definitive evidence of interspecific competition.

Question 35

Lakes become eutrophic by

A)accumulation of organic matter.
B)loss of organic matter.
C)circulation of water in the lake.
D)free exchange of water with outside sources.

Question 36

In India, golden jackals that have been expelled from their pack have been known to attach themselves to a particular tiger, trailing it at a safe distance in order to feed on the big cat's kills.What type of relationship exists between the jackal and the tiger?

A)mutualism
B)predation
C)parasitism
D)competition
E)commensalism

Question 37

Garlic mustard is an invasive plant species in North American temperate forests.Garlic mustard secretes an allelochemical that interferes with relationships between native tree roots and their mycorrhizal fungi.This would be an example of

A)interference competition.
B)exploitative competition. The garlic mustard is releasing a chemical compound that disrupts the mutualistic relationship between native trees and mycorrhizal fungi.This would interfere with the trees' ability to uptake phosphorus.This is an example of interference competition.

Question 38

Interspecific competition can affect the phenotypic characteristics of organisms.

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of commensalism?

A)a tapeworm living in the intestines of a mule deer
B)barnacles hitching a ride on the skin of a whale
C)a female mosquito sucking blood from a musk oxen
D)wood-digesting flagellates living in the gut of termites

Question 40

Which statement correctly interprets the graph?

A)Paramecium caudatum drives Paramecium aurelia to near extinction.
B)Paramecium aurelia drives Paramecium caudatum to near extinction.
C)Paramecium caudatum and Paramecium aurelia are able to compete for the same resource and their population densities are not affected.
D)Paramecium caudatum and Paramecium aurelia are unable to exist and both populations go extinct after 24 days.

Question 41

Mimicry is a form of camouflage.

Question 42

Communities with a high level of bacterial diversity are found in many habitats including soil and aquatic environments.Recent studies indicate this diversity is crucial to the functioning of these communities.The same studies have also found that phage abundance plays a critical role in the maintenance of the bacterial diversity within these communities.Are phages a density-dependent or a density-independent regulating factor?

A)density-dependent
B)density-independent Clarify question:

Question 43

Resource partitioning would be most likely to occur between allopatric populations of species with similar ecological niches.

Question 44

In general, communities in early succession will be dominated by fast-growing species with r-selected life histories.