Deck 52: Population Ecology

Question 1

The study of factors that determine the size and structure of populations through time is called

A)population ecology.
B)immigration.
C)demography.
D)populations.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The white rhinoceros is large [more than 1 000 kg (2 200 lb)],has a herbivorous diet and lives in the open grasslands and savannahs on the African continent.They require a lot of food (~80 kg)and water (80 L)each day to survive.Given this information you would expect (predict)these rhinoceros to exhibit

A)a high population density and short generation time.
B)a high population density and long generation time.
C)a low population density and short generation time.
D)a low population density and long generation time.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

If 60 snow geese were alive in 1926 and 856 existed in 2001,what is r?

A)0)070
B)0)035
C)0)094

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Figure 52.5
In the figure above,which of the arrows represents the most rapid growth?

A)arrow A
B)arrow B
C)arrow C

Question 5

Figure 52.4
In the figure above,which of the lines represents exponential growth?

A)line A
B)line B
C)line C
D)line D
E)all of the above

Question 6

You observe two female fish of the same species breeding.One female lays 100 eggs and the other female lays 1000 eggs.Which one of the following statements does not agree with the concept of fitness trade-offs?

A)The female laying 100 eggs should be able to breed more often compared to the female laying 1000 eggs.
B)The female laying 100 eggs should live longer than the female laying 1000 eggs.
C)The eggs from the female laying 1000 eggs should have larger yolks compared to the yolks of the eggs from the female laying 100 eggs.
D)The female laying 1000 eggs should be larger than the female laying 100 eggs.

Question 7

Figure 52.1
In the figure above,which of the following survivorship curves implies that an animal may lay thousands of eggs,of which only a few will survive to reproduce?

A)curve A
B)curve B
C)curve C
D)none of the above

Question 8

Assuming that these populations are density dependent,what is the likely outcome if the system depicted in the figure above were allowed to continue?

A)Population growth would continue to be discontinuous.
B)Individual growth would continue to be indeterminate.
C)Population growth would likely decrease.
D)Populations would go extinct.

Question 9

What is the primary limiting factor that determines why no female animal can produce a very large number of very large eggs?

A)time
B)energy stores
C)temperature
D)male availability

Question 10

Figure 52.1
In the figure above,which of the following survivorship curves most applies to humans living in developed countries?

A)curve A
B)curve B
C)curve C
D)none of the above

Question 11

During the Lacerta vivipara lizard study,researchers monitored individuals on a daily basis to document the number of young produced by each female in the wild.What would be the best way to obtain the same type of data but not have to visit the site every day?

A)Capture animals and implant tracking devices.
B)Install cameras on site to monitor lizard movement.
C)Capture animals twice per year and count them.
D)Try the study in an isolated population in the lab.

Question 12

Figure 52.1
In the figure above,which of the following survivorship curves implies that an animal may lay thousands of eggs,of which a regular number die each year?

A)curve A
B)curve B
C)curve C
D)none of the above

Question 13

Figure 52.4
In the figure above,which of the lines represents the highest per-capita rate increase (r)?

A)line A
B)line B
C)line C
D)line D

Question 14

Figure 52.2
Looking at the data in the figure above,what can be said about survival and clutch size?

A)Animals with low survival tend to have low clutch sizes.
B)High clutch sizes tend to produce animals with low survival.
C)Animals with high fecundity tend to live longer.
D)Animals with high fecundity tend not to live as long as animals with low fecundity.

Question 15

Figure 52.5
In the figure above,which of the arrows represents the carrying capacity?

A)arrow A
B)arrow B
C)arrow C

Question 16

It is estimated that snow geese will be able to sustain an r of 0.088 indefinitely.If the flock currently contains 3000 individuals,how long will it take to double?

A)7)9 years
B)34.1 years
C)264 years

Question 17

Which of these terms defines how the organism allocates resources to growth,reproduction,and activities or structures related to survival?

A)resource allocation
B)life history
C)energy budget
D)demography

Question 18

Figure 52.3
Looking at figure above,the white rhinoceros [more than 1 000 kg (2 200 lb)] is likely to exhibit which of the following?

A)survivorship curve A and a SHORT generation time.
B)survivorship curve C and a SHORT generation time.
C)survivorship curve A and a LONG generation time.
D)survivorship curve B and a LONG generation time.
E)survivorship curve C and a LONG generation time.

Question 19

The definition of a generation is

A)20 years.
B)the average time between a mother's first offspring and her daughter's first offspring.
C)the average time between a father's first offspring and his son's first offspring.
D)the average time between parents' first offspring and their child's first offspring.

Question 20

Why can't a female lizard have both high fecundity and high survival?

A)Only in rare cases do lizards have both high fecundity and high survival.
B)Female lizards are able to produce only one set of offspring.
C)Competition for resources prevents this.
D)The more energy the female devotes to offspring,the less that can be devoted to her survival.

Question 21

Figure 52.7
Using information from the table above,calculate the net reproductive rate (R₀)for this population.

A)2)00
B)3)26
C)1)30
D)1)00

Question 22

What can we NOT determine from examining age pyramids of human populations?

A)the future population size
B)how populations reproduce
C)the success of future generations
D)the fecundity of a future population
E)the age structure of the population

Question 23

Figure 52.10
Which of the following statements about the graphs in the figure above is FALSE?

A)Primrose populations in large gaps (high light)have many juveniles.
B)Primrose populations in small gaps (low light)have few juveniles.
C)Primrose populations change in structure over time.
D)The age structure of primrose determines the gap size.
E)All of the above statements are true.

Question 24

Figure 52.12
The figure above represents the dynamics of

A)metapopulations.
B)extinction.
C)emigration.
D)both metapopulations and extinction.
E)both extinction and emigration.

Question 25

Suppose researchers marked 800 turtles and later were able to trap a total of 300 individuals in that population,of which 150 were marked.What is the estimate for total population size?

A)1600
B)530
C)1000
D)6000

Question 26

Figure 52.11
Based on the diagrams in the figure above and on the large population of baby boomers in Canada,what graph best reflects Canadian population in 20 years?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 27

Figure 52.7
Using information from the table above,how would you describe the population dynamics of L.vivipara?

A)The population is increasing.
B)The population is decreasing.
C)The population is stable.
D)The figure does not provide this information.

Question 28

It is estimated that a flock of wood buffalo crane should be able to sustain an r of 0.085 for the foreseeable future.If the flock currently contains 350 individuals,how long will it take for that population to double?

A)8 years
B)13 years
C)15 years
D)21 years

Question 29

Conservationists will take snow geese off the endangered species list when the population hits 10,000.If populations are sustaining growth at r = 0.088 and the population in 2001 is 3000 individuals,in what year will snow geese be taken off the endangered species list?

A)2014
B)2617
C)2003

Question 30

Figure 52.9
Which of the two graphs in the figure above shows a population of organisms that has a strong population cycle?

A)(a)
B)(b)
C)both show identical cycles

Question 31

The regular fluctuations in size of animal populations are termed

A)population cycles.
B)population dynamics.
C)growth factors.
D)all of the above.

Question 32

Figure 52.8
Park Grass study in Rothamstead,UK is the longest-running biological experiment.A series of plots (~1/3 ha each)with uniform soil and vegetation have been treated either with fertilizer,lime,or left as controls.Annually,researchers record plant species present.Based on the graphs above,which species increased and maintained high population size?

A)Tragopogon pratensis
B)Trifolium pratense
C)Conopodium majus

Question 33

Figure 52.8
Based on the graphs in the figure above from the Park Grass study,which species declines in population over time?

A)Tragopogon pratensis
B)Trifolium pratense
C)Conopodium majus
D)All species populations decline at some point in time.

Question 34

Figure 52.6
Based on the figure above,which of the following statements correctly interprets the data?

A)Female density is affected by clutch size.
B)Clutch size is affected by female density.
C)Survivorship is affected by female density.

Question 35

If 40 individuals were alive in 1921 and 856 existed in 2007,what is r?

A)0)020
B)0)249
C)0)05
D)0)036

Question 36

Figure 52.9
Assuming graph (b)in Figure 52.8 is the result of some experimental treatment,what can be concluded?

A)The experimental treatment exacerbated the population cycling.
B)The experimental treatment did not affect population cycling in this species.
C)The experimental treatment has most likely identified the cause of population cycling.
D)None of the above answers applies.

Question 37

Which statement about K is false?

A)K varies among populations.
B)K varies in space.
C)K varies in time.
D)K is specific for a given species.

Question 38

Figure 52.7
Using information from the table above,which year was the most successful for the population?

A)year 0
B)year 1
C)year 5
D)The figure does not provide this information.

Question 39

Figure 52.10
Based on the graphs in the figure above,which of them represents a primrose species (a plant)growing in high light availability?

A)(a)
B)(b)
C)cannot determine with this information

Question 40

Projections for Earth's human population by 2050 that were made in 1992 were much higher than those made in 2002.Which of the following did NOT likely contribute to this change in projection?

A)Human fertility rates in developing countries have significantly decreased since 1992.
B)Deaths from AIDS have significantly increased since 1992.
C)The number of developed countries has significantly increased since 1992.
D)The birth rates in developed countries have decreased since 1992.

Question 41

Figure 52.14
Looking at the data in the figure above from the hare/lynx experiment,what conclusion can you draw?

A)Hares control lynx population size.
B)Lynx control hare population size.
C)Lynx and hare populations are independent of each other.
D)Hare populations are limited by both predation and food availability.

Question 42

Figure 52.13
What conclusion can you draw from the figure above?

A)Hares control lynx population size.
B)Lynx control hare population size.
C)Lynx and hare populations are independent of each other.
D)The relationship between the populations cannot be determined from this graph.

Question 43

Based on the information in the abstract,which of the following statements is the most correct?

A)If long-term contribution to colonization of a fragment increases,the metapopulation would destabilize.
B)If long-term contribution to colonization of a fragment decreases,the metapopulation would stabilize.
C)If long-term contribution to colonization of a fragment increases,the metapopulation would have more fragments.
D)If long-term contribution to colonization of a fragment decreases,the metapopulation would disappear.
E)If long-term contribution to colonization of a fragment increases,the metapopulation would grow exponentially.

Question 44

One measure for the value of the patch was given by the long-term contribution of a fragment to colonization events in the network.How do the properties of a landscape and the properties of a species affect the value of a patch?

A)The value of the fragment depends on the properties of the landscape and the properties of the species.
B)The value of the fragment depends only on the properties of the landscape and not on the properties of the species.
C)The value of the fragment depends not on the properties of the landscape but only on the properties of the species.
D)The value of the fragment depends on neither the properties of the landscape nor on the properties of the species.

Question 45

What is Earth's carrying capacity?

A)2 billion
B)6 billion
C)over 1 trillion
D)Earth's carrying capacity is what we decide it will be.

Question 46

A model that estimates the likelihood that a population will avoid extinction for a given period of time is called a(n)

A)metapopulation.
B)population viability analysis.
C)age pyramid.
D)life table.

Question 47

Figure 52.15
Looking at the figure above,what is contributing significantly to stabilizing population size over time?

A)no migration
B)low migration
C)high migration
D)none of the above

Question 48

Which of the following statements regarding the future of populations in developing countries is FALSE?

A)Overall population size will increase dramatically.
B)Survivorship will increase.
C)The fecundity is predicted to increase.
D)The number of offspring each year is predicted to remain high.

Question 49

In 1987,there were only 22 condors (birds)in the wild because of habitat destruction ;all were brought to zoos and breeding centres for captive breeding.In 1991,the first condors were re-introduced into the wild.To determine if the population of wild California condors is increasing,which methods would best be suited to gathering condor population size/density information?

A)capture-mark-recapture
B)direct counts from boats or planes
C)quadrat sampling
D)dispersal sampling