Deck 9: Population Ecology

Question 1

What is one reason for a population to overshoot its carrying capacity and crash? 

A) due to a gradual increase in available habitat 
B) due to a gradual increase in available food resources 
C) due to a reproductive time lag involving the birth rate and death rate of the population 
D) due to changes in the gene pool of a population

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is among the age structure categories? 

A) proreproductive 
B) reproductive 
C) elderly 
D) antireproductive

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which statement does NOT apply to whooping cranes? 

A) As of 2006, just over 330 individuals existed in the wild. 
B) One population resides in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park during the summer. 
C) Hunting, egg collection, and habitat loss took tolls on the population. 
D) All whooping cranes are migratory.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What would be unlikely to influence carrying capacity? 

A) resources 
B) a rain shower 
C) disease 
D) predation

Question 5

What leads to population growth? 

A) increases in mortality 
B) increases in environmental resistance 
C) increases in biotic potential 
D) decreases in natality

Question 6

When does a population crash occur? 

A) It occurs when a population overshoots carrying capacity, and environmental pressures lead to negative effects. 
B) It occurs when a population approaches its carrying capacity. 
C) It occurs when environmental resistance comes into play gradually. 
D) It occurs when resources are essentially unlimited.

Question 7

Which factor leads to an increase in biotic potential? 

A) too much or too little light 
B) too many competitors 
C) an optimal level of critical nutrients 
D) a low reproductive rate

Question 8

What is carrying capacity? 

A) the interaction of natality and mortality 
B) the proportion of males to females 
C) the maximum size of population that the environment will support 
D) the reproductive rate

Question 9

Which letter has the shape of a logistic growth curve that depicts a population limited by a definite carrying capacity? 

A) S 
B) L 
C) J 
D) M

Question 10

How have humans extended Earth's carrying capacity for the human species? 

A) by controlling many diseases 
B) by using material resources at a sustainable rate 
C) by decreasing life span 
D) by using energy resources at a reduced rate

Question 11

What enhances environmental resistance? 

A) the ability to resist disease and parasites 
B) a high reproductive rate 
C) a specialized niche 
D) the ability to compete for resources

Question 12

Which prediction is logical for a species in which uniform dispersion has been observed? 

A) intraspecific competition and evenly spread, scarce resources 
B) intraspecific competition and evenly spread, abundant resources 
C) interspecific competition and evenly spread, abundant resources 
D) interspecific predation and evenly spread, scarce resources

Question 13

Which natural pattern of population dispersion is associated with the majority of species? 

A) a uniform pattern 
B) a clumped pattern 
C) a random pattern 
D) a dispersed pattern

Question 14

Which term is synonymous with changes in population size,density,dispersion,and age structure? 

A) demography 
B) biotic potential 
C) Succession 
D) population dynamics

Question 15

What is the biotic potential of a population? 

A) It is the current growth rate of a population. 
B) It is an expression of how many offspring survive and are able to reproduce. 
C) It is the maximum reproductive rate of a population. 
D) It can be determined only by studying an age structure diagram.

Question 16

Which letter has the shape of an exponential growth curve that depicts an ever-growing population? 

A) M 
B) L 
C) S 
D) J

Question 17

What determines biotic potential? 

A) the reproductive age span 
B) how many offspring die before reproducing 
C) the minimum viable population 
D) irruptive populations

Question 18

Which population dispersion pattern applies to an ecosystem with unevenly distributed resources? 

A) a uniform pattern 
B) a random pattern 
C) a clumped pattern 
D) a dispersed pattern

Question 19

Which statement summarizes the story of changes in the whooping crane population? 

A) It's about an indicator species. 
B) It's about an alien species. 
C) It's about a non-native species. 
D) It's about a success story.

Question 20

What is emigration? 

A) It is the repeated departure and return of individuals to and from a population area. 
B) It is the one-way movement of individuals out of a particular population to another area. 
C) It is the one-way movement of individuals into an area with an established population. 
D) It is the one-way movement of individuals into an uninhabited area.

Question 21

Which population pattern is likely for hares and lynx living in an undisturbed habitat? 

A) irruptive 
B) cyclic 
C) explosive 
D) stable

Question 22

Which characteristic is generally exhibited by a K-selected species? 

A) It generally lives in a rapidly changing environment. 
B) It exhibits "boom-and-bust" cycles. 
C) It has a population that rises quickly and then crashes. 
D) It has a population that follows an S-shaped growth curve.

Question 23

What survivorship curve would you expect for a mountain gorilla? 

A) no loss 
B) early loss 
C) constant loss 
D) late loss

Question 24

Which organism is an r-selected species? 

A) a saguaro cactus 
B) a rhinoceros 
C) a human 
D) an insect

Question 25

Which strategy is a low priority for a conservation biologist? 

A) sustaining sensitive ecosystems 
B) rehabilitating degraded ecosystems 
C) protecting species from sharp declines 
D) protecting threatened ecosystems

Question 26

What type of population change would you expect to occur for beavers in a province that has just outlawed trapping? 

A) explosive 
B) stable 
C) irruptive 
D) cyclic

Question 27

What is a typical means by which humans interfere in the development of natural ecosystems? 

A) by adding large predators to control other predators 
B) by under harvesting renewable resources 
C) by eliminating predators and introducing new species 
D) by increasing the number of species through simplifying ecosystems

Question 28

Which term is not used to describe a type of population change curve? 

A) stable 
B) volatile 
C) cyclic 
D) irruptive

Question 29

Which statement is a general description of an r-selected species? 

A) It is small and short lived. 
B) It has a low biotic potential. 
C) It survives to reproduce. 
D) It gives much care to its offspring.

Question 30

Which of the following is a density-dependent population control? 

A) fire 
B) drought 
C) predation 
D) human destruction of habitat

Question 31

What type of population change would you expect to occur for monkeys in an undisturbed section of the Brazilian rain forest? 

A) cyclic 
B) stable 
C) explosive 
D) irruptive

Question 32

If wolves are controlling deer populations,what type of control is it? 

A) predator control 
B) top-down population control 
C) producer-level control 
D) bottom-up population control

Question 33

Which statement is a general description of a K-selected species? 

A) It is more responsive to environmental changes than an r-selected species. 
B) It has high genetic diversity. 
C) It is generally less adaptable to change than an r-selected species. 
D) It exhibits a fast rate of evolution.

Question 34

What would you expect as the result of "the founder effect"? 

A) A few individuals would find more mates than other individuals, and thus have a greater effect on the gene pool. 
B) A few individuals would start a new gene pool in a situation that is isolated from the main population. 
C) A given number of individuals would be successful at finding food; beyond this core group, any additional individuals would starve. 
D) A given number of individuals would be successful at finding shelter; beyond this core group, any additional individuals would die through exposure or predation.

Question 35

Which term refers to a population with only a few individuals and thus a limited ability to rebuild due to a lack of genetic diversity? 

A) founder effect 
B) demographic bottleneck 
C) inbreeding depression 
D) genetic drift

Question 36

Which connections would likely occur among population cycles,survival strategies,and survivorship curves? 

A) boom-and-bust; r-selected species; early loss 
B) stable; K-selected species; early loss 
C) stable; r-selected species; early loss 
D) boom-and-bust; K-selected species; early loss

Question 37

What is the survivorship curve for a typical fish? 

A) late loss 
B) constant loss 
C) early loss 
D) no loss

Question 38

Which of the following is a density-independent population control? 

A) disease in the environment 
B) parasitism in the environment 
C) predation in the environment 
D) unfavourable chemical changes in the environment

Question 39

Which statement is characteristic of inbreeding? 

A) It results when individuals in a large population mate with another large population. 
B) It can result in a decrease in a defective gene within a population. 
C) It occurs rarely in small or isolated populations. 
D) It affects the survival rate and genetic diversity of a population.

Question 40

Which type of species is more resistant to habitat fragmentation? 

A) a large predator species 
B) a migratory species 
C) a specialist species 
D) a generalist species

Question 41

Which statement applies to natural ecosystems? 

A) They are subject to continuous invasion by pathogens and weeds. 
B) They are usually capable of self-maintenance and self-renewal. 
C) They have most of their biomass in one species. 
D) They require applications of pesticides.

Question 42

How did the World Health Organization control sylvatic plague in Borneo (Brunei)? 

A) by parachuting healthy cats into the infected area 
B) by spraying the infected area with pesticide 
C) by burning all the huts that housed infected people 
D) by introducing lizards to the infected area

Question 43

The intrinsic rate of increase (r)is the rate at which a population would grow if it had unlimited resources.

Question 44

Highly developed countries have such high rates of population growth because their birth rates are so high.

Question 45

When a population reaches carrying capacity,the population's biotic potential gradually declines to a consistent value that is slightly greater than the original value.

Question 46

The population size of any species is influenced by the births,deaths,immigration,and emigration that occur within each population.

Question 47

Which statement is a basic lesson from nature? 

A) Sunlight is the source of energy that sustains ecosystems. 
B) Energy is not required to maintain energy flow and recycle chemicals. 
C) There are no limits to population growth. 
D) Populations of organisms, including humans, are kept in check by natural means.

Question 48

A monoculture is a single crop that has replaced many interrelated plant and animal species.

Question 49

One lesson biologists have learned from nature is that everything is connected to and interdependent with everything else.

Question 50

Environmental resistance consists only of biotic factors.

Question 51

A population's growth rate will increase as the population reaches its carrying capacity.

Question 52

Metapopulations are spatially separated populations that may continue to exchange genes with each other through dispersal of individuals.

Question 53

Logistic growth involves a rapid exponential population growth followed by a drastic decrease in population growth.

Question 54

The human population is likely to continue increasing at exponential rates indefinitely because of advances in our technology.

Question 55

Why is the giant panda an endangered species? 

A) It has a low birth rate and small litter size. 
B) Its mating rituals are so complex that it rarely mates. 
C) It has a large litter size but a high death rate because of predation. 
D) It is a generalized species that eats only evergreen leaves.

Question 56

Carrying capacity is maximum number of a given species that can be sustained in an area without degrading the environment.

Question 57

Why did the World Health Organization initiate pesticide spraying in Borneo (Brunei)? 

A) to control sylvatic plague 
B) to kill the caterpillars found in thatched roofs 
C) to eliminate small lizards 
D) to reduce the incidence of malaria

Question 58

When a population exceeds the environment's carrying capacity,species diversity becomes constant.

Question 59

Which feature would likely be lacking in a living system? 

A) diversity 
B) interdependence 
C) predictability 
D) limits

Question 60

In most cases,the effects of population increase,or of environmental resistance,are not felt instantly.

Question 61

A species whose population size fluctuates slightly above and below its carrying capacity is said to have a fairly ____________________ population size.

Question 62

A mammal reaches maturity after 10 years and bears only one or two young every two years.The parents and the rest of the herd protect the young.The type of survivorship curve that this animal would have is a(n)_________________________ curve.

Question 63

A life table shows the number of individuals at each age on a survivorship curve.

Question 64

Many large mammal species that have long generation times and low reproductive rates are prone to ____________________.

Question 65

All K-selected species have fewer,larger offspring than most other species.

Question 66

If most of a species' offspring die before reaching reproductive age,this is an indication that this species may be ____________________ -selected.

Question 67

Populations which have individuals evenly spaced throughout the environment have a(n)____________________ dispersal pattern.

Question 68

Species that have capacity for a high rate of population increase are called K-selected.

Question 69

The biotic potential and the population size modified by the environmental resistance determine the _________________________.

Question 70

A(n)____________________ can easily be wiped out because of its susceptibility to pathogens.

Question 71

A population's ____________________ structure can have a strong effect on how rapidly its size increases or decreases.

Question 72

Many long-lived species,such as algae and insects,have irruptive population cycles.

Question 73

A key theme of thisCHAPTER is that we can make our economies and our societies more sustainable though the application of lessons learned by studying ____________________ .

Question 74

Most large mammals and birds of prey are ____________________ -selected species.

Question 75

____________________ density is the number of individuals in a particular population found in a particular space.

Question 76

All r-selected species are specialists.

Question 77

The lynx and the hare exhibit a(n)____________________ population cycle.

Question 78

Irregular population behaviours are not fully understood.

Question 79

Infectious disease is a classic type of ____________________-dependent population control.

Question 80

POPULATION

Which letter in the diagram corresponds to the point at which resources are not limiting and a population can grow at its intrinsic rate of increase?