Deck 16: Human Health and the Environment

Question 1

Which one of the following illustrates interspecific competition?

A)Advertising its nectar with red colors,a columbine flower attracts a hummingbird for a meal.
B)The largest wolves in a pack are the first to feed on a freshly killed deer.
C)Caterpillars of two different species of moth are feeding on the same plant's leaves.
D)Two honeybees from the same colony converge on a flower to collect pollen and nectar.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Mutualism is______ .

A)a relationship with no benefits to either species
B)a relationship in which two species have a mutual predator
C)a relationship between two species in which only one benefits
D)a relationship between two species in which both benefit

Answer 2

a relationship between two species in which both benefit

Question 3

-Once they are a year old,many small songbirds such as goldfinches and house finches have approximately a 50% probability of surviving to the following year,regardless of the bird's age.Which survivorship curve in the figure best represents such birds?

A)Line A
B)Line B
C)Line C
D)None of the above

Answer 3

Line B

Question 4

A population would be expected to grow if __________.

A)immigration increased and deaths and emigration decreased
B)births decreased by 1% and emigration increased by 8%
C)immigration and emigration increased by the same number of organisms
D)emigration and death rates stayed the same and immigration decreased

Question 5

-Which of the following can be inferred from the figure shown?

A)Both polar bears and grizzly bears can tolerate an air temperature of 5°C.
B)Both polar bears and grizzly bears can acclimate to temperatures outside of their tolerance range,but only if they are gradually exposed to the extreme temperatures.
C)Polar bears and grizzly bears usually do not compete for the same resources.
D)Grizzly bears outcompete polar bears where their ranges overlap.

Question 6

-Which of these lines depicts logistic population growth?

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

Question 7

Purple martins are the largest species of swallow in North America.In the Eastern United States,they breed almost exclusively in large colonies in artificial martin houses and hollowed- out gourds hung by martin enthusiasts.Given this information,which of the following would be a valid inference?

A)In the eastern United States,purple martins are generalists with a broad ecological niche.
B)Purple martins and martin enthusiasts exhibit a relationship that can best be described as commensalism.
C)In the eastern United States,purple martins are specialists because they rely almost solely on humans for nesting sites.
D)In the eastern United States,purple martins have a size advantage over other swallows and are able to outcompete them for nest sites.

Question 8

Flying squirrels competing with each other for truffles is an example of__________ .

A)parasitism
B)symbiosis
C)intraspecific competition
D)interspecific competition

Question 9

A stable population would remain at equilibrium if ________.

A)the birth rate increased as the death rate decreased
B)births and immigration increased by the same number of organisms
C)births and deaths increased by the same number of organisms
D)emigration rates and death rates increased equally

Question 10

A keystone species __________.

A)is an example of amensalism
B)typically reduces overall biodiversity of an ecosystem
C)has a disproportionately large impact on the stability of an ecosystem
D)is typically an herbivore

Question 11

Which of the following best illustrates resilience?

A)Soil erosion resulting from burned soil washing away from a forest floor
B)The emergence of a meadow and young trees in a recently burned forest
C)Burned trees accumulating on a forest floor after a fire
D)Crown fires resulting from many years of fire suppression

Question 12

Brown- headed cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other species of songbirds,relying upon the other species to raise their chicks.Many of these species unknowingly raise the cowbird chicks at the cost of their own reproductive success.The relationship between cowbirds and these other species of birds most closely matches which one of the following relationships?

A)Mutualism
B)Commensalism
C)Intraspecific competition
D)Parasitism

Question 13

What was once an open pasture on a long- abandoned farm has changed over time,without the direct influence of humans.After the cattle had been removed,shrubs and bushes could be seen dotting the grass- covered hillsides.A few years later,small pine trees and then larger deciduous trees appeared.Now,there are so many trees and shaded regions that it is difficult to tell that this was once a field.The ecological changes in this abandoned pasture represent __________.

A)primary succession
B)secondary succession
C)disturbances
D)resilience events

Question 14

Dung beetles live in regions where cattle graze,quickly burying and recycling cattle droppings.Because of the dung beetle's activities,breeding habitats and resources for disease- carrying flies are reduced,and the plants upon which cattle feed are nourished.The relationship between the dung beetles and the cattle is a type of____________ .

A)interspecific competition
B)parasitism
C)intraspecific competition
D)mutualism

Question 15

All of the following are physical limiting factors affecting survival and growth of an organism except____________ .

A)temperature
B)salinity
C)predation
D)sunlight

Question 16

Hawaiian honeycreepers are _________.

A)rodents from Hawaii that were introduced to the panhandle of Florida,where they have driven some species of bees to extinction by eating their hives
B)birds that are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands
C)invasive insects that have been introduced to the Hawaiian Islands
D)birds that have been driven to extinction on the Hawaiian Islands

Question 17

Which one of the following illustrates intraspecific competition?

A)A butterfly feeding on the nectar of a daffodil flower
B)A tick and a flea sharing a dog's back
C)Male red- winged blackbirds defending nesting sites from other males
D)A Franklin's gull swooping down to snatch a fish from the water's surface

Question 18

When populations increase toward their carrying capacity,their resources________ .

A)increase in supply as the population size decreases to zero
B)are not a concern as they are usually infinite in supply
C)become more scarce
D)increase because populations are decreasing

Question 19

Purple martins are the largest species of swallow in North America.In the Eastern United States,they breed almost exclusively in large colonies in artificial martin houses and hollowed- out gourds hung by martin enthusiasts,who often have to remove invasive house sparrows from these artificial nest sites in order for the martins to have a place to nest.The relationship between the martins and sparrows can best be described as __________ ,and the relationship between the martins and the martin enthusiasts can best be described as ________.

A)intraspecific competition;interspecific competition
B)interspecific competition;mutualism
C)predation;mutualism
D)parasitism;symbiosis

Question 20

Dung beetles live in regions where cattle graze,quickly burying and recycling cattle droppings.Because of the dung beetle's activities,breeding habitats and resources for disease- carrying flies are reduced,and the plants upon which cattle feed are nourished.The relationship between the dung beetles and the disease- carrying flies is a type of___________ .

A)commensalism
B)intraspecific competition
C)interspecific competition
D)mutualism

Question 21

-Which of these lines depicts a population being affected by limited resources?

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

Question 22

In a terrestrial food web,which of the following categories of organisms will have the highest total energy content and biomass?

A)Primary producers
B)Consumers
C)Carnivores
D)Herbivores

Question 23

Many strategies have been used to control leafy spurge,including the deliberate introduction of different species of flea beetles that feed on leafy spurge.Each flea beetle female may lay about 200 eggs in her only year of life.In places where flea beetle introductions have quickly established large populations that have grown and stabilized,a graph of the population growth of these beetles most likely would look like ___________ .

A)a straight increasing line
B)an S- shaped curve
C)a J- shaped curve
D)an upside down U- curve

Question 24

Plants such as leafy spurge can double their population size every year in part because of their efficient production of large amounts of seeds.Populations that can double every year,such as leafy spurge,__________.

A)will do so endlessly,eventually achieving a global distribution
B)exhibit exponential growth as they spread to new regions
C)exhibit logistic growth
D)probably have more predators than other species

Question 25

Read the following scenario, and answer the questions below.

In North America, a toxic weed called leafy spurge was accidentally introduced and has grown and spread rapidly, covering millions of acres in north- central United States and south- central Canada. Leafy spurge is generally avoided by cattle and horses and may be toxic to them. Thus, rangeland where leafy spurge has spread has been damaged by the invasion of this plant.


-Flea beetles alone are unlikely to eliminate all of the leafy spurge in a region.Instead,the number of leafy spurge plants and the number of flea beetles in a particular community may stabilize.At such a point,the leafy spurge and flea beetle populations __________.

A)are still experiencing exponential growth
B)have experienced constant growth
C)have exhibited exponential growth followed by a crash
D)are experiencing ecological resistance

Question 26

Why is the sea otter considered a keystone species in areas of the Pacific Ocean?

A)Sea otters eat barnacles and mussels,and if sea otter populations were to crash,barnacles and mussel populations in tide pools would expand,causing a decrease in biodiversity in those areas.
B)Sea otters were introduced to control kelp and other invasive plants,and without them,the plants would grow too thick to support crab and lobster populations in the area.
C)If sea otter populations were to crash,kelp forests could disappear because of overgrazing by sea urchins that would otherwise be controlled by the sea otters.
D)If sea otter populations were to crash,sea urchins would be unable to survive because kelp forests would become too dense.

Question 27

Which of the following represents a type of mutualism?

A)A large herd of zebra graze lazily across the broad savannah.
B)A honeybee pollinates an orange blossom as it feeds on the flower's nectar.
C)A mosquito draws a blood meal from the back of an elk.
D)A red- tailed hawk pounces on a field mouse for dinner.

Question 28

If too many of a certain species of game fish are caught,the population will crash and future years of fishing in the lake will suffer.Your job as a fisheries and wildlife officer is to decide how many fish you should allow to be harvested so as to sustain the sport fishing industry while maintaining the fish population.Assuming the fish population normally experiences logistic population growth,which of the following options would seem to make the most sense in managing this fish population?

A)Allow harvesting to a level of half of the species' carrying capacity.
B)Allow harvesting only above the species' carrying capacity.
C)Allow harvesting to a level of the species' full carrying capacity.
D)Allow harvesting to a level of 1/10 of the species' carrying capacity.

Question 29

What makes up an ecological community?

A)All of the species that use the same resources
B)Different species of the same type of animal within a specific area
C)All the humans living in a certain area
D)All the plants,animals,and other organisms interacting in a specific area

Question 30

Along the shoreline of a pond,Canada geese,American toads,and grass frogs search for food while bluegill and bass prey on small fish in the shallow water.These species,living and feeding in this particular location,represent an____________.

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

Question 31

A population's growth rate is determined by _________.

A)birth and immigration rates
B)birth rate and ecological resilience
C)birth rate
D)birth,death,immigration,and emigration rates

Question 32

-Which survivorship curve in the figure depicts a species that has a high death rate early in life,followed by a period of low death rate early in adulthood,and then a period of high death rate later in life?

A)Line A
B)Line B
C)Line C
D)None of the above

Question 33

In logistic population growth,how does population growth change as the population nears its carrying capacity?

A)Population growth decreases.
B)Population growth increases.
C)Population growth typically crashes.
D)Population growth remains steady.

Question 34

Read the following scenario, and answer the questions below.

In North America, a toxic weed called leafy spurge was accidentally introduced and has grown and spread rapidly, covering millions of acres in north- central United States and south- central Canada. Leafy spurge is generally avoided by cattle and horses and may be toxic to them. Thus, rangeland where leafy spurge has spread has been damaged by the invasion of this plant.



-Leafy spurge has spread across many U.S.states.If left uncontrolled in these states,leafy spurge populations will _________ .

A)eventually reach their carrying capacity
B)shift from a J- curve to a constant rate of growth
C)never experience environmental resistance
D)shift from a logistic curve to a J- shaped growth curve

Question 35

-Which line in the figure represents the survivorship curve for humans?

A)Line A
B)Line B
C)Line C
D)None of the above

Question 36

-Which of these lines depicts a population with a constant growth rate?

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

Question 37

An organism's range of tolerance is best exemplified by which of the following?

A)The difference between the amount of food available and the organism's consumption of that food
B)The span between the minimum and maximum temperature in which an organism flourishes
C)The total amount of pollutants experienced by an organism
D)The difference between the amount of sunlight tolerated by an organism and the amount of sunlight available to the organism

Question 38

Which of the following is analogous to mutualism?

A)A basketball player is paid by a company to wear its particular brand of shoes.
B)Young lovers leave their initials carved into a tree,which then becomes diseased and dies.
C)A thief breaks into a store and steals some precious jewels.
D)A deer hunter stalks and kills a large buck.

Question 39

Read the following scenario, and answer the questions below.

In North America, a toxic weed called leafy spurge was accidentally introduced and has grown and spread rapidly, covering millions of acres in north- central United States and south- central Canada. Leafy spurge is generally avoided by cattle and horses and may be toxic to them. Thus, rangeland where leafy spurge has spread has been damaged by the invasion of this plant.


-Some flea beetles escape from a ship and fly to a small island covered with grass but with no trees or beetle predators.As the beetles feed,they destroy all the grasses.But with abundant food,the beetle population soars,doubling in size every month.After about a year,the population crashes as thousands of beetles have destroyed almost all of the plants,and there is little left to feed the large population.This scenario best illustrates ________.

A)the fact that the beetles have strong competition from other species for food supply
B)constant growth followed by equilibrium
C)a population that has stabilized near its carrying capacity
D)exponential growth followed by a population crash

Question 40

Biocontrol strategies are most likely to work on which one of the following invasive species?

A)Burmese pythons
B)Zebra mussels
C)Tamarisk
D)Chestnut blight fungus

Question 41

Give an example of how an invasive species can cause ecological or economic harm.

Question 42

With regard to trophic structure,the rule of 10 states that_______ .

A)metabolic rates roughly double with every 10°C increase in temperature
B)only 10% of the calories available at one trophic level will be consumed by organisms in the next trophic level
C)approximately 10% of the energy at one trophic level is lost to the environment before being transferred into the biomass of the next trophic level
D)approximately 10% of the energy at one trophic level is transferred into the biomass of the next trophic level

Question 43

Explain the principle of limiting factors.Identify examples of biological limiting factors and examples of physical limiting factors.

Question 44

Off the southern coast of Iceland,the small volcanic island of Surtsey first emerged above sea level in 1963.By 1970,plants,mosses,and lichens had colonized the island,and by 2008,over 50 species of plants were on the island,and birds and seals had begun using the island as well.The ecological changes that have occurred on this new island represent ________.

A)primary succession
B)secondary succession
C)disturbances
D)resilience events