Deck 20: Succession and Stability

Question 1

In the area of Glacier Bay,Alaska,the climax community is

A) hemlock forest.
B) muskeg.
C) hemlock forest on steep slopes, and muskeg on shallower slopes.
D) hemlock forest on shallow slopes, and muskeg on steeper slopes.
E) Dryas mats with scattered alders and cottonwoods.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In secondary succession on abandoned fields in the Piedmont of North Carolina,important pioneer species include

A) horsetails.
B) Dryas.
C) broomsedge (Andropogon).
D) pine seedlings.
E) crabgrass and horseweed.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

"Primary" succession is succession that

A) involves establishment of primary producers where there were none.
B) leads to establishment of a climax community dominated by primary producers.
C) occurs on newly exposed geologic substrates, not organic soil.
D) occurs where organic soils have been exposed but not destroyed by disturbance.
E) occurs after fire or agricultural abandonment.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The pioneer species at Glacier Bay,Alaska include

A) mosses.
B) Dryas.
C) alders.
D) horsetails.
E) hemlocks.

Question 5

The change in plant,animal,and microbial communities in an area following disturbance or the creation of new substrate is called _________.

A) progression
B) succession
C) replacement
D) colonization
E) invasion

Question 6

Which statement about changing ecosystem properties during succession is false?

A) biomass increases
B) community respiration increases
C) primary production increases
D) soil depths decrease
E) stream spiraling lengths decrease

Question 7

Three years of herbicide applications by Bormann and Likens to a clear cut forest in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest resulted in

A) delayed succession.
B) increased export of calcium.
C) increased import of nitrogen.
D) All of the choices are correct.
E) both delayed succession and increased export of calcium.

Question 8

On intertidal boulders in California,the diversity of diatoms and algae

A) increases at first, but then declines late in succession.
B) increases steadily through succession.
C) increases slowly at first, but then rapidly late in succession.
D) increases rapidly at first, then plateaus late in succession.
E) first decreases, but later increases.

Question 9

High nitrogen retention early in stream succession is probably due to

A) nitrogen fixation by aquatic fungi.
B) increasing biomass of algal and animal populations.
C) increasing nitrogen inputs from surrounding terrestrial soils.
D) increasing binding of nitrogen to developing organic sediments.
E) reduced denitrification following disturbance.

Question 10

During primary succession at Glacier Bay,overall plant species diversity

A) first increases rapidly, then levels off.
B) increases steadily throughout succession.
C) increases slowly at first, then more rapidly after a few hundred years.
D) peaks at intermediate successional stages.
E) decreases steadily throughout succession.

Question 11

How does canopy shading influence succession of pines and deciduous trees in the Piedmont of North Carolina?

A) Canopy shading by deciduous trees is required for growth of pines.
B) Canopy shading by deciduous trees prevents establishment of pines until late in succession.
C) Canopy shading by deciduous trees prevents persistence of pines in late successional stages.
D) Canopy shading by pines prevents establishment of deciduous trees.
E) Canopy shading by pines kills deciduous trees that were established early in succession.

Question 12

In the "transition phase" of forest succession,

A) biomass increases rapidly as the community reorganizes.
B) biomass declines from an earlier peak.
C) biomass stays constant, but species composition turns over rapidly.
D) nutrient export increases dramatically and soils become depleted.
E) one climax community gives way to another.

Question 13

In the Piedmont of North Carolina,as plant diversity increases through secondary succession,bird diversity

A) increases at first, but then declines late in succession.
B) increases steadily through succession.
C) increases slowly at first, but then rapidly late in succession.
D) increases rapidly at first, then plateaus late in succession.
E) first decreases, but later increases.

Question 14

Wayne Sousa's studies of succession on intertidal boulders demonstrated which elements of the inhibition hypothesis?

A) inhibition of mid- and late-successional species by pioneers
B) inhibition of late-successional species by mid-successional ones
C) higher mortality of pioneer species
D) All of the choices are correct.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 15

During primary succession at Glacier Bay,species diversity continues to increase throughout succession for which group(s)of plants?

A) tall shrubs and trees
B) low shrubs and herbs
C) mosses
D) lichens
E) all groups of plants

Question 16

Succession in old fields in the Piedmont of North Carolina involves succession driven

A) largely by facilitation.
B) largely by inhibition.
C) largely by tolerance.
D) both by inhibition and by tolerance.
E) both by facilitation and by inhibition.

Question 17

According to the "facilitation" hypothesis,pioneer species modify the environment in ways that

A) make it more suitable for their own survival, and less suitable for other species.
B) make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of other pioneer species.
C) make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of late-successional species.
D) make it less suitable for survival of all species.
E) make it more suitable for survival of all species.

Question 18

As Hawaiian lava flows age over 4 million years,

A) total soil phosphorous levels decrease.
B) total soil phosphorous levels increase.
C) total soil phosphorous stays about the same, but more phosphorous becomes refractory.
D) total soil phosphorous stays about the same, but more phosphorous becomes weatherable.
E) phosphorous limitation of primary production becomes less important.

Question 19

During succession in Arizona streams,nitrogen retention

A) increases at first, but then declines late in succession.
B) increases steadily through succession.
C) increases slowly at first, but then rapidly late in succession.
D) increases rapidly at first, then plateaus late in succession.
E) first decreases, but later increases.

Question 20

According to the "inhibition" hypothesis,pioneer species modify the environment in ways that

A) make it less suitable for other species.
B) make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of other pioneer species.
C) make it less suitable for their own survival, but more suitable for survival of late-successional species.
D) make it more suitable for survival of all species.
E) in this model, pioneer species do not modify the environment.

Question 21

___________ occurs in areas where disturbance destroyed the previous community without destroying the soil.

A) Pioneer succession
B) Climax succession
C) Secondary succession
D) Primary succession
E) Disturbance succession

Question 22

_________ is the ability of a community or ecosystem to maintain structure in the face of potential disturbance.

A) Resilience
B) Elasticity
C) Resistance
D) Plasticity
E) Flexibility

Question 23

Given the following data,determine the interquartile range:

A) 2 to 126
B) 5 to 79
C) 45 to 67
D) 18 to 71
E) 56 $\pm$ 40

Question 24

Pine communities are eventually replaced by oak-hickory communities after about 150 years of old field succession on the Piedmont Plateau of North Carolina because

A) mature pines are susceptible to a fungal disease called pine blight.
B) juvenile pines are susceptible to a fungal disease called pine blight.
C) juvenile pines cannot grow in the low pH soil that results as pine litter decomposes.
D) juvenile pines cannot grow in the shade of mature pines.
E) mature pines require an association with mycorrhizal fungi which are excluded from this area by low pH soils.

Question 25

The first plants in a successional sequence are called the ______________.

Question 26

According to the tolerance model of succession,

A) early successional species modify the environment making it less suitable for the establishment by all species.
B) only early successional species can establish as succession begins.
C) early successional species modify the environment making it less suitable for early successional species but more suitable for late successional species.
D) early successional species modify the environment making it less suitable for early successional species but neither less nor more favorable for late successional species.
E) both early successional species modify the environment making it less suitable for early successional species but neither less nor more favorable for late successional species and only early successional species can establish as succession begins.

Question 27

A community in which secondary succession is very rapid has

A) high resistance.
B) low resistance.
C) high resilience.
D) low resilience.
E) high replication.

Question 28

A tendency for a community to maintain its structure even when subject to potential disturbance is called ____________.

Question 29

A set of sites differing in successional age is called a ____________.

Question 30

On intertidal boulders in California,the climax community is dominated by perennial red algae.