Deck 23: Global Ecology

Question 1

Concentrations of ozone in earth's atmosphere are highest in the

A) troposphere.
B) stratosphere.
C) mesosphere.
D) thermosphere.
E) ozonosphere.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Using the Boolean Logical Operator "or" will typically

A) yield more references.
B) yield fewer references.
C) exclude certain types of references from your search.
D) locate references including a particular word or term with alternative endings.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The nation containing the largest fraction of the world's tropical rain forest is

A) Congo.
B) Brazil.
C) Mexico.
D) The United States.
E) Indonesia.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

During El Niño events, primary production by phytoplankton increases sharply in the Great Salt Lake of Utah. This is because

A) water temperatures increase.
B) nutrient concentrations are increased as lake volume shrinks.
C) decreasing salinity allows invasion of predators that control brine shrimp populations.
D) decreasing salinity allows invasion of more phytoplankton species.
E) decreasing dissolved oxygen increases the efficiency of photosynthesis.

Question 5

A carbon dioxide concentration record from the Vostok ice core indicates

A) little change in atmospheric CO₂ concentration before the Industrial Revolution.
B) dramatic increases in atmospheric CO₂ associated with ice ages.
C) dramatic increases in atmospheric CO₂ associated with interglacials.
D) dramatic changes in atmospheric CO₂, but no obvious association with the glacial/interglacial cycle.
E) an inverse correlation between atmospheric CO₂ concentration and temperature.

Question 6

Which of the following gases contribute to warming of the Earth's surface through the greenhouse effect?

A) carbon dioxide
B) methane
C) water vapor
D) nitrous oxide
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 7

Periodic increases and decreases in red kangaroo populations in Australia are associated with

A) predator-driven population cycles.
B) parasite population cycles.
C) sunspot cycles.
D) the El Niño - Southern Oscillation.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 8

El Niño events

A) occur when the Southern Oscillation index is high.
B) occur when barometric pressure is lower in the western Pacific than in the eastern Pacific.
C) include the appearance of warm currents on the Pacific coast of South America.
D) are always accompanied by La Niña events at the same time.
E) are accompanied by westward movement of the location of storm generation in the Pacific.

Question 9

During El Niño events, coastal populations of anchovies and sardines

A) flourish as seabird populations decline.
B) decline as sea lion populations flourish.
C) flourish as sea lion populations decline.
D) decline as phytoplankton populations decline.
E) flourish as phytoplankton populations flourish.

Question 10

The 1987 Montreal Protocol was an agreement to limit human production of

A) carbon dioxide.
B) nitrate.
C) PCBs.
D) lead paint.
E) chlorofluorocarbons.

Question 11

Before life evolved on Earth, the atmosphere

A) had much higher concentrations of oxygen.
B) had much lower concentrations of carbon dioxide.
C) was more or less the same as it is now.
D) had much lower concentrations of oxygen.
E) had much lower concentrations of hydrogen.

Question 12

Which of the following make important contributions to nitrogen fixation by human activities?

A) combustion of fossil fuels
B) industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers
C) use of crop rotation in agriculture
D) All of the choices are correct.
E) only industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers and use of crop rotation in agriculture

Question 13

During El Niño events,

A) Australia experiences drought.
B) western North America experiences drought.
C) Canada and Alaska are cooler than average.
D) populations of anchovies and seabirds increase along the South American coast.
E) primary production increases around the Galápagos Islands.

Question 14

The __________ is the layer of atmosphere which extends from the earth's surface to an altitude of 9 to 16 km.

A) stratosphere
B) mesosphere
C) thermosphere
D) troposphere
E) ozonosphere

Question 15

Ozone plays an important role in shaping the environment for life on Earth because it

A) absorbs visible radiation.
B) emits ultraviolet radiation.
C) absorbs ultraviolet radiation.
D) reflects visible radiation.
E) dissolves more readily than oxygen gas in seawater.

Question 16

Which of the following statements does NOT apply to tropical forest edges?

A) Trees grow more rapidly and survive better in edge habitat than in the forest interior.
B) Edge habitat is drier than the forest interior.
C) Edge habitat has higher solar radiation than the forest interior.
D) Edge habitat is hotter than the forest interior.
E) Forest fragmentation increases the ratio of edge habitat to forest interior.

Question 17

Fur seals and sea lions in the Galápagos Islands experience population declines during El Niño events because

A) their hibernation cues are disrupted by the unusual climate.
B) they are not capable of effective thermoregulation in the cooler waters around the islands.
C) the fish they feed upon move further offshore in search of warmer water.
D) the fish they feed upon move offshore and deeper in search of cooler water.
E) the fish they feed on are driven to local extinction.

Question 18

During the past century, the average global temperature has risen

A) 0.7 $\degree$ C
B) 1.5 $\degree$ C
C) 3.5 $\degree$ C
D) 5.5 $\degree$ C
E) 10.5 $\degree$ C

Question 19

La Niña brings higher than average precipitation to

A) North America.
B) South America.
C) Australia.
D) All of the choices are correct.
E) both North America and South America.

Question 20

Greenhouse gases help keep the surface of the earth warm by absorbing _____ emitted by the _____.

A) visible light, sun
B) ultraviolet radiation, earth
C) infrared radiation, sun
D) infrared radiation, earth
E) visible light, earth

Question 21

By measuring the CO₂ concentration in the Vostok ice core, scientists were able to show that atmospheric CO₂ concentrations fluctuated substantially over the last 160,000 years and periods of low atmospheric CO₂ concentration correspond with

A) warmer interglacial periods.
B) colder ice age periods.
C) years of above average precipitation.
D) years of below average precipitation.
E) both warmer interglacial periods and years of below average precipitation.

Question 22

Ozone in the stratosphere is destroyed during breakdown of ________ molecules.

Question 23

Nitrogen fixation due to human activities now exceeds total global fixation by all other biotic and abiotic agents.

Question 24

In the "U.S. LTER Network", LTER stands for ________.

Question 25

Human release of CO₂ into the atmosphere accelerated during World War I and World War II.

Question 26

The reduction in atmospheric ¹⁴C/¹²C ratio associated with fossil fuel combustion is known as the ____________.

Question 27

Strongly negative values of the Southern Oscillation Index are associated with La Niña events.

Question 28

Negative values on the Southern Oscillation Index indicate

A) lower barometric pressure in the western Pacific Ocean.
B) lower barometric pressure in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
C) lower barometric pressure in the northern Pacific Ocean.
D) higher barometric pressure in the southern Pacific Ocean.
E) higher barometric pressure in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Question 29

Episodes of lower sea surface temperatures and higher barometric pressure in the eastern tropical Pacific are known as La Niña events.