Question 1

Which of the following types of environmental variation can change over time?
I. weather
II. climate
III. spatial variation

Accepted Answer

A)  I only 
B)  II only 
C)  III only 
D)  both I and II 
E)  I, II, and III

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of weather?

Accepted Answer

A)  The average annual rainfall in a North American desert is 33 cm per year. 
B)  The average summer temperature at a specific location has increased from 30°C in the 1950s to 32°C in the 1990s. 
C)  A single location received 10 cm of snow on January 1, 2011, but no snow on January 2, 2011. 
D)  The composition of the soil differs between the coastal beaches and the eastern forests of North America.

Question 3

The average annual rainfall measured in a desert over 10 years is which type of variation?

Accepted Answer

A)  weather 
B)  climate 
C)  spatial 
D)  phenotypic

Question 4

An active hummingbird maintains its resting body temperature at approximately 40°C, while a torpid hummingbird maintains its resting body temperature at approximately 20°C. Explain how torpor allows hummingbirds to survive cold periods with little available food.

Accepted Answer

The answer of An active hummingbird maintains its resting body...

Question 5

Explain the differences and similarities between storage and dormancy as adaptive strategies, and provide an example.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the differences and similarities between storage...

Question 6

Use the table to answer questions 49 and 50.
An ecologist is studying the relationship between a beetle species and a flower species. She examines six plants and counts the number of beetles and the number of flowers on each plant.
 
-What can we conclude from the data?

Accepted Answer

A)  Flowers cause beetles to be more abundant. 
B)  Beetles cause plants to grow more flowers. 
C)  A third unmeasured variable causes both beetles and flowers to increase. 
D)  There is no relationship between flowers and beetles.

Question 7

Use the following graphs and information to answer questions 13, 14, and 15. This figure shows the tail shape developed by three tadpole genotypes (M, N, and O), when raised in an environment with predators and an environment without predators. In the presence of predators, tadpoles with large tails have high fitness and tadpoles with small tails have low fitness. When predators are not present, tadpoles with large tails have low fitness and tadpoles with small tails have high fitness.
 
-Which genotype(s) would have the highest average fitness across both environments?

Accepted Answer

A)  M only 
B)  N only 
C)  O only 
D)  both M and N 
E)  both N and O

Question 8

Which statement about predator and prey phenotypic plasticity is accurate?
I. Prey can change morphology to avoid predators.
II. Predators can change morphology to capture prey.
III. Both predators and prey exhibit phenotypic trade-offs.

Accepted Answer

A)  I only 
B)  II only 
C)  III only 
D)  I and II only 
E)  I, II, and III

Question 9

-An animal that consumes a varied diet because a single food does not contain all necessary nutrients is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  optimal diet composition. 
B)  diet mixing. 
C)  risk-sensitive foraging. 
D)  central-place foraging.

Question 10

Many Arctic animals accumulate fat as an energy reserve that allows them to survive winter when food is difficult to obtain. This strategy is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  migration. 
B)  storage. 
C)  dormancy. 
D)  diapause.

Question 11

Use the table to answer questions 49 and 50.
An ecologist is studying the relationship between a beetle species and a flower species. She examines six plants and counts the number of beetles and the number of flowers on each plant.
 
-Which of the following terms best describes the data?

Accepted Answer

A)  positive linear correlation 
B)  negative linear correlation 
C)  positive curvilinear correlation 
D)  negative curvilinear correlation

Question 12

-Based on the central-place foraging theory and the nearby figure, identify the optimal number of prey for a forager to catch. In the figure the orange line indicates the optimal rate of prey capture.

Accepted Answer

A)  5 prey 
B)  8 prey 
C)  10 prey 
D)  5, 8, and 10 prey are equally optimal

Question 13

What is an example of how jewelweed plants exhibit adaptive phenotypic plasticity in response to competition from other plants?

Accepted Answer

A)  develop trichomes and glucosinolates 
B)  grow shorter stems 
C)  grow longer stems 
D)  close stomata in leaves

Question 14

In response to a specific type of environmental variation, the Burmese python can drastically increase the size of its heart and length of its intestines in less than 2 days. What environmental variation causes this drastic change?

Accepted Answer

A)  variation in predators 
B)  variation in availability of food 
C)  variation in availability of mates 
D)  variation in temperature

Question 15

A specific location within the area where an animal lives and typically contains more favourable abiotic conditions than other locations in the area is a

Accepted Answer

A)  microhabitat. 
B)  torpor. 
C)  acclimation. 
D)  climate.

Question 16

Describe how a moving animal experiences spatial variation as environmental change over time, and provide an example.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe how a moving animal experiences spatial...

Question 17

During the course of two generations, monarch butterflies move from southern Canada to Mexico, spend the winter in Mexico, and then return to Southern Canada. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  climate. 
B)  migration. 
C)  storage. 
D)  foraging.

Question 18

Describe two ways in which a desert lizard can survive high summer temperatures.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe two ways in which a desert...

Question 19

Tigriopus copepods living in ocean tide pools are subject to frequent changes in salt concentrations. In response to these drastic changes in salinity, Tigriopus copepods change the amount of amino acids in their bodies, which allows the osmotic potential of their body fluids to match that of the tide pool. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  microhabitat use. 
B)  acclimation. 
C)  aestivation. 
D)  torpor.

Exam 4: Adaptations to Variable Environments

Which of the following types of environmental variation can change over time? I. weather II. climate III. spatial variation