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RENR 205 Exam 4: Quiz Questions + RENR 205- EXAM 4 (quiz 11-12)

Terms in this set (74)

Two herbivore species graze on the same plant species. Because each herbivore species reduces the availability of this plant for the other, we can refer to the interaction between the two herbivores as one involving __________.
competition
Two pathogen species infect the same host species. Because each pathogen species reduces the availability of resources from the host organism for the other, we can refer to the interaction between the two pathogen species as one involving __________.
competition
Mutualism, a relationship between two species where members of each species benefits from the interaction, can be considered the opposite of which of the following:
...
Two species compete for a common resource eventually leading to concentrations of that resource that are so low that only one of the species survives. This is an example of:
Exploitative competition
The direct inhibition of one species by another using noxious or toxic chemicals is known as:
allelopathy
What will be the outcome of competition between the two species shown on the phase plane graph below?

(The lines intersect)
There are multiple possible outcomes, depending on the starting values of N1 and N2.
What will be the outcome of competition between the two species shown on the phase plane graph below?

(The lines do not intersect, species 1 is farthest away from the origin)
Species 1 will win, for any starting values of N1 and N2.
In the study examining the competitive ability of tadpoles of various species in the presence and absence of newts, why was one species more successful in the presence (as opposed to the absence) of predators?
They were very inactive and therefore less conspicuous to predators.
The classic experiment conducted by Russian biologist Georgyi Gause that examined the competition between Paramecium caudatum and Paramecium aurelia demonstrated which of the following principles?
No two organisms can coexist indefinitely when they are in competition for the same resources
Because of its relationship with its host, the ectoparasite has _____
low exposure to the host's immune system
Assuming that resources remain unlimited, what will happen if the prey consumption term (a Npredator Nprey) is removed from the Lotka-Volterra prey equation?
Exponential growth of prey
Ambush predators often are camouflaged, true/false?
True
Which is a warning coloration?
aposematism
The bombardier beetle (Stenaptinus insignis) deters predators by releasing boiling hot fluid from its abdomen. This is an example of ______
chemical defense
Wolves hunt in packs that chase down their prey. This is an example of
pursuit hunting
The crucian carp (Carassius carassius) develops a muscular hump on its back that increases its acceleration in response to predators. This is an example of ______
a structural defense.
The non-poisonous scarlet king snake (Lampropeltis elapsoides) found in the eastern United States has similar coloration to that of the poisonous eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius). This is an example of
Batesian mimicry
Some plants have many trichomes (appendages that resemble hairs) on their leaves, which confer them resistance to herbivory. This is an example of
mechanical defense
As their name suggests, poison dart frogs are poisonous. Many of the also have bright colors that help to warn predators about their toxicity. What kind of defense against predator do these frogs use?
chemical defense & batesian mimicry
What is the driving force in the approximately 10-year cycle of lynx and hare abundance?
predation
Which of the following in NOT an example of an ectoparasite?
a tapeworm
Which of the following three interactions are mutualisms?
Fig and fig wasp: The adult wasps crawl into the cluster of fig flowers to lay eggs. By moving around, the adult wasp pollinates the fig flowers, allowing them to produce fruit and seeds. As the fig fruit develops, it provides shelter for the wasp larvae.

Ants and acacias: Acacia plants develop hollow thorns that provide shelter for ant colonies and produce nectaries on their leaves that provide food for ants. The ants defend the acacia plant from herbivores.
What benefit do Rhizobium bacteria provide to plants that plants cannot provide for themselves?
conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to a form that plants can use
The association between bees and flowering plants is a well-known mutualism. What benefit do flowers provide bees?
Bees obtain nutrients from the flowers.
When two species provide fitness benefits to each other but do not require each other to persist, they are
facultative mutualists
Coral and zooxanthellae algae have a mutualism in which coral provide shelter for algae. What do algae provide for coral?
nutrients
Sexual reproduction is considered more costly than asexual reproduction because
Sexual organs require energy and resources.
A species that interacts with many other species is a
generalist
You are studying a plant species that has a fungus growing in its roots. You remove the fungus and evaluate what happens to the plant. Which outcome indicates a mutualistic relationship between the fungus and the plant?
The plant becomes less toxic to herbivores.
What benefit do mammals and birds provide to a plant when they eat its fruit?
They disperse the seeds in the fruit to new areas.
Symbiosis can include which of the following?
mutually beneficial intimate interactions between two different species

intimate interactions between two species that are beneficial to one partner and detrimental to the other

intimate interactions between two species where one species obtains a benefit and the other is unaffected
Consider a species of fig tree that is pollinated by a single species of wasp. Without the wasp, the fig tree will not produce seeds. Without the fig tree, the wasp will not produce offspring. The relationship between these species is an example of
obligate mutualism
Research from the lab of Dr. Mateos (your instructor) has shown that Spiroplasma bacteria associated with Drosophila flies
protect the flies against parasitoid wasps, defensive mutualistic
Symbiosis is defined as a
an intimate interaction between two (or more) different species
Which statement best describes the "two-fold" cost of meiosis?
Females pass on only 50 percent of their DNA (or genetic material) through sexual reproduction rather than 100 percent through asexual reproduction.
The San Antonio area is dependent on water from _______.
a. the Ogallala Aquifer that is slowly recharged
b. the Ogallala Aquifer that is rapidly recharged
c. the Edwards Aquifer that is slowly recharged
d. the Edwards Aquifer that is rapidly recharged
the Ogallala Aquifer that is slowly recharged.
On a global scale, the amount of evaporation is _____ to the amount of precipitation.
equal to
less than
more than
equal to
The concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere is approximately _____ higher than the next highest measured concentration over the past 400,000 years.
51%
41%
21%
31%
31%
Which of the following is NOT considered a micronutrient?
Potassium
Nitrogen
Iron
Magnesium
Nitrogen
Aside from that produced by biological nitrogen fixation, biologically available nitrogen is abundantly available in various rocks and minerals, which can be mined for fertilizer.
TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Which is the process by which decomposers and detritivores break down organic nitrogen compounds into ammonia?
denitrification
nitrogen fixation
mineralization
assimilation
mineralization
Freshwater ecosystems tend to be ______ limited.

Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Iron
Phosphorus
Most of phosphorus on Earth are in the __________.
a. sedimentary rocks
b. atmosphere
c. terrestrial ecosystems
d. aquatic ecosystems
aquatic ecosystems
The large-scale agricultural production on the high plains of the Texas Panhandle is dependent on water from _______.
a. the Edwards Aquifer that is slowly recharged
b. the Edwards Aquifer that is rapidly recharged
c. the Ogallala Aquifer that is rapidly recharged
d. the Ogallala Aquifer that is slowly recharged
the ogallala aquifer that is slowly recharged
What provides the energy for evaporation?

sugars
hydrostatic pressure
water vapor
solar irradiance
nutrients
solar irradiance
Which of the following releases large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere?
lightning strikes
volcanic eruptions
floods
calcium carbonate formation in the ocean
earthquakes
calcium carbonate formation in the ocean
If atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration were decreased, one might expect:
a. the earth to get cooler
b. no change in the earth's temperature
c. the earth to get warmer or cooler
d. the earth to get warmer
the earth to get cooler
Which of these scenarios do you think will lead to the greatest increase in atmospheric CO2?
-Increasing Affluence (high economic growth, mix of energy sources, decreased population growth)

-Green Growth (reduced income/social inequities, environmental conservation and cleaner technologies, population declines)

-Regionality (moderate and regional economic growth, wide differences between countries, and population growth continuous)
-Regionality (moderate and regional economic growth, wide differences between countries, and population growth continuous)
Which of the following organisms, processes, or phenomena are responsible for nitrogen mineralization?
decomposers
lightning
primary producers
sedimentation
decomposers
Which of the following abiotic processes can result in the transformation of atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) to ammonia (NH3) available to plants and microorganisms?
a. landslides
b. acidification of lakes
c. lightning
d. none of the above
lighting
The phosphorus cycle is not of particular interest to ecologists because phosphorus is not an essential element.
TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Which of the following elements lacks a form that circulates readily (as a gas) through the atmosphere?
a. nitrogen
b. phosphorus
c. carbon
d. sulfur
Phosphorus
What likely happens when freshwater in the river flows into the Gulf in the summer?
a. The freshwater will sink below the saltwater.
b. The freshwater will be well mixed with the saltwater.
c. The freshwater will float above the saltwater.
The freshwater will float above the saltwater.
In an agricultural landscape in the Midwest with remnant forest patches, a forested corridor connecting two forest patches could function
a.
When the cost associated with using the resource is very small, regardless of the benefit to the individual
b.
When the benefit associated with using a bit more of the resource is very large, regardless of the cost
c.
When the benefit to the individual for using a bit more of the resource is greater than the associated cost
d.
When the group benefit of leaving the resource unused is greater than the individual's benefit of using more
When the benefit to the individual for using a bit more of the resource is greater than the associated cost
The beauty of a national park is an example of a ____ service.

supporting
provisioning
regulating
cultural
cultural
The transformation of the forest dominated landscape in Minnesota to a landscape dominated by beaver ponds and wet/moist meadows during the comeback of beaver population in 1926-1986 is an examples of __________.
a. the effect of landscape pattern on landscape function.
b. the effect of landscape process on landscape structure.
c. the effect of landscape pattern on landscape process.
d. the effect of landscape structure on landscape process.
the effect of landscape pattern on landscape process
In an agricultural landscape in the Midwest with remnant forest patches, a forested corridor connecting two forest patches could function
a. as a conduit to forest animals
b. as a barrier to open-land animals
c. as a barrier or filter to erosion flow
d. all of the above
all of the above
What is the matrix of a post oak savanna landscape (~10 km2) that consists of grass areas (60%), wooded areas (30%), crop fields (7%), and water (3%)?
a. crop fields
b. wooded areas
c. grass areas
d. water
grass areas
If we consider the areas within 100 m of forest to cropland edge as the edge habitat, which of the following patch has the lowest proportion of interior habitat?
a. a square patch 25 ha in size (500 m by 500 m)
b. a rectangle patch 25 ha in size (200 m by 1250 m)
c. a square patch 100 ha in size (1000 m by 1000 m)
d. a rectangle patch 100 ha in size (500 m by 2000 m)
a rectangle patch 25 ha in size (200 m by 1250 m)
Of the three types of bees included in their study, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter and colleagues found that wild bees, which fly relatively short distances when foraging, were influenced by the nature of the landscape mosaic at __________?

a. small (250 m) scales
b. medium (750 m) scales
c. large (3,000 m) scales
large scales
Fragmentation of the tiger bush landscape in Niger

a. increased landscape's ability to retain soil.
b. increased landscape's ability to retain water.
c. had no effect on landscape's ability to retain water.
d. decreased landscape's ability to retain water.
decreased landscape's ability to retain water.
In the study of the effects of patch size on animal movement at the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, _______.
a. rodents move longer distance and more frequent in smaller habitat patches.
b. rodents move longer distance and less frequent in larger habitat patches.
c. rodents move shorter distance and more frequent in larger habitat patches.
d. rodents move shorter distance and less frequent in smaller habitat patches.
rodents move shorter distance and more frequent in larger habitat patches.
A stream flowing through or under a glacier can leave deposits of soil and rock in its path. After the retreat of the glacier, these deposits appear as a long, winding hill in the landscape, called esker. This is a case of __________ on landscape structure.
a. legacy effects of human activities
b. legacy effects of natural processes
c. effects of primary succession
d. effects of secondary succession
legacy effects of natural processes
In North America, the number of species of mammals generally

increases from north to south.
decreases from north to south.
increases from east to west.
decreases from east to west.
increases from east to west.
The change in species composition from the serpentine-soil plant community to the adjacent non-serpentine-soil plant community is considered a

a. alpha diversity.
b. beta diversity.
c. gamma diversity.
beta diversity.
Which of the following statements about species-accumulation curves is FALSE?
a. Species-accumulation curves are used to estimate regional, or gamma, diversity.
b. Species richness tends to be underestimated when curves are based on too few samples.
c. Species-accumulation curves are not needed when a complete census is available.
d. The precise shape of a species-accumulation curve depends on the order in which samples are processed.
Species-accumulation curves are not needed when a complete census is available.
This figure presents the results of a study of local versus regional butterflies species richness in a South African forest. The curve continues to rise linearly. What does this indicate about the processes structuring the butterfly community?
a. It suggests that the communities are unsaturated and that the size of the regional pool determines local species richness.
b. It suggests that the communities are becoming saturated and that local processes are likely becoming increasingly important.
c. It does not tell us anything about the relative importance of the regional species pool and local interactions.
It suggests that the communities are unsaturated and that the size of the regional pool determines local species richness.
If patch A and patch B are of the same size but patch A has a greater patch shape index value than patch B, then
a. patch A has more edge habitat than patch B.
b. patch A has more interior habitat than patch B.
c. patch B has a more complex shape than patch A.
d. patch A has a simpler shape than patch B.
patch A has more edge habitat than patch B, patch B has less edge habitat than patch A.
In an experimental study, Kyle Haynes and James Cronin (2003) from Louisiana State University found that the dispersal success of planthoppers from the central release patch onto surrounding satellite patches was ______ the type of matrix between the patches.
Dependent on
not affected by
dependent on
dependent on
Phenomena or processes occur over small areas change _____, and those occur over large areas change ______.
a.
slow ... fast
b.
slow ... slow
c.
fast ... fast
d.
fast ... slow
fast...slow
_________ in the 1960s-1980s is likely a major cause of the fragmentation of the tiger bush landscape in Niger.
Significant human population growth and associated fuel wood consumption
We saw the relationships of the density of nymphs of the black-legged tick and the percentage of tick nymphs infected with Borrelia burdorferi (the bacterial agent of Lyme disease) to area of forest fragments. Both density of tick nymphs and percentage infected were highest in the smallest forest fragments. What was the principal cause of the relationships observed?
increased abundance of white-footed mice in small forest patches
In North America, amphibian diversity is greatest in the
northeast.
northwest.
southeast.
southwest.
southeast
Which of the following statements most clearly describes how you expect the shape of the species-accumulation curve to change if you continue to increase your sampling effort?
The curve will increase as sampling effort increases, but the rate of increase will decline until the curve levels off.
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