Chapter.12 Test Bank Answers Life Histories

Ecology, 8e (Molles)

Chapter 12 Life Histories

1) A polymorphic locus is one that

A) codes for more than one protein.

B) codes for both protein and lipid.

C) occurs in a population as more than one allele.

D) occurs on more than one chromosome.

E) can cause more than one phenotype in an individual, depending on the environment.

2) Which of the following observations can be explained by the energetic limitation of an organism's total reproductive effort?

A) Darter diversity is very high in the Ozark Highlands.

B) Darters that lay many eggs lay smaller eggs, on average.

C) Seed size in plants varies over at least 10 orders of magnitude.

D) Seed size in plants depends in part on the plant's seed dispersal mechanism.

E) More than one of the choices.

3) The number of eggs laid by a female is called her

A) fertility.

B) gonadosomatic index.

C) growth form.

D) rotundity.

E) fecundity.

4) Seeds bearing elaisomes are likely to be dispersed by

A) ants.

B) wind.

C) water.

D) birds.

E) scatterhoarding mammals.

5) A "forb" is a(n)

A) fish species living in the open ocean.

B) bird species having offspring independent at a young age.

C) plant species with woody tissue.

D) grass or sedge.

E) herbaceous, but non-graminoid, plant species.

6) Which of the following environments for germinating seed is most likely to favor a plant species that makes many small seeds, compared to one that makes fewer larger seeds?

A) Nutrient limitation

B) Competition from established plants

C) Shade

D) Deep burial in soil

E) Disturbance

7) Because natural selection has shaped fish life histories,

A) fish species with high adult mortality tend to mature at a younger age.

B) fish species with high adult mortality tend to mature at an older age.

C) fish species with high adult mortality tend to invest relatively large amounts of energy in reproduction.

D) Both fish species with high adult mortality tend to mature at a younger age and fish species with high adult mortality tend to invest relatively large amounts of energy in reproduction are true.

E) Both fish species with high adult mortality tend to mature at an older age and fish species with high adult mortality tend to invest relatively large amounts of energy in reproduction are true.

8) The "K" in "K-selection" comes from the

A) ecologist who coined it, Astrid Kodric-Brown.

B) shape of the age-vs.-mortality-rate plot for K-selected species.

C) "K" in the logistic growth equation.

D) Greek letter "kappa," symbolizing fecundity.

E) None of the choices are correct.

9) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic favored by K-selection?

A) Low intrinsic rate of increase

B) Late reproduction

C) Many, small offspring

D) Repeated bouts of reproduction

E) Strong competitive ability

10) In Grime's classification, stress-tolerant plants

A) live under conditions of high stress and also high disturbance.

B) grow rapidly.

C) are very palatable to herbivores.

D) conserve nutrients and water.

E) All of the choices are correct.

11) Among fish species, an "opportunistic" life history is characterized by

A) high juvenile survival, large numbers of offspring, and early maturity.

B) high juvenile survival, large numbers of offspring, and late maturity.

C) low juvenile survival, low number of offspring, and early maturity.

D) traits that maximize colonizing ability for environments that do not vary much in time or space.

E) traits that maximize colonizing ability for environments that are very stressful.

12) Grime's classification of plant life histories focuses attention on

A) stress and disturbance.

B) stress and nutrient availability.

C) disturbance and gene flow.

D) disturbance and plant species diversity.

E) r- vs. K-selection.

13) A fish maturing late with large body size and producing many small offspring would be said to have a(n)

A) periodic life history.

B) opportunistic life history.

C) equilibrium life history.

D) precocial life history.

E) stress-tolerant life history.

14) As a fraction of adult mass, the mass of offspring at independence tends to be largest in

A) mammals.

B) altricial birds.

C) lizards.

D) both mammals and lizards.

E) All three groups have similar values.

15) "Riparian" refers to plant communities occurring

A) in the tropics.

B) at high altitudes.

C) along the edges of deserts.

D) in permanently flooded areas.

E) in transitions between riverbanks and upland areas.

16) Which of the following is NOT true of riparian plant communities?

A) Plant species adapted to frequent disturbance by flooding

B) Plant species dependent on flooding often dominant

C) Low species diversity, compared to surrounding terrestrial communities

D) High population densities, compared to surrounding terrestrial communities

E) Seriously impacted by human activities

17) The study of the relationship between climate and the timing of ecological events is called

A) ecology.

B) phenology.

C) oenology.

D) climatology.

E) life history theory.

18) Which statement about the impact of dams on cottonwood forests is false?

A) Damming reduces growth of established cottonwoods downstream.

B) Damming increases mortality of established cottonwoods downstream.

C) By reducing flooding downstream, damming improves cottonwood seed germination.

D) The timing of water release from a dam can greatly affect cottonwood seed germination.

E) Careful management of flow through dams can greatly reduce harmful impacts on cottonwoods downstream.

19) The principle of allocation states

A) if an organism uses energy for one function it reduces the amount of energy available for other functions.

B) organisms have a tendency to select the smallest prey available rather than exert more energy in capturing larger prey.

C) organisms that build larger nests produce fewer offspring.

D) organisms have a tendency to allocate more time and energy to a single preferred offspring while neglecting others.

E) plants allocate their energy such that larger seedlings come from smaller seeds.

20) ________ show more variation in life history traits than any other group.

A) All of the choices show equal amounts of variation in life history traits.

B) Mammals

C) Birds

D) Reptiles

E) Fish

21) Turner and Trexler found a ________ relationship between egg size and ________ in the darter populations that live in rivers and streams of central North America.

A) positive; gene flow

B) positive; egg number

C) positive; female size

D) positive; clutch size

E) negative; gene flow

22) Which of the following influence the number and size of seeds produced by plants?

A) Growth form

B) Dispersal mode

C) Disturbance intensity

D) Both growth form and dispersal mode

E) All of the choices are correct.

23) According to research by Westoby, Leishman, and Lord, plants that disperse their seeds in different ways tend to produce seeds of different sizes. Which is the correct order of seed mass from smallest to largest?

A) Vertebrate-dispersed, ant-dispersed, scatterhoarded, wind-dispersed

B) Unassisted, ant-dispersed, scatterhoarded, wind-dispersed

C) Scatterhoarded, vertebrate-dispersed, ant-dispersed, adhesion-adapted

D) Unassisted, adhesion-adapted, ant-dispersed, scatterhoarded

E) Unassisted, adhesion-adapted, wind-dispersed, ant-dispersed

24) Westoby, Leishman, and Lord found that on average, ________ produce the largest seeds.

A) forbs

B) woody plants

C) climbing plants and vines

D) graminoids

E) herbs

25) Which of the following are characteristics favored by K-selection?

A) Iteroparity

B) Small body size

C) Rapid development

D) High rmax

E) Early reproduction

26) Rates of gene flow can be estimated from similarity in allele frequencies among populations.

27) Life histories typical of r-selection are most likely to evolve where species populations are near carrying capacity much of the time.

28) In Grime's classification, a plant species adapted to highly disturbed environments is called a ________ species.

29) Bird species whose offspring are born helpless and depending on parental care are said to be ________.

30) Life history consists of the adaptations of an organism that influence aspects of its biology, such as (Select all that apply.)

A) its habitat.

B) its fecundity.

C) its body size at maturity.

D) its mortality.

31) Like plants, fish vary in the number and size of offspring they produce, ranging for many small eggs to a few large eggs.

32) How is the gonadosomatic index calculated?

33) Fish, lizards, and snakes experience ________ between mortality and timing of reproduction.

34) Bertschy and Fox (1999) found that adult:juvenile survival ratio decreases with increasing age at maturity.

35) Plants and animals are responding to climate warming by changing the timing of their life history.