Exam Questions Ch.3 Evolution and Communities

Principles of Environmental Science, 9e (Cunningham)

Chapter 3 Evolution, Species Interactions, and Biological Communities

1) ________ habitat specialist found exclusively in one specific type of habitat.

A) Keystone species

B) Endemic species

C) Pioneer species

D) Niche species

E) Mutualistic species

2) Individual species will continually evolve as a result of ________, with certain genetic combinations becoming more predominant.

A) coevolution

B) convergent evolution

C) punctuated equilibrium

D) natural selection

E) gradualism

3) Which of the following does not contribute to limits on population growth?

A) snakes feeding on mice in a cornfield

B) bears having two cubs

C) the amount of light for photosynthesis

D) a disease-causing organism entering a population

E) an increase in the total rainfall in a normally dry environment

4) ________ is the development of a new species.

A) Adaption

B) Speciation

C) Ecotone

D) Evolution

E) Mutation

5) Which of the following is a common strategy for successful intraspecific competition?

A) eating prey before they are "ready" (ripe) for other species

B) spreading seeds or offspring far and fast

C) producing substances that are toxic to competitors

6) There is/are usually ________ tolerance limit(s) responsible for limiting the number and location of a species. However, some organisms have ________ that limit(s) their distribution.

A) one; a specific critical factor

B) one; other environmental conditions

C) one specific; many factors

D) many; other environmental conditions

E) many; a specific critical factor

Use the following example for the question. A species of fish can withstand a narrow range of temperature. Above 100°F there are no individuals present. In the range from 97°F—100°F and 90°F—94°F there are a few individuals present. Below 90°F there are no individuals present. Between 95°F—96°F there are many individuals.

7) What would you label the range of temperature from 90°F to 94°F for this particular species?

A) zone of intolerance

B) zone of physiological stress

C) tolerance limit range

D) optimal range

E) range of tolerance

8) What would you label the range of temperature from 95°F to 96°F for this particular species?

A) zone of intolerance

B) tolerance limit range

C) zone of physiological stress

D) optimal range

E) range of tolerance

9) Sled dogs have a thick coat of hair that helps them withstand the cold temperatures of the Arctic. Compare that adaption to a single, unrelated dog that grows a thicker coat in the fall in response to colder temperatures. The adaptation of the sled dog best describes adaptation at the ________ level while the dog exposed to seasonal colder temperatures has ________.

A) regional; natural selection at the individual level

B) individual; physiological modifications at the population level

C) population; physiological modifications at the individual level

D) species; natural selection at the population level

E) ecosystem; physiological modifications at the individual level

10) Evolution occurs as a result of

A) the discovery of a desirable characteristic in a population.

B) an individual's physiological modification.

C) environmental change that forces modification in a resident species.

D) better survival or reproduction rates by individuals with a particular characteristic.

E) a population's physiological modification.

11) Natural selection will ultimately make a species

A) more intelligent.

B) physically bigger.

C) better adapted to its environment.

D) more aggressive.

E) less vulnerable to its predators.

12) Regular lawn mowing selects for dandelions with short heads rather than dandelions with tall heads because

A) tall flowers spread their seeds farther.

B) tall flowers cannot reproduce.

C) short flowers can reproduce.

D) short flowers spread their seeds farther.

E) short flowers have less competition when the lawn is mowed often.

13) A titmouse and a chickadee are living in the same territory and are using some of the same resources. The best way to classify this interaction is as

A) mutualism.

B) intraspecific competition.

C) interspecific competition.

D) symbiosis.

E) commensalism.

14) An especially effective strategy for reducing intraspecific competition is

A) different ecological niches for juveniles and adults.

B) rapid reproduction.

C) eating prey before they are "ready" (ripe) for other species.

D) resource partitioning.

E) None of these since the examples given are for reducing interspecific competition.

15) Symbiosis means

A) a relationship in which both species benefit.

B) a parasitic relationship.

C) commensalism.

D) living together.

E) a relationship in which one species benefits and the other does not benefit.

16) In the partnership of a lichen, the fungus provides ________ and the relationship is best described as ________.

A) most of the photosynthesis; symbiosis

B) poisons that deter predation; commensalism

C) structure and moisture-holding ability; mutualism

D) very little to the algal partner; parasitism

E) some of the photosynthesis; commensalism

17) An organism's biotic potential is the maximum number of offspring

A) that it can produce.

B) that survive to adulthood.

C) its habitat can support.

D) it produces at one time.

E) it actually produces over its lifetime.

18) A dieback, or population crash, often occurs after a species ________ its environmental carrying capacity.

A) meets

B) overshoots

C) undershoots

D) oscillates around

E) decreases

19) In the real world, many factors determine the numbers of organisms in any one population. Yet, a SUPERFLY with unlimited food and no mortality would show what type of growth?

A) carrying capacity geometric increase

B) irruptive growth

C) J-shaped curve

D) S-shaped curve

E) Malthusian growth

20) A biological community's primary productivity is a measure of

A) its number of species.

B) the number of individuals in the community.

C) available solar energy that can be converted to biomass.

D) the amount of biomass produced in the community.

E) number of species and biomass.

21) In a biological community where diversity is great, such as a tropical rainforest, the abundance of any one species is likely to be

A) great.

B) small.

C) widely variable from year to year.

D) unrelated to diversity.

22) Complexity in an ecological community has to do with the number of

A) species in the population.

B) species at each trophic level.

C) genetic variations within a species.

D) primary producers available.

E) primary producers relative to the number of consumers.

23) A community with hundreds of different types of primary producers, a few herbivores, and only one carnivore, has

A) little complexity.

B) little diversity.

C) a great deal of complexity.

D) low productivity.

E) a great deal of productivity.

24) Primary succession occurs when a community develops ________ while secondary succession occurs when one ________.

A) into a climax community; species replaces another

B) and replaces another; ecosystem becomes stable

C) on unoccupied ground; biological community replaces another

D) and then fails; niche changes

E) intraspecific competition; experiences interspecific competition

25) Which of the following are pioneer species?

A) wood warblers

B) dandelions

C) starlings

D) lichens

E) humans

26) As ecological development proceeds, a biological community

A) gradually stagnates.

B) becomes more diverse.

C) goes through repeated secondary succession stages.

D) goes through repeated primary succession stages.

E) becomes less complex.

27) A climax community is one that

A) is relatively stable and long lasting.

B) lasts forever.

C) contains oaks or white spruce.

D) is impervious to disruption.

E) is adapted to periodic disruption.

28) ________ is the place or set of environmental conditions in which a particular organism lives.

A) Adaptation

B) Habitat

C) Tolerance range

D) Resource partition

E) Niche

29) What term describes species which arise in non-overlapping geographic regions?

A) intraspecific competition

B) interspecific competition

C) sympatric speciation

D) allopatric speciation

E) invasive species

30) Two unpalatable or dangerous species which have warning patterns or colors and appear similar are an example of ________.

A) symbiosis

B) competitive exclusion

C) mutualism

D) Batesian mimicry

E) Mullerian mimicry

31) Which of the following is not generally true of k-selected species compared to r-selected species?

A) they have shorter generation times

B) they reach sexual maturity later

C) they have fewer young

D) they have longer life spans

E) they have slower population growth rates

32) The most common reason that introduced species cause trouble is because they are larger than native species.

33) The introduction of a predator onto an island originally free from predators is likely to cause the extinction of a native species.

34) In general species diversity is higher near the poles than near the equator.

35) In which situation would primary succession occur?

A) A volcanic eruption covers an area with a thick layer of lava that cools to hardened rock.

B) A forest fire burns all of the trees and shrubs in a large area of forest.

C) An area of farmland is left alone and no longer farmed.

D) A forest is clear cut, removing all of the vegetation.

E) A grassland is burned leaving nothing but ash on the soil.

36) A tapeworm lives in the gut of an animal taking nutrients from the food the animal eats preventing the animal from receiving most of the nutrients. What type of symbiosis is this?

A) parasitism

B) commensalism

C) mutualism

D) keystone

E) mimicry

37) One dandelion can produce over a hundred seeds to increase the probability that a seed will land in a place appropriate for growth. Not all of the seeds will eventually become dandelion plants that produce seeds. This is an example of which type of survivorship curve?

A) Type III

B) Type I

C) Type II

D) Type r

E) Type K

38) Which of the following would be an example of high biotic potential?

A) a female mosquito can lay hundreds of eggs in a single dish of water

B) a female robin lays three eggs in her nest

C) a squirrel has a litter of five pups

D) a K-selected species

E) a large elephant