nan Ch.32 Exam Prep Global Ecology

Chapter 32: Global Ecology

Multiple-Choice Questions

Aside from moisture and elevation, the main climatic factor affecting the distribution of biomes is:

a. fire.

b. temperature.

c. air currents.

d. carbon dioxide.

e. oxygen.

The Earth’s axis is _________ to the plane of its orbit.

a. parallel

b. perpendicular

c. tilted 45.45º

d. tilted 23.45º

e. tilted 10.45º

The most extreme deserts are found:

a. at the equator.

b. around 10º north and south.

c. around 20º north.

d. around 20º south.

e. around 30º north and south.

Along the Pacific Coast of the United States, the “rain shadow” is the ______ area on the ______ slopes of mountain chains.

a. dry; eastern

b. dry; western

c. moist; eastern

d. moist; western

e. moist; southern

An increase in elevation of ______ and an increase in latitude of ______ are generally accompanied by the same decrease in mean atmospheric temperature.

a. 100 meters; 0.5°

b. 100 meters; 1.0°

c. 100 meters; 10.0°

d. 100 kilometers; 1.0°

e. 100 kilometers; 10.0°

Which of the following statements concerning soils is FALSE?

a. They are affected by the organisms present.

b. They are affected by the amount of time they are exposed to weathering.

c. They are partially determined by the parent material.

d. They are static systems.

e. They are climate-sensitive.

The areas with the highest vulnerability of fires are characterized by:

a. periods of constant drought.

b. vulnerability to lightning.

c. high winds.

d. large numbers of deciduous trees.

e. annual moist periods and dry periods.

Which of the following statements about tropical rainforests is FALSE?

a. They contain plants that are either evergreen or leafless for short periods.

b. There is strong competition for light.

c. There is abundant plant cover beneath the trees.

d. The trees have an abundance of epiphytes.

e. They occur where temperatures and rainfall are relatively consistent.

A liana is a(n):

a. epiphyte.

b. herbaceous plant.

c. woody vine.

d. tropical tree.

e. orchid.

Tropical rainforests commonly have ________ species per hectare.

a. 1–2

b. 5–6

c. 10–20

d. 50–60

e. 100 or more

In tropical seasonal forests the dominant plants are:

a. pines trees.

b. evergreen trees.

c. shrubs.

d. deciduous trees.

e. grasses.

A monsoon forest is a type of:

a. subtropical mixed forest.

b. short-tree forest.

c. temperate deciduous forest.

d. tropical rainforest.

e. tropical seasonal forest.

A tropical mixed forest is characterized by having:

a. both evergreen trees and shrubs.

b. evergreen trees only.

c. shrubs only.

d. deciduous trees only.

e. monsoon forests only.

Which of the following is characterized by having scattered trees and shrubs in a grassland setting?

a. Temperate mixed forest.

b. Temperate deciduous forest.

c. Deciduous tropical forest.

d. Mediterranean scrub.

e. Savanna.

In savannas, the dominant plants are:

a. lichens.

b. evergreen trees.

c. grasses.

d. shrubs.

e. deciduous trees.

A characteristic plant found in western North America where desert grades into a savanna-type community is:

a. Welwitschia.

b. succulent euphorbes.

c. juniper.

d. creosote bush.

e. Arizona honeysweet.

The largest desert in the world is in:

a. Australia.

b. Africa.

c. South America.

d. North America.

e. Europe.

A hot desert differs from a cold desert in that a cold desert:

a. is found at lower latitudes.

b. is found in a climate that favors succulents.

c. is cold at night but very hot during the day.

d. is found in areas that have two peaks of rainfall during the year.

e. is characterized by small-leaved shrubs such as sagebrush.

All of the following are adaptations of desert plants EXCEPT:

a. the ability to carry out CAM photosynthesis.

b. the ability to carry out C₄ photosynthesis.

c. the ability to complete their life cycles before soil moisture is depleted.

d. the ability to grow as succulents having deep root systems.

e. the ability to store water in special tissues.

Which of the following statements about grasslands is FALSE?

a. In North America, they become progressively wetter with increasing distance from the Atlantic Ocean.

b. They are most extensive in the middle latitudes.

c. When disturbed, they can change to deserts.

d. Fire is important in their development.

e. They build deep, rich soils.

The major variations in grasslands are related to:

a. fire.

b. precipitation.

c. wind.

d. pH.

e. temperature.

The temperate deciduous forest biome:

a. is equally widespread in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

b. has liquid water available to plants all year.

c. is characterized by trees that retain their leaves all year.

d. has precipitation evenly distributed throughout the year.

e. has cool summers and relatively warm winters.

Spring ephemerals differ from early summer species in that spring ephemerals:

a. have broader, thinner leaves.

b. have smaller storage organs.

c. complete their photosynthetic activity earlier.

d. are herbaceous.

e. are leafless in winter.

The sharing of genera is a striking feature found in the:

a. grasslands.

b. Mediterranean scrub.

c. taiga.

d. temperate mixed and coniferous forests.

e. temperate deciduous forests.

Temperate mixed and temperate deciduous forests differ in that temperate mixed forests:

a. have more deciduous trees.

b. have more conifers.

c. have warmer winters.

d. have soils richer in nutrients.

e. are found farther south.

Cyprus swamps are characteristically found in the:

a. subtropical mixed forest.

b. coniferous forest.

c. temperate deciduous forest.

d. mixed West-coast forest.

e. Mediterranean scrub.

Giant sequoia trees are characteristically found in the:

a. subtropical mixed forest.

b. coniferous forest.

c. temperate deciduous forest.

d. mixed West-coast forest.

e. Mediterranean scrub.

The Mediterranean scrub biome is characterized by ______ summers and ______ winters.

a. warm; warm

b. cool; cool

c. cool, moist; hot, dry

d. hot, dry; cool, moist

e. hot, moist; cool, dry

Chaparral, maquis, and fynbos are equivalent names for:

a. subtropical mixed forest.

b. coniferous forest.

c. temperate deciduous forest.

d. mixed West-coast forest.

e. Mediterranean scrub.

Which of the following statements about the taiga is FALSE?

a. Lakes, bogs, and marshes are common.

b. Fires are rare.

c. A snow cover persists throughout the winter.

d. It is absent from the Southern Hemisphere.

e. It is also called boreal forest.

Which of the following statements concerning permafrost is FALSE?

a. It does not occur in the taiga.

b. It provides a base for soils that are high in organic matter.

c. It helps stabilize soils.

d. Its removal causes “drunken forests.”

e. It is a permanently frozen zone.

Which of the following groups of organisms is NOT commonly found in the taiga?

a. Lichens

b. Mosses

c. Annuals

d. Willows

e. Dewberries

A deciduous conifer abundant in some taiga areas is:

a. fir.

b. spruce.

c. pine.

d. larch.

e. poplar.

Approximately ______ of the Earth’s land surface is Arctic tundra.

a. one-fiftieth

b. one-twentieth

c. one-tenth

d. one-fifth

e. one-third

Which of the following statements about the Arctic tundra is FALSE?

a. It is a treeless biome.

b. Fixed nitrogen is in short supply.

c. It lacks permafrost.

d. It lies mostly above the Arctic Circle.

e. The soils are acidic to neutral and low in nutrients.

The percentage of the biomass of tundra plants that is underground varies from ______ percent.

a. 3 to 9

b. 10 to 18

c. 20 to 30

d. 35 to 45

e. 50 to 98

According to the United Nations, the population of the world in 2100 will be:

a. 3 to 5 million.

b. 100 to 500 million.

c. 1 to 5 billion.

d. 9 to 10 billion.

e. 50 to 100 billion.

True-False Questions

A biome refers to a type of relatively homogeneous vegetation occurring over large terrestrial areas.

Most deserts are found between 30° north latitude and 30° south latitude.

A rain shadow is characterized by abundant rainfall.

The type of soil within a region is determined not by climate but by the parent material in which the soil forms and the length of time the region has been stable.

The boreal forest has the right characteristics to make huge wildfires possible.

In rainforests, relatively little light penetrates to the forest floor.

An example of an epiphyte is a moss.

The tropics contain 75% of the world’s species.

Tropical soils lose their fertility when they are cleared.

The addition of phosphorus fertilizers to cleared tropical soils is usually helpful in restoring their fertility.

Areas of monsoon forest have high precipitation throughout the year.

Tropical mixed forests are characterized by having evergreen trees and shrubs.

In savannas, epiphytes and annual herbs are abundant.

At their poleward margins, tropical savannas grade into taiga.

The juniper woodlands of the United States occur in areas adjacent to low-elevation deserts.

All the great deserts of the world are found along the equator.

Welwitschia is a plant found in the savanna.

The cold deserts receive precipitation as snow.

Tussocks are growth forms typically exhibited by desert annuals.

More types of annual plants are found in deserts than in any other biome.

The glades within forested areas of the central and eastern United States contain plants of the grasslands biome.

In the grassland biome, fire favors the growth of plants with basal meristems.

Spring ephemerals usually emerge and mature more slowly than do late summer species.

In temperate deciduous forests, species ripen seeds that are dispersed by birds in the fall.

The temperate deciduous forest plants of Japan and China are quite different from those of eastern North America.

Temperate mixed forest, with conifers and deciduous trees, is characteristic of the Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River region.

In regions of Mediterranean-type vegetation, most plant growth occurs in the cool, moist summers.

Mediterranean scrub communities in different areas of the world tend to resemble each other even though their plant species are unrelated.

In North America, taiga extends farther north along the western side of the continent than along the eastern side.

In the northernmost taiga, most of the precipitation falls in winter.

31. Arctic Tundra; p. 32-25; easy; moderate: T

The Arctic tundra is entirely underlain by permafrost.

Perennials of the Arctic tundra characteristically reproduce sexually rather than vegetatively.

Essay Questions

1. Introduction; p. 32-3 & Life on the Land; pp. 32-3 – 32-6; moderate

What is a biome? Discuss the various factors that characterize biomes.

2. Life on the Land; p. 32-6; moderate

Explain the factors responsible for the formation of a rain shadow.

3. Life on the Land; p. 32-7; moderate

Discuss the factors that determine the type of soil found in a particular region.

4. Rainforests; pp. 32-8–32-9; moderate

Discuss the types of plants that grow in tropical rainforests. In what ways are they adapted to the tropical habitat?

5. Rainforests; pp. 32-9; moderate

Discuss the various theories to explain the diversity of species in the tropical rainforests.

6. Rainforests; p. 32-10; moderate

What characteristics of the rainforests make them particularly vulnerable to human pressures?

7. Deciduous Tropical Forests; p. 32-11; moderate

Explain the similarities and differences between a monsoon forest and a tropical mixed forest.

8. Savannas; pp. 32-11 – 32-12; moderate

List the characteristics of a savanna. What evolutionary adaptations are thought to have been caused by fires?

9. Deserts; p. 32-14; moderate

Explain the similarities and differences between a hot desert and a cold desert.

10. Deserts; pp. 32-14–32-15; moderate

Discuss the adaptations exhibited by desert plants.

11. Grasslands; p. 32-15; moderate

How do the rainfall and temperature of the grassland biome compare with those of the two neighboring biomes?

12. Grasslands; pp. 32-16–32-17; moderate

What are the characteristics of the plants of the grassland biome? What role does fire play in grasslands?

13. Temperate Deciduous Forests; pp. 32–18 – 32-20; difficult

What types of plants characterize the temperate deciduous forest biome? How do these plants differ from one season to the next?

14. Temperate Mixed and Coniferous Forests; pp. 32–20 – 32-21; moderate

List some common examples of the subtropical mixed forest and the mixed West-coast forests.

15. Mediterranean Scrub; pp. 32-21 – 32-23; difficult

What are the characteristics of plants in Mediterranean scrub communities? How have these communities changed as a result of human habitation?

16. The Northernmost Forests–Taiga and Boreal Forest; p. 32-25; moderate

Discuss some of the theories to explain why it is advantageous to be evergreen in the taiga.

17. Arctic Tundra; pp. 32-25 – 32-26; moderate

Describe the physical environment of the Arctic tundra. How are tundra plants adapted to this environment?