Exam 54: Ecology of Individuals and Populations

The figure included shows the body temperature of lizards versus air temperature in two different habitats-open and shaded forest.Which one of the following conclusions is best supported by these data.

Under which condition will a population experience growth?

In the sigmoid growth curve,the carrying capacity of the environment is indicated by what symbol?

Which factor increases the likelihood of population extinction?

What is the life history adaptation called where organisms produce offspring several times over many seasons?

You are working in an aquarium that has been breeding an endangered species of fish for return into the wild.You have a batch of progeny from the first generation of breeding.The staff are discussing whether to return those fish to an area that has been completely depleted,or add them to a partially depleted population."Considering the Allee effect,what do you say?

You and your friends have just stepped off the plane in Cusco,Peru (11,200 ft).Your friends are so eager to see Machu Picchu they want to start off hiking the Inca Trail right away and not waste any time.How do you respond?

In the logistic growth model,as the number of individuals in the population (N)approaches the carrying capacity (K),what happens to the intrinsic rate of growth (r_i)?

Many times species are composed of networks of distinct populations called metapopulations.When do metapopulations occur?

You are earning your Ph.D.in marine biology,studying the microbial ocean community.This year,you are shocked to discover that one of your study sites has become contaminated due to an industrial waste water pipe.This dumping is drastically raising the temperature and lowering the salinity of the water.What do you expect to find in your survey of the ecosystem,and what might you find in a survey years from now?

In the sigmoid growth curve,the number of individuals at any one time is indicated by what symbol?

Populations have three basic types of dispersion patterns-clumped,random,and uniform.What situation supports random distributions?

What do we call populations of organisms that are usually near the carrying capacity?

Demographic studies include all of the following except what?

The size at which a population stabilizes in a particular place is defined as the ________ for that species.

Kettle ponds derive from a hole left by a retreating glacier that is subsequently filled with rainwater.A certain region has a series of disconnected kettle ponds,but occasionally heavy rains flood them and create streams.Which type of animal is most likely to be present in this area as a metapopulation?

What environmental challenge is posed to young plants by an old growth forest?

A small group of mice are released on an island without mice but with abundant food for mice and no predators.Initially,the growth of the mouse population will be limited mainly by what?

A developing nation with a rapidly increasing population is reaching its carrying capacity.What change(s)could allow it to increase its carrying capacity? (Check all that apply)

This summer,you are returning to the research station in Costa Rica to follow up on the population of butterflies you have been studying.You are disappointed to find that there are fewer this year than last.In fact,at dinner your friends studying frogs and birds are complaining about the same thing.What type of influence do you suspect?