Question 1

Introduced species can have deleterious effects on biological communities by ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  competing with native species for resources and displacing them 
B)  spreading rapidly in their new region 
C)  reducing erosion 
D)  increasing the biodiversity in their new region 
A)  competing with native species for resources and displacing them 
B)  spreading rapidly in their new region 
C)  reducing erosion 
D)  increasing the biodiversity in their new region

Question 2

Philippe Bouchet and colleagues conducted a massive survey of marine molluscs on the west coast of New Caledonia. For 20% of the total species that were located and identified, only a single specimen was found. What does that suggest about the diversity of molluscs in this area?

Accepted Answer

A)  The west coast of New Caledonia is not an appropriate habitat for molluscs. 
B)  Many of the species from this 20% are probably rare. 
C)  They were not sampling uniformly throughout the area. 
D)  Many of the species from this 20% are most likely just dispersing through the area. 
A)  The west coast of New Caledonia is not an appropriate habitat for molluscs. 
B)  Many of the species from this 20% are probably rare. 
C)  They were not sampling uniformly throughout the area. 
D)  Many of the species from this 20% are most likely just dispersing through the area.

Question 3

Use the following figure to answer the question.
 
Five new individuals were added to a small population of bighorn sheep in 1986, and ten more were added between 1990 and 1994. According to the figure, what occurred in this population after these additions?

Accepted Answer

A)  The population increased exponentially. 
B)  The population increased in overall numbers. 
C)  The population growth rate increased. 
D)  The population continued to decline. 
A)  The population increased exponentially. 
B)  The population increased in overall numbers. 
C)  The population growth rate increased. 
D)  The population continued to decline.

Question 4

Your friend is wary of environmentalists' claims that global warming could lead to major biological change on Earth. Which of the following statements can you use in response to your friend's suspicions?

Accepted Answer

A)  We know that atmospheric carbon dioxide has decreased over the past 150 years. 
B)  Through measurements and observations, we know that carbon dioxide levels and temperature fluctuations are indirectly correlated. 
C)  Global warming could have minor effects on agriculture in the United States. 
D)  Scientist have evidence that climate change has already altered primary production, as well as ecosystem services. 
A)  We know that atmospheric carbon dioxide has decreased over the past 150 years. 
B)  Through measurements and observations, we know that carbon dioxide levels and temperature fluctuations are indirectly correlated. 
C)  Global warming could have minor effects on agriculture in the United States. 
D)  Scientist have evidence that climate change has already altered primary production, as well as ecosystem services.

Question 5

Use the following graph and information to answer the question.
Flycatcher birds that migrate from Africa to Europe feed their chicks a diet that is almost exclusively moth caterpillars. The graph shows the peak dates of flycatcher arrival in Europe, bird hatching, and peak caterpillar season for the years 1980 and 2000. The y-axis is a measure of the abundance of birds, hatching chicks, and caterpillars.
 
The shift in the peak of caterpillar season is most likely due to ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  earlier migration returns of flycatchers 
B)  an innate change in the biological clock of the caterpillars 
C)  global warming 
D)  acid precipitation in Europe 
A)  earlier migration returns of flycatchers 
B)  an innate change in the biological clock of the caterpillars 
C)  global warming 
D)  acid precipitation in Europe

Question 6

Researchers have been studying a rare population of 87 voles in an isolated area. Ten voles from a larger population were added to this isolated population. Besides having ten additional animals, what benefits are there to importing individuals?

Accepted Answer

A)  There is no benefit other than increasing the overall population size. 
B)  Additional voles will strengthen competition and increase the survival of the fittest. 
C)  Additional animals would increase beneficial genetic drift. 
D)  Additional voles from a distant population will likely increase genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding. 
A)  There is no benefit other than increasing the overall population size. 
B)  Additional voles will strengthen competition and increase the survival of the fittest. 
C)  Additional animals would increase beneficial genetic drift. 
D)  Additional voles from a distant population will likely increase genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding.

Question 7

Overharvesting encourages extinction and is most likely to affect ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  animals that occupy a broad ecological niche 
B)  large animals with low intrinsic reproductive rates 
C)  most organisms that live in the oceans' coral reefs 
D)  edge-adapted species 
A)  animals that occupy a broad ecological niche 
B)  large animals with low intrinsic reproductive rates 
C)  most organisms that live in the oceans' coral reefs 
D)  edge-adapted species

Question 8

Of the following ecosystem types, which have been impacted the most by humans?

Accepted Answer

A)  wetland and riparian 
B)  desert and high alpine 
C)  taiga and second-growth forests 
D)  tundra and arctic 
A)  wetland and riparian 
B)  desert and high alpine 
C)  taiga and second-growth forests 
D)  tundra and arctic

Question 9

If the sex ratio in a population is significantly different from 50:50, then which of the following statements will always be accurate?

Accepted Answer

A)  The population will enter the extinction vortex. 
B)  The genetic variation in the population will increase over time. 
C)  Modeling of the minimum viable population size will underestimate the actual population size. 
D)  The effective population size will be less than the actual population size. 
A)  The population will enter the extinction vortex. 
B)  The genetic variation in the population will increase over time. 
C)  Modeling of the minimum viable population size will underestimate the actual population size. 
D)  The effective population size will be less than the actual population size.

Exam 56: Conservation Biology and Global Change

Introduced species can have deleterious effects on biological communities by ________.

Philippe Bouchet and colleagues conducted a massive survey of marine molluscs on the west coast of New Caledonia. For 20% of the total species that were located and identified, only a single specimen was found. What does that suggest about the diversity of molluscs in this area?

Use the following figure to answer the question. Five new individuals were added to a small population of bighorn sheep in 1986, and ten more were added between 1990 and 1994. According to the figure, what occurred in this population after these additions?

Your friend is wary of environmentalists' claims that global warming could lead to major biological change on Earth. Which of the following statements can you use in response to your friend's suspicions?

Researchers have been studying a rare population of 87 voles in an isolated area. Ten voles from a larger population were added to this isolated population. Besides having ten additional animals, what benefits are there to importing individuals?

Overharvesting encourages extinction and is most likely to affect ________.

Of the following ecosystem types, which have been impacted the most by humans?

If the sex ratio in a population is significantly different from 50:50, then which of the following statements will always be accurate?

Evolution, the Themes of Biology, and Scientific Inquiry

The Chemical Context of Life

Water and Life

Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life

The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules

A Tour of the Cell

Membrane Structure and Function

An Introduction to Metabolism

Cellular Respiration and Fermentation

Photosynthesis

Cell Communication

The Cell Cycle

Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles

Mendel and the Gene Idea

The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance

The Molecular Basis of Inheritance

Gene Expression: From Gene to Protein

Regulation of Gene Expression

Viruses

DNA Tools and Biotechnology

Genomes and Their Evolution

Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life

The Evolution of Populations

The Origin of Species

The History of Life on Earth

Phylogeny and the Tree of Life

Bacteria and Archaea

Protists

Plant Diversity I: How Plants Colonized Land

Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants

Fungi

An Overview of Animal Diversity

An Introduction to Invertebrates

The Origin and Evolution of Vertebrates

Vascular Plant Structure, Growth, and Development

Resource Acquisition and Transport in Vascular Plants

Soil and Plant Nutrition

Angiosperm Reproduction and Biotechnology

Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals

Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function

Animal Nutrition

Circulation and Gas Exchange

The Immune System

Osmoregulation and Excretion

Hormones and the Endocrine System

Animal Reproduction

Animal Development

Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling

Nervous Systems

Sensory and Motor Mechanisms

Animal Behavior

An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere

Population Ecology

Community Ecology

Ecosystems and Restoration Ecology

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