Exam 56: Conservation and Global Ecology

Tropical forests are being converted to farm or pasture land at an alarming rate. The impact of the deforestation on the biodiversity of the ecosystem is a major focus of research and conservation efforts. Which of the following is a direct benefit to humans that best explains why these forests need to be preserved?

A land developer and several ecologists are discussing how a parcel of private land should be developed with housing, while also saving 20 hectares as natural habitat. The land developer suggests that the 20 hectares be divided into 20 separate 1-hectare areas, spread out across the area. The ecologists suggest that it would be better to have one intact parcel of 20 hectares on one side of the larger area. Which of the following arguments is accurate and would best support one of the two options for the 20-hectare natural habitat?

Which of the following factors causes extremely high levels of toxic chemicals in fish-eating birds?

Which of the following is the most likely reason why establishing new nature reserves in current biodiversity hot spots may not necessarily the best choice?

Use the following figure to answer the question. Which of the following conclusions is best supported using the data in the figure?

Which of the following statements regarding extinction is the most accurate?

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

Brown-headed cowbirds utilize fragmented forests effectively by ________.

Researchers have been studying a rare population of 87 voles in an isolated area. Ten voles from a larger population were introduced into this isolated population. Besides having ten more individuals, which of the following is another benefit of the addition?

Which of the following is a consequence of biological magnification?

Agricultural lands frequently require nutrient augmentation because ________.

Which of the following is the primary goal of sustainable development?

Easter Island is an isolated island in the Pacific, about 3,500 km from South America. Although there are no trees or forests on the island now, archeological studies, fossil pollen, and other data show that Easter Island was once home to forests containing giant palms and other trees. Which of the following factors best represents a potential cause of such a collapse?

Which of the following terms includes all of the others?

Which of the following is an unintended ecological consequence of human waste that is processed in water treatment facilities, and then discharged as effluent in rivers near cities?

Which of the following threats to biodiversity impacts a specific species at one time, but also has the capacity to impact many other species due food-web interactions?

Suppose you attend a town meeting at which some experts tell the audience that they have performed a cost-benefit analysis of a proposed transit system that would probably reduce overall air pollution and fossil fuel consumption. The analysis, however, reveals that ticket prices will not cover the cost of operating the new system. As a biologist, you know that if ecosystem services had been included in the analysis, the experts might have arrived at a different conclusion. Which of the following best explains why ecosystem services are rarely included in economic analyses?

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the greenhouse effect?

Which of the following is the main purpose of movement corridors?

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. Based upon evidence in the figure, which of the following changes in this population can be attributed to the additions?