Exam 24: Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Management

Refer to the figure. If a field biologist with the National Park Service is working to collect data on a particular species, which of the following best describes that interaction?

Weathers and colleagues found that inputs of sulfur are _______ at the forest edge than in the forest interior. The primary reason for this difference is that _______.

Which statement about edge effects is true?

Habitat fragmentation tends to _______ the rate of inbreeding and _______ the effects of genetic drift.

Refer to the figure. A graduate student interested in using a habitat map of North America finds that it is too large of a file for his school's Geographic Information System (GIS) computers to handle. -What is the correct order of the panels from the least accurate representation of reality to the most accurate representation of reality?

Refer to the figure. Figure 1 You are working with a town to develop a conservation strategy for parks (tracts) of protected land in a suburban area (parks A-G). These seven areas are depicted in Figure 1. Each square in the grid indicates an area of 1 km². -Refer to Figure 1 to familiarize yourself with the key aspects of the protected areas. Based on how forests in the park respond to edge effects, do you think that increased temperature alone could explain the biotic response (tree mortality) to edges seen in these examples? Why or why not?

Which statement about moose browsing on Isle Royale is false?

Refer to the figures. Figure 1 Figure 2 You are working with a town to develop a conservation strategy for parks (tracts) of protected land in a suburban area (parks A-G). These seven areas are depicted in Figure 1. Each square in the grid indicates an area of 1 km². - Refer to Figure 1 to familiarize yourself with the key aspects of the protected areas. Suppose a species of bird lives in the parks in this area. These birds will fly among forest patches, but will only cross a maximum of 3 km of disturbed forest. The forest habitat that the birds require is disturbed by an edge effect that penetrates 1 km into the forest. Suppose for these analyses you assess landscape characteristics for each 1 km² quadrat. If you decided instead to increase the size of your quadrats to 10 km², could you change the scale of your analysis with the data you have? Would this be an appropriate scale for a study of the movement preferences of the bird species?

Landscape ecology is the study of

Refer to the figure. You are the lead researcher studying continental migratory patterns of the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) to track their overall movements across the landscape. Although you would like to know roughly what habitat they land in, accuracy on a 0.5 km² area will suffice. Given this information, which of the following images (1-6) would most efficient to use for analyzing these migratory routes of the sandhill crane?

A researcher is studying hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) in their study area, which encompasses the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As such, the researcher only uses GIS files that are specific to the park rather than state-wide or nationwide files. The researcher is considering which of the following aspects of landscape analysis?

Suppose a two-dimensional landscape image consists of 20,000 square pixels. If the size of each pixel were cut in half, _______ as many pixels would be needed to portray the same landscape. Such a decrease in the pixel size would represent a change in the _______ of the landscape.

Which statement about adaptive management is false?

The studies by Allen and colleagues point to habitat fragmentation as a cause of the high prevalence of Lyme disease in the northeastern United States. This disease most likely spread because fragmentation has led to a(n) _______ in the population of _______.

If the average number of plant species at a distance from the settlement sites is 22, then the average number of species near the center of the settlement sites is _______.

In studies of landscapes, the size of the smallest homogenous unit of study that determines the resolution at which the landscape is viewed is called the

Three different core areas designed to protect an endangered beetle each have a buffer zone associated with them. In buffer zone A, the birth rate of the beetle is 0.04, and its death rate is 0.08. In buffer zone B, the birth rate of the beetle is 0.16, and the death rate is 0.2. In buffer zone C, the birth rate is 0.07, and the death rate is 0.05. Which of these buffer zones is most likely to be effective in protecting the beetle (all other factors being equal)?

The reintroduction of otters (Lontra canadensis) into Great Smoky Mountains National Park by park biologists was based on sound scientific decisions. However, the release also raised concerns and controversy with trout fishermen who worried that the otters would greatly reduce trout populations. In such a scenario, who are the stakeholders?

Refer to the figure. The figure shows the extent of different edge effects in Amazon rainforest fragments. - Based on the figure, which difference would you expect to find 150 meters from the edge of a forest fragment, as compared to an area in the deep interior of the fragment?

The landscape of the Amazon rainforest has become more fragmented over the past half century. Thus, we would say that its _______ has changed.