Question 1

Most ecologists believe that the average global carrying capacity for the human population is between

Accepted Answer

A) 5 and 6 billion. 
B) 6 and 8 billion. 
C) 10 and 15 billion. 
D) 15 and 20 billion. 
E) 20 and 25 billion. 
A) 5 and 6 billion. 
B) 6 and 8 billion. 
C) 10 and 15 billion. 
D) 15 and 20 billion. 
E) 20 and 25 billion.

Question 2

The observation that members of a population are uniformly distributed suggests that

Accepted Answer

A) the size of the area occupied by the population is increasing. 
B) resources are distributed unevenly. 
C) the members of the population are competing for access to a resource. 
D) the members of the population are neither attracted to nor repelled by one another. 
E) the density of the population is low. 
A) the size of the area occupied by the population is increasing. 
B) resources are distributed unevenly. 
C) the members of the population are competing for access to a resource. 
D) the members of the population are neither attracted to nor repelled by one another. 
E) the density of the population is low.

Question 3

Often the growth cycle of one population has an effect on the cycle of another. As moose populations increase, wolf populations also increase. Thus, if we are considering the logistic equation for the wolf population, dN/dt = rN , $\frac { ( K - N ) } { K }$
Which of the factors accounts for the effect on the moose population?

Accepted Answer

A) r 
B) N 
C) rN 
D) K 
E) dt 
A) r 
B) N 
C) rN 
D) K 
E) dt

Question 4

A recent study of ecological footprints (described in the text)concluded that

Accepted Answer

A) Earth's carrying capacity for humans is about 10 billion. 
B) Earth's carrying capacity would increase if per capita meat consumption increased. 
C) current demand by industrialized countries for resources is much smaller than the ecological footprint of those countries. 
D) the ecological footprint of the United States is large because per capita resource use is high. 
E) it is not possible for technological improvements to increase Earth's carrying capacity for humans. 
A) Earth's carrying capacity for humans is about 10 billion. 
B) Earth's carrying capacity would increase if per capita meat consumption increased. 
C) current demand by industrialized countries for resources is much smaller than the ecological footprint of those countries. 
D) the ecological footprint of the United States is large because per capita resource use is high. 
E) it is not possible for technological improvements to increase Earth's carrying capacity for humans.

Question 5

Which of the following examples would most accurately measure the density of the population being studied?

Accepted Answer

A) counting the number of prairie dog burrows per hectare 
B) counting the number of times a 1 kilometer transect is intersected by tracks of red squirrels after a snowfall 
C) counting the number of coyote droppings per hectare 
D) multiplying the number of moss plants counted in 10, 1m2 quadrats by 100 to determine the density per kilometer2. 
E) counting the number of zebras from airplane census observations. 
A) counting the number of prairie dog burrows per hectare 
B) counting the number of times a 1 kilometer transect is intersected by tracks of red squirrels after a snowfall 
C) counting the number of coyote droppings per hectare 
D) multiplying the number of moss plants counted in 10, 1m2 quadrats by 100 to determine the density per kilometer2. 
E) counting the number of zebras from airplane census observations.

Question 6

Which of the following graphs illustrates the population growth curve of single bacterium growing in a flask of ideal medium at optimum temperature over a 24-hour period?

Accepted Answer

A)    
B)    
C)    
D)    
E)    
A)    
B)    
C)    
D)    
E)

Question 7

In which of the following habitats would you expect to find the largest number of K-selected individuals?

Accepted Answer

A) a recently abandoned agricultural field in Ohio 
B) the sand dune communities of south Lake Michigan 
C) the flora and fauna of a coral reef in the Caribbean 
D) South Florida after a hurricane 
E) a newly emergent volcanic island 
A) a recently abandoned agricultural field in Ohio 
B) the sand dune communities of south Lake Michigan 
C) the flora and fauna of a coral reef in the Caribbean 
D) South Florida after a hurricane 
E) a newly emergent volcanic island

Question 8

Please read the paragraph below and review Figure 53.2 to answer the following questions.
Researchers in the Netherlands studied the effects of parental caregiving in European kestrels over 5 years. The researchers transferred chicks among nests to produce reduced broods (three or four chicks), normal broods (five or six), and enlarged broods (seven or eight). They then measured the percentage of male and female parent birds that survived the following winter. (Both males and females provide care for chicks.)
   
Brood Size Manipulations in the Kestrel: Effects on Offspring and Parent Survival
Figure 53.2
-Which of the following pairs of reproductive strategies is consistent with energetic trade-off and reproductive success?

Accepted Answer

A) Pioneer species of plants produce many very small, highly airborne seeds, while large elephants that are very good parents produce many offspring. 
B) Female rabbits that suffer high predation rates may produce several litters per breeding season, and coconuts produce few fruits, but most survive when they encounter proper growing conditions. 
C) Species that have to broadcast to distant habitats tend to produce seeds with heavy protective seed coats, and animals that are caring parents produce fewer offspring with lower infant mortality. 
D) Free-living insects lay thousands of eggs and provide no parental care, while flowers take good care of their seeds until they are ready to germinate. 
E) Some mammals will not reproduce when environmental resources are low so they can survive until conditions get better, and plants that produce many small seeds are likely found in stable environments. 
A) Pioneer species of plants produce many very small, highly airborne seeds, while large elephants that are very good parents produce many offspring. 
B) Female rabbits that suffer high predation rates may produce several litters per breeding season, and coconuts produce few fruits, but most survive when they encounter proper growing conditions. 
C) Species that have to broadcast to distant habitats tend to produce seeds with heavy protective seed coats, and animals that are caring parents produce fewer offspring with lower infant mortality. 
D) Free-living insects lay thousands of eggs and provide no parental care, while flowers take good care of their seeds until they are ready to germinate. 
E) Some mammals will not reproduce when environmental resources are low so they can survive until conditions get better, and plants that produce many small seeds are likely found in stable environments.

Question 9

Which of the following graphs illustrates the growth curve of a small population of rodents that has grown to reach a static carrying capacity?

Accepted Answer

A)    
B)    
C)    
D)    
E)    
A)    
B)    
C)    
D)    
E)

Question 10

Consider several human populations of equal size and net reproductive rate, but different in age structure. The population that is likely to grow the most during the next 30 years is the one with the greatest fraction of people in which age range?

Accepted Answer

A) 50 to 60 years 
B) 40 to 50 years 
C) 30 to 40 years 
D) 20 to 30 years 
E) 10 to 20 years 
A) 50 to 60 years 
B) 40 to 50 years 
C) 30 to 40 years 
D) 20 to 30 years 
E) 10 to 20 years

Question 11

Your friend comes to you with a problem. It seems his shrimp boats aren't catching nearly as much shrimp as they used to. He can't understand why because originally he caught all the shrimp he could handle. Each year he added a new boat, and for a long time each boat caught tons of shrimp. As he added more boats, there came a time when each boat caught somewhat fewer shrimp, and now, each boat is catching a lot less shrimp. Which of the following topics might help your friend understand the source of his problem?

Accepted Answer

A) density-dependent population regulation and intrinsic characteristics of population growth 
B) exponential growth curves and unlimited environmental resources 
C) density-independent population regulation and chance occurrence 
D) pollution effects of a natural environment and learned shrimp behavior 
E) a K-selected population switching to an r-selected population 
A) density-dependent population regulation and intrinsic characteristics of population growth 
B) exponential growth curves and unlimited environmental resources 
C) density-independent population regulation and chance occurrence 
D) pollution effects of a natural environment and learned shrimp behavior 
E) a K-selected population switching to an r-selected population

Question 12

In 2005, the United States had a population of approximately 295,000,000 people. If the birth rate was 13 births for every 1,000 people, approximately how many births occurred in the United States in 2005?

Accepted Answer

A) 3,800 
B) 38,000 
C) 380,000 
D) 3,800,000 
E) 38,000,000 
A) 3,800 
B) 38,000 
C) 380,000 
D) 3,800,000 
E) 38,000,000

Question 13

Which of the following characterizes relatively K-selected populations?

Accepted Answer

A) offspring with good chances of survival 
B) many offspring per reproductive episode 
C) small offspring 
D) a high intrinsic rate of increase 
E) early parental reproduction 
A) offspring with good chances of survival 
B) many offspring per reproductive episode 
C) small offspring 
D) a high intrinsic rate of increase 
E) early parental reproduction

Question 14

The following questions refer to Figure 53.3, which depicts the age structure of three populations.
   
Figure 53.3
-Assuming these age-structure diagrams describe human populations, which population is likely to experience zero population growth (ZPG)?

Accepted Answer

A) I 
B) II 
C) III 
D) I and II 
E) II and III 
A) I 
B) II 
C) III 
D) I and II 
E) II and III

Question 15

A population of white-footed mice becomes severely overpopulated in a habitat that has been disturbed by human activity. Sometimes intrinsic factors cause the population to increase in mortality and lower reproduction rates in reaction to the stress of overpopulation. Which of the following is an example of intrinsic population control?

Accepted Answer

A) Owl populations frequent the area more often because of increased hunting success. 
B) Females undergo hormonal changes that delay sexual maturation and many individuals suffer depressed immune systems and die due to the stress of overpopulation. 
C) Clumped dispersion of the population leads to increased spread of disease and parasites resulting in a population crash. 
D) All of the resources (food and shelter)are used up by overpopulation and much of the population dies of exposure and/or starvation. 
E) Because the individuals are vulnerable they are more likely to die off if a drought or flood were to occur. 
A) Owl populations frequent the area more often because of increased hunting success. 
B) Females undergo hormonal changes that delay sexual maturation and many individuals suffer depressed immune systems and die due to the stress of overpopulation. 
C) Clumped dispersion of the population leads to increased spread of disease and parasites resulting in a population crash. 
D) All of the resources (food and shelter)are used up by overpopulation and much of the population dies of exposure and/or starvation. 
E) Because the individuals are vulnerable they are more likely to die off if a drought or flood were to occur.

Question 16

A population of ground squirrels has an annual per capita birth rate of 0.06 and an annual per capita death rate of 0.02. Estimate the number of individuals added to (or lost from)a population of 1,000 individuals in one year.

Accepted Answer

A) 120 individuals added 
B) 40 individuals added 
C) 20 individuals added 
D) 400 individuals added 
E) 20 individuals lost 
A) 120 individuals added 
B) 40 individuals added 
C) 20 individuals added 
D) 400 individuals added 
E) 20 individuals lost

Question 17

Which of the following graphs illustrates the growth curve of a population of snowshoe hares over several seasons in northern Canada?

Accepted Answer

A)    
B)    
C)    
D)    
E)    
A)    
B)    
C)    
D)    
E)

Question 18

Life tables are most useful in determining which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) carrying capacity 
B) the fate of a cohort of newborn organisms throughout their lives 
C) immigration and emigration rates 
D) population dispersion patterns 
E) reproductive rates 
A) carrying capacity 
B) the fate of a cohort of newborn organisms throughout their lives 
C) immigration and emigration rates 
D) population dispersion patterns 
E) reproductive rates

Question 19

The three basic variables that make up the life history of an organism are

Accepted Answer

A) life expectancy, birth rate, and death rate. 
B) number of reproductive females in the population, age structure of the population, and life expectancy. 
C) age when reproduction begins, how often reproduction occurs, and how many offspring are produced per reproductive episode. 
D) how often reproduction occurs, life expectancy of females in the population, and number of offspring per reproductive episode. 
E) the number of reproductive females in the population, how often reproduction occurs, and death rate. 
A) life expectancy, birth rate, and death rate. 
B) number of reproductive females in the population, age structure of the population, and life expectancy. 
C) age when reproduction begins, how often reproduction occurs, and how many offspring are produced per reproductive episode. 
D) how often reproduction occurs, life expectancy of females in the population, and number of offspring per reproductive episode. 
E) the number of reproductive females in the population, how often reproduction occurs, and death rate.

Question 20

Use the survivorship curves in Figure 53.1 to answer the following questions.
   
Figure 53.1
-Which curve best describes survivorship in songbirds?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the survivorship curves in Figure 53.1...

Exam 53: Population Ecology

Most ecologists believe that the average global carrying capacity for the human population is between

The observation that members of a population are uniformly distributed suggests that

A recent study of ecological footprints (described in the text)concluded that

Which of the following examples would most accurately measure the density of the population being studied?

Which of the following graphs illustrates the population growth curve of single bacterium growing in a flask of ideal medium at optimum temperature over a 24-hour period?

In which of the following habitats would you expect to find the largest number of K-selected individuals?

Which of the following graphs illustrates the growth curve of a small population of rodents that has grown to reach a static carrying capacity?

Consider several human populations of equal size and net reproductive rate, but different in age structure. The population that is likely to grow the most during the next 30 years is the one with the greatest fraction of people in which age range?

In 2005, the United States had a population of approximately 295,000,000 people. If the birth rate was 13 births for every 1,000 people, approximately how many births occurred in the United States in 2005?

Which of the following characterizes relatively K-selected populations?

The following questions refer to Figure 53.3, which depicts the age structure of three populations. Figure 53.3 -Assuming these age-structure diagrams describe human populations, which population is likely to experience zero population growth (ZPG)?

A population of ground squirrels has an annual per capita birth rate of 0.06 and an annual per capita death rate of 0.02. Estimate the number of individuals added to (or lost from)a population of 1,000 individuals in one year.

Which of the following graphs illustrates the growth curve of a population of snowshoe hares over several seasons in northern Canada?

Life tables are most useful in determining which of the following?

The three basic variables that make up the life history of an organism are

Use the survivorship curves in Figure 53.1 to answer the following questions. Figure 53.1 -Which curve best describes survivorship in songbirds?

Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life

The Chemical Context of Life

Water and the Fitness of the Environment

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: Harvesting Chemical Energy

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

From Gene to Protein

Control of Gene Expression

Viruses

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 Introduction to Animal Diversity

Invertebrates

Vertebrates

Plant Structure, Growth, and Development

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

Community Ecology

Ecosystems

Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology

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