Question 1

Examine the age structure of Germany in the figure below. Which of the following statements is not supported by the age structure?

Accepted Answer

A) There will be large positive population growth in the near future. 
B) There are more women than men between the ages of 60 and 70. 
C) There will be small negative population growth in the near future. 
D) There are more people between the ages of 25 to 39 then between 0 and 14. 
A) There will be large positive population growth in the near future. 
B) There are more women than men between the ages of 60 and 70. 
C) There will be small negative population growth in the near future. 
D) There are more people between the ages of 25 to 39 then between 0 and 14.

Question 2

A survivorship curve is a

Accepted Answer

A) graph that plots an individual's likelihood of reproducing as a function of age. 
B) graph that plots an individual's likelihood of being alive as a function of age. 
C) graph that shows the effect of predation on a prey population. 
D) model for population growth that incorporates the concept of carrying capacity. 
A) graph that plots an individual's likelihood of reproducing as a function of age. 
B) graph that plots an individual's likelihood of being alive as a function of age. 
C) graph that shows the effect of predation on a prey population. 
D) model for population growth that incorporates the concept of carrying capacity.

Question 3

A demographic tool used to predict a population's future growth is

Accepted Answer

A) a Type III survivorship curve. 
B) a demographic transition. 
C) age structures. 
D) a Type I survivorship curve. 
A) a Type III survivorship curve. 
B) a demographic transition. 
C) age structures. 
D) a Type I survivorship curve.

Question 4

A survivorship curve that involves producing very few offspring, each of which has a high probability of surviving to adulthood, is typical of

Accepted Answer

A) sea stars. 
B) elephants. 
C) oysters. 
D) rodents. 
A) sea stars. 
B) elephants. 
C) oysters. 
D) rodents.

Question 5

A population of fungi in a yard produces 10 mushrooms in year 1, 20 in year 2, and 40 in year 3. If this trend continues, by year 5 there will be ________ mushrooms.

Accepted Answer

A) 40 
B) 80 
C) 160 
D) 320 
A) 40 
B) 80 
C) 160 
D) 320

Question 6

A group of individuals of a single species that occupy the same general area defines a

Accepted Answer

A) population. 
B) community. 
C) subspecies. 
D) clone. 
A) population. 
B) community. 
C) subspecies. 
D) clone.

Question 7

In the logistic growth model, as population size increases, birth rates

Accepted Answer

A) remain constant and death rates increase. 
B) decline but death rates remain steady. 
C) and death rates increase. 
D) decline and/or death rates increase. 
A) remain constant and death rates increase. 
B) decline but death rates remain steady. 
C) and death rates increase. 
D) decline and/or death rates increase.

Question 8

The human population on Earth is expected to reach 9.5 billion people by

Accepted Answer

A) 2015. 
B) 2050. 
C) 2093. 
D) 3150. 
A) 2015. 
B) 2050. 
C) 2093. 
D) 3150.

Question 9

An r-selected species typically

Accepted Answer

A) offers considerable parental care to offspring. 
B) has an advantage in habitats that experience unpredictable disturbances. 
C) is large-bodied and long-lived. 
D) lives in stable climates. 
A) offers considerable parental care to offspring. 
B) has an advantage in habitats that experience unpredictable disturbances. 
C) is large-bodied and long-lived. 
D) lives in stable climates.

Question 10

In terms of population dynamics, what is "boom-and-bust" cycling?

Accepted Answer

A) a situation in which a population moves back and forth between rapid growth and decline 
B) a situation in which a growing population overshoots the carrying capacity of its environment and experiences a crash before stabilizing 
C) a situation in which the sex ratio in a population shows repeated oscillations 
D) a situation in which the populations of a predator species and a prey species oscillate in unison 
A) a situation in which a population moves back and forth between rapid growth and decline 
B) a situation in which a growing population overshoots the carrying capacity of its environment and experiences a crash before stabilizing 
C) a situation in which the sex ratio in a population shows repeated oscillations 
D) a situation in which the populations of a predator species and a prey species oscillate in unison

Question 11

An ecological footprint

Accepted Answer

A) is a means of determining increases in populations that lived in the past. 
B) is a means of understanding resource availability and usage. 
C) measures dispersion and adaptability. 
D) will estimate population movements. 
A) is a means of determining increases in populations that lived in the past. 
B) is a means of understanding resource availability and usage. 
C) measures dispersion and adaptability. 
D) will estimate population movements.

Question 12

A Type I survivorship curve is associated with which of the following life history traits?

Accepted Answer

A) parents providing extended care for their young 
B) large numbers of offspring being produced 
C) infant mortality being much greater than adult mortality 
D) a short life span for most individuals 
A) parents providing extended care for their young 
B) large numbers of offspring being produced 
C) infant mortality being much greater than adult mortality 
D) a short life span for most individuals

Question 13

The maximum number of individuals a habitat can support is called its

Accepted Answer

A) reproductive potential. 
B) carrying capacity. 
C) community size. 
D) density-dependent factor. 
A) reproductive potential. 
B) carrying capacity. 
C) community size. 
D) density-dependent factor.

Question 14

According to this graph of population growth in Mexico, in what year was the rate of population increase in Mexico the greatest?

Accepted Answer

A) 1912 
B) 1930 
C) 1965 
D) 2000 
A) 1912 
B) 1930 
C) 1965 
D) 2000

Question 15

Which of the following statements regarding logistic growth is true?

Accepted Answer

A) The parameter (K - N)/K is always equal to zero. 
B) There has to be more than one limiting factor in place for logistic growth to occur. 
C) Population growth is highest when the population is much larger than the carrying capacity. 
D) Population growth is zero when (K - N)/K is equal to zero. 
A) The parameter (K - N)/K is always equal to zero. 
B) There has to be more than one limiting factor in place for logistic growth to occur. 
C) Population growth is highest when the population is much larger than the carrying capacity. 
D) Population growth is zero when (K - N)/K is equal to zero.

Question 16

You drive through Iowa in the spring and notice that along a stretch of several kilometers, every third fence post has a male redwing blackbird perched on it defending its nesting territory. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A) clumped dispersion. 
B) random dispersion. 
C) uniform dispersion. 
D) artificial dispersion. 
A) clumped dispersion. 
B) random dispersion. 
C) uniform dispersion. 
D) artificial dispersion.

Question 17

Which of the following will likely decrease a population's size?

Accepted Answer

A) improving the quality of its habitat 
B) increasing the size of its habitat 
C) practicing sustainable resource management in its habitat 
D) decreasing the food supply available to the population 
A) improving the quality of its habitat 
B) increasing the size of its habitat 
C) practicing sustainable resource management in its habitat 
D) decreasing the food supply available to the population

Question 18

Which of the following is a practical application of population ecology that will result in population decline?

Accepted Answer

A) restricting the length of deer hunting season 
B) managing crops by selectively killing agricultural pests 
C) removing habitat space from wild animal populations 
D) preventing the overfishing of cod 
A) restricting the length of deer hunting season 
B) managing crops by selectively killing agricultural pests 
C) removing habitat space from wild animal populations 
D) preventing the overfishing of cod

Question 19

Guppies from Trinidad form two distinct populations that differ in several life history traits. These traits appear to relate to the local predator populations, pike-cichlids or killifish. Which of the following experiments would best test the heritability of these traits?

Accepted Answer

A) Raise both populations with cichlids to see if the population of smaller, faster-maturing guppies reproduces more quickly. 
B) Raise both populations without predators to see if they maintain their life history traits. 
C) Introduce cichlids into a habitat with killifish. 
D) Provide additional food to the guppies from cichlid habitats to see if they will grow to the same size as guppies from the killifish habitat. 
A) Raise both populations with cichlids to see if the population of smaller, faster-maturing guppies reproduces more quickly. 
B) Raise both populations without predators to see if they maintain their life history traits. 
C) Introduce cichlids into a habitat with killifish. 
D) Provide additional food to the guppies from cichlid habitats to see if they will grow to the same size as guppies from the killifish habitat.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about human demographic trends is true?

Accepted Answer

A) As women's status and education increase, they choose to have more children. 
B) After 1950, mortality rates increased rapidly in most developing countries. 
C) A human population in which women reproduce at a later age will experience slower population growth. 
D) The movement from high birth rates and low death rates to low birth rates and high death rates is called the demographic transition. 
A) As women's status and education increase, they choose to have more children. 
B) After 1950, mortality rates increased rapidly in most developing countries. 
C) A human population in which women reproduce at a later age will experience slower population growth. 
D) The movement from high birth rates and low death rates to low birth rates and high death rates is called the demographic transition.

Exam 36: Population Ecology

Examine the age structure of Germany in the figure below. Which of the following statements is not supported by the age structure?

A survivorship curve is a

A demographic tool used to predict a population's future growth is

A survivorship curve that involves producing very few offspring, each of which has a high probability of surviving to adulthood, is typical of

A population of fungi in a yard produces 10 mushrooms in year 1, 20 in year 2, and 40 in year 3. If this trend continues, by year 5 there will be ________ mushrooms.

A group of individuals of a single species that occupy the same general area defines a

In the logistic growth model, as population size increases, birth rates

The human population on Earth is expected to reach 9.5 billion people by

An r-selected species typically

In terms of population dynamics, what is "boom-and-bust" cycling?

An ecological footprint

A Type I survivorship curve is associated with which of the following life history traits?

The maximum number of individuals a habitat can support is called its

According to this graph of population growth in Mexico, in what year was the rate of population increase in Mexico the greatest?

Which of the following statements regarding logistic growth is true?

You drive through Iowa in the spring and notice that along a stretch of several kilometers, every third fence post has a male redwing blackbird perched on it defending its nesting territory. This is an example of

Which of the following will likely decrease a population's size?

Which of the following is a practical application of population ecology that will result in population decline?

Guppies from Trinidad form two distinct populations that differ in several life history traits. These traits appear to relate to the local predator populations, pike-cichlids or killifish. Which of the following experiments would best test the heritability of these traits?

Which of the following statements about human demographic trends is true?

Biology: Exploring Life

The Chemical Basis of Life

The Molecules of Cells

A Tour of the Cell

The Working Cell

How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy

Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food

The Cellular Basis of Reproduction and Inheritance

Patterns of Inheritance

Molecular Biology of the Gene

How Genes Are Controlled

DNA Technology and Genomics

How Populations Evolve

The Origin of Species

Tracing Evolutionary History

Microbial Life: Prokaryotes and Protists

The Evolution of Plant and Fungal Diversity

The Evolution of Invertebrate Diversity

The Evolution of Vertebrate Diversity

Unifying Concepts of Animal Structure and Function

Nutrition and Digestion

Gas Exchange

Circulation

the Immune System

Control of Body Temperature and Water Balance

Hormones and the Endocrine System

Reproduction and Embryonic Development

Nervous Systems

the Senses

How Animals Move

Plant Structure, Growth, and Reproduction

Plant Nutrition and Transport

Control Systems in Plants

the Biosphere: an Introduction to Earths Diverse Environments

Behavioral Adaptations to the Environment

Communities and Ecosystems

Conservation Biology

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