Question 1

Which of the following statements about insecticides is true?

Accepted Answer

A) To control agricultural pests, pest management uses biological controls, chemicals, or cultural methods, but never a combination of these. 
B) Simply killing many individuals is often the best way to reduce the size of a pest population. 
C) Most insecticides kill the pest but not the pest's natural predators. 
D) Prey species often have a higher reproductive rate than do predators. 
A) To control agricultural pests, pest management uses biological controls, chemicals, or cultural methods, but never a combination of these. 
B) Simply killing many individuals is often the best way to reduce the size of a pest population. 
C) Most insecticides kill the pest but not the pest's natural predators. 
D) Prey species often have a higher reproductive rate than do predators.

Question 2

Which of the following organisms best illustrates K-selection?

Accepted Answer

A) the production of thousands of eggs every spring by frogs 
B) mice that produce three litters of 10-15 babies in the course of a summer 
C) a polar bear producing one or two cubs every three years 
D) a species of weed that quickly spreads into a region of cleared trees 
A) the production of thousands of eggs every spring by frogs 
B) mice that produce three litters of 10-15 babies in the course of a summer 
C) a polar bear producing one or two cubs every three years 
D) a species of weed that quickly spreads into a region of cleared trees

Question 3

The African country of Nigeria had a 4.55% population growth rate from 2005 to 2010, the highest in the world. Which of the following statements is consistent with this fact?

Accepted Answer

A) Nigeria's age structure likely looks like a pyramid with a broad base. 
B) Nigerian birth rates are likely to be slightly lower than death rates. 
C) Nigeria is likely in the first phase of the demographic transition. 
D) Nigerian emigration rates are likely higher than immigration rates. 
A) Nigeria's age structure likely looks like a pyramid with a broad base. 
B) Nigerian birth rates are likely to be slightly lower than death rates. 
C) Nigeria is likely in the first phase of the demographic transition. 
D) Nigerian emigration rates are likely higher than immigration rates.

Question 4

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
You are a member of an African family that has been displaced from their home by civil war, so you are trying to select a new country in which to settle to gain better economic opportunities. You know that Nigeria is a large country with rich natural resources, so you are considering it for your new home. Among the data you find while researching Nigeria is the following diagram of the current age structure of the country.
  
-The age structure data for Nigeria shows that the country has many more individuals under the age of 15 than over the age of 40. What does this imply about the future population of Nigeria?

Accepted Answer

A) The population will probably remain stable. 
B) The population will probably decrease. 
C) The population will probably grow rapidly. 
D) The number of older people will probably increase rapidly. 
A) The population will probably remain stable. 
B) The population will probably decrease. 
C) The population will probably grow rapidly. 
D) The number of older people will probably increase rapidly.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of a population?

Accepted Answer

A) all of the microorganisms on your skin 
B) all of the students in your classroom 
C) all students attending colleges and universities in your state 
D) the various plants found in prairies in the western United States 
A) all of the microorganisms on your skin 
B) all of the students in your classroom 
C) all students attending colleges and universities in your state 
D) the various plants found in prairies in the western United States

Question 6

An ecologist hypothesizes that predation by a particular owl species is the major factor controlling the population of a particular rabbit species. If this is the case, which of the following population effects could be expected in this rabbit-owl pair?

Accepted Answer

A) A fall in the owl population should cause a fall in the rabbit population. 
B) A fall in the rabbit population should cause an increase in the owl population. 
C) An increase in the incidence of disease in the rabbit population should not change the owl population. 
D) An increase in the owl population should cause a fall in the rabbit population. 
A) A fall in the owl population should cause a fall in the rabbit population. 
B) A fall in the rabbit population should cause an increase in the owl population. 
C) An increase in the incidence of disease in the rabbit population should not change the owl population. 
D) An increase in the owl population should cause a fall in the rabbit population.

Question 7

A population of deer has a per capita rate of increase of 0.1 deer per year. If there are initially 300 deer in the population, and the population is growing exponentially, how many deer will be in the population after one year?

Accepted Answer

A) 30 
B) 300 
C) 330 
D) 600 
A) 30 
B) 300 
C) 330 
D) 600

Question 8

According to this graph of the population growth of fur seals, in what year did the population first reach its carrying capacity?

Accepted Answer

A) 1925 
B) 1930 
C) 1940 
D) 1950 
A) 1925 
B) 1930 
C) 1940 
D) 1950

Question 9

If a population has a birth rate of 40 individuals per 1,000 per year and a death rate of 30 individuals per 1,000 per year, how will the population change each year? (Assume that the population is below carrying capacity and that there is no immigration or emigration.)

Accepted Answer

A) It will decrease by 70%. 
B) It will increase by 1%. 
C) It will increase by 5%. 
D) It will increase by 100%. 
A) It will decrease by 70%. 
B) It will increase by 1%. 
C) It will increase by 5%. 
D) It will increase by 100%.

Question 10

Which of the following is most clearly a case of density-dependent population regulation?

Accepted Answer

A) the summer drying of savanna grass for an insect that feeds on grass sap 
B) a dangerous new flu strain that is transmitted among humans by sneezing 
C) the first hard frost of fall for a population of annual morning glory vines 
D) the occurrence of rainstorms for an opportunistic desert annual 
A) the summer drying of savanna grass for an insect that feeds on grass sap 
B) a dangerous new flu strain that is transmitted among humans by sneezing 
C) the first hard frost of fall for a population of annual morning glory vines 
D) the occurrence of rainstorms for an opportunistic desert annual

Question 11

A newly mated queen ant establishes an ant nest in an unoccupied patch of suitable habitat. The population of the nest grows quickly at first, then levels off at carrying capacity. Which of the following models best describes its population growth?

Accepted Answer

A) linear 
B) logarithmic 
C) logistic 
D) exponential 
A) linear 
B) logarithmic 
C) logistic 
D) exponential

Question 12

If most of the individuals of a human population are in their pre-reproductive years, you would expect the population size to ________ after 20 years.

Accepted Answer

A) stay the same 
B) increase 
C) decrease 
D) decrease and then stabilize 
A) stay the same 
B) increase 
C) decrease 
D) decrease and then stabilize

Question 13

A human population will achieve zero population growth if

Accepted Answer

A) no couple has more than two children. 
B) couples have an average of about 2.25 children each (to account for some children who do not survive to reproduce). 
C) no couple has more than one child. 
D) the birth rate equals the intrinsic rate of increase r. 
A) no couple has more than two children. 
B) couples have an average of about 2.25 children each (to account for some children who do not survive to reproduce). 
C) no couple has more than one child. 
D) the birth rate equals the intrinsic rate of increase r.

Exam 36: Population Ecology

Which of the following statements about insecticides is true?

Which of the following organisms best illustrates K-selection?

The African country of Nigeria had a 4.55% population growth rate from 2005 to 2010, the highest in the world. Which of the following statements is consistent with this fact?

Which of the following is an example of a population?

An ecologist hypothesizes that predation by a particular owl species is the major factor controlling the population of a particular rabbit species. If this is the case, which of the following population effects could be expected in this rabbit-owl pair?

A population of deer has a per capita rate of increase of 0.1 deer per year. If there are initially 300 deer in the population, and the population is growing exponentially, how many deer will be in the population after one year?

According to this graph of the population growth of fur seals, in what year did the population first reach its carrying capacity?

If a population has a birth rate of 40 individuals per 1,000 per year and a death rate of 30 individuals per 1,000 per year, how will the population change each year? (Assume that the population is below carrying capacity and that there is no immigration or emigration.)

Which of the following is most clearly a case of density-dependent population regulation?

A newly mated queen ant establishes an ant nest in an unoccupied patch of suitable habitat. The population of the nest grows quickly at first, then levels off at carrying capacity. Which of the following models best describes its population growth?

If most of the individuals of a human population are in their pre-reproductive years, you would expect the population size to ________ after 20 years.

A human population will achieve zero population growth if

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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