Exam 36: Population Ecology

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

In southern Africa, jackals are major predators of livestock on farms. As a control measure, farmers often kill jackals they find on their farms. Scientists Liaan Minnie and colleagues predicted that increased mortality of jackals would result in altered life history traits of this carnivore species. To test their predictions, they compared the number of pregnant female jackals in different age classes in populations that were hunted (on farms) to those that were not hunted (in conservation reserves). The resulting pattern shown in the first graph is the proportion of females that are pregnant in each age class. The scientists also collected demographic data to construct age structure diagrams (second graph) of jackals in (a) hunted populations (farms) and (b) populations that were not hunted (reserves). In the age structure diagram, males are plotted on the left, females are plotted on the right, and the median age class is denoted with hatched bars. Source: Minnie, L., Gaylard, A., & Kerley, G. I. (2016). Compensatory life‐history responses of a mesopredator may undermine carnivore management efforts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(2), 379-387. -Interpret the age structure diagram for jackals on farms compared to reserves.

In southern Africa, jackals are major predators of livestock on farms. As a control measure, farmers often kill jackals they find on their farms. Scientists Liaan Minnie and colleagues predicted that increased mortality of jackals would result in altered life history traits of this carnivore species. To test their predictions, they compared the number of pregnant female jackals in different age classes in populations that were hunted (on farms) to those that were not hunted (in conservation reserves). The resulting pattern shown in the first graph is the proportion of females that are pregnant in each age class. The scientists also collected demographic data to construct age structure diagrams (second graph) of jackals in (a) hunted populations (farms) and (b) populations that were not hunted (reserves). In the age structure diagram, males are plotted on the left, females are plotted on the right, and the median age class is denoted with hatched bars. Source: Minnie, L., Gaylard, A., & Kerley, G. I. (2016). Compensatory life‐history responses of a mesopredator may undermine carnivore management efforts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(2), 379-387. -Jackals live in socially organized groups, with dominant females suppressing reproduction in nondominant (submissive) individuals. Examine the first graph, and select the explanation that best predicts the effect of dominance hierarchies on population growth in jackals.

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

As a growing population nears its carrying capacity, birth rates

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.

The death by bubonic plague of about one-third of Europe's population during the 14th century is a good example of

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 1 year?

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

In southern Africa, jackals are major predators of livestock on farms. As a control measure, farmers often kill jackals they find on their farms. Scientists Liaan Minnie and colleagues predicted that increased mortality of jackals would result in altered life history traits of this carnivore species. To test their predictions, they compared the number of pregnant female jackals in different age classes in populations that were hunted (on farms) to those that were not hunted (in conservation reserves). The resulting pattern shown in the first graph is the proportion of females that are pregnant in each age class. The scientists also collected demographic data to construct age structure diagrams (second graph) of jackals in (a) hunted populations (farms) and (b) populations that were not hunted (reserves). In the age structure diagram, males are plotted on the left, females are plotted on the right, and the median age class is denoted with hatched bars. Source: Minnie, L., Gaylard, A., & Kerley, G. I. (2016). Compensatory life‐history responses of a mesopredator may undermine carnivore management efforts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(2), 379-387. -What are the management implications of this study?

The age structure of the United States in 2015

What is the age structure of a population?

In southern Africa, jackals are major predators of livestock on farms. As a control measure, farmers often kill jackals they find on their farms. Scientists Liaan Minnie and colleagues predicted that increased mortality of jackals would result in altered life history traits of this carnivore species. To test their predictions, they compared the number of pregnant female jackals in different age classes in populations that were hunted (on farms) to those that were not hunted (in conservation reserves). The resulting pattern shown in the first graph is the proportion of females that are pregnant in each age class. The scientists also collected demographic data to construct age structure diagrams (second graph) of jackals in (a) hunted populations (farms) and (b) populations that were not hunted (reserves). In the age structure diagram, males are plotted on the left, females are plotted on the right, and the median age class is denoted with hatched bars. Source: Minnie, L., Gaylard, A., & Kerley, G. I. (2016). Compensatory life‐history responses of a mesopredator may undermine carnivore management efforts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(2), 379-387. -Jackals live in socially organized groups, which means the scientists found the jackals in a ________ dispersion pattern.

An African family that has been displaced from their home by civil war is trying to select a new country in which to settle to gain better economic opportunities. Nigeria is a large country with rich natural resources, and the family is considering it for its new home. Among the data the family finds while researching Nigeria is the following diagram of the current age structure of the country. -Which statement about the age structure of Nigeria is true?

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

Which statement about the application of insecticides is true?

If an ecosystem has a carrying capacity of 1,000 individuals for a given species and 2,000 individuals of that species are present, we can predict that the population

Assume that there are five alligators per acre in a swamp in northern Florida. This is a measure of the alligator population's

A tidal wave wipes out the entire population of mice living on an island. This is an example of

The human population on Earth is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by