Ecology and Animal Behavior Chapters 51-56

Ecology and Animal Behavior Chapters 51-56

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EcologyMennecke

1. A population that is growing exponentially in the absence of limiting factors can be illustrated by a(n)

a. S-shaped curvec. curve that terminates in a plateau phase
b. J-shaped curved. tolerance curve

2. All the populations of different species that occupy & are adapted to an area, are referred to as a(n)

a. biospherec. ecosystem
b. communityd. niche

3. A one-way relationship where one species benefits at the expense of another is called

a. commensalismsc. parasitism
b. competative exclusiond. an obligatory relationship

4. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit is best described as ______.

a. commensalismsc. mutualism
b. competative exclusiond. parasitism

5. In a natural community, the primary consumers are ______.

a. herbivoresc. scavengers
b. carnivoresd. decomposers

6. Which of the following is a primary consumer?

a. cow c. hawk
b. dogd. bear

7. The biome concept illustrates:

a. dominant plant communitiesc. old field succession
b. insect populationsd. animal diversity

8. ______is the least influential in determining the distribution of terrestrial biomes.

a. light intensityc. salinity
b. rainfalld. temperature

9. The ______of a species describes the trophic function it fills in its environment.

a. nichec. carrying capacity
b. habitatd. biotic potential

11. The "greenhouse effect" refers to:

a. increasing agricultural yieldsc. gradual warming of the earth's surface
b. reduction in the earth's ozone layerd. build-up of toxic airborne pollutants

12. Bacteria and fungi act as ______within an ecosystem.

a. primary producersc. secondary consumers
b. primary consumers d. decomposers

13. A study of a meadow ecosystem revealed the following trophic relationships: sweet clover---grasshoppers--toads---snakes. The primary producer (s) in the meadow is (are)______.

a. sweet cloverc. toads
b. grasshoppersd. snakes

14. Which of the following is an example of secondary succession?

a. appearance of mosses and weeds on an exposed rock fence
b. abandoned farm field covered with weeds and shrubs
c. former pond now supporting growth of shrubs and trees
d. establishment of plants on a newly-formed island

15. The ecosystems concept include both abiotic (non-living) biotic factors (living) with a defined area.

a. true
b. false

16. Which type of succession would probably result after a prescribed burn of mature Jack Pine in northern New York?

a. primary
b. secondary

17. What is the term for the maximum number of individuals that an area can support indefinitely?

a. biotic potentialc. niche
b. carrying capacity d. maximum density

18. Which of the following represents the most complex level?

a. communityc. ecosystem
b. species d. population

19. Which of the following lists include only abiotic environmental factors?

a. food, temperature, fire, wind
b. soil minerals, oxygen level, light, predators
c. wind, rainfall, temperature, soil minerals
d. light, food, predators, competitors

20. In whitetail deer populations in New York, individuals most often show a ______pattern of dispersion.

a. clumpedc. uniform
b. bandedd. random

21. All of the organisms living in a particular area make up ______.

a. a food chainc. a biological community
b. a populationd. a biosphere

22. An organism's "trophic" level refers to

a. the rate at which it uses energy
b. where it lives
c. what it eats
d. whether it is early or late in ecological succession

23. The niche of an animal is best defined as?

a. the number of individuals of the species the environment will support
b. the same as its habitat
c. all the ways an animal fits into its environment
d. the specific place within the habitat where the animal lives

24. A lichen is actually composed of two organisms--a fungus and an alga. They depend on each other for survival. The most specific term that describes their relationship is ______.

a. parasitismc. commensalism
b. mutualismd. symbiosis

1. Bees can see colors we cannot see, and they can detect minute amounts of chemicals we cannot sense. Unlike many insects, bees cannot hear very well. An ecologist would probably give which of the following as the ultimate explanation for their poor hearing?
2. Bees are too small to have functional ears.
3. Hearing may not contribute much to a bees’ reproductive success.
4. If a bee could hear, its tiny brain would be swamped with information.
5. If bees could hear, the noise of the hive would drive them crazy.

1. Pheasants do not feed their chicks. Immediately after hatching, a pheasant chick starts pecking at seeds insects on the ground. How might a behavioral ecologist explain the ultimate cause of this behavior?
2. Pecking is a fixed action pattern (FAP).
3. Pheasants learned to peck, and their offspring inherited this behavior.
4. Pheasants that pecked survived and reproduced best.
5. Pecking is a result of imprinting during a critical period.

1. Which of the following is a fixed action pattern?
2. A stickleback fish attacks a wood block with a red bottom.
3. A hamster becomes active at the same time each evening.
4. A wolf tracks its prey.
5. A robin eats a distasteful bug, spits it out, and never eats one again.

1. Ants carry dead ants out of the anthill and dump them on a trash pile. If a live ant is painted with a chemical from dead ants, other ants repeatedly carry it, kicking and struggling, to the trash pile, until the substance wears off. Which of the following best explains this behavior?
2. The chemical is a sign stimulus for a fixed action pattern.
3. The ants have become imprinted on the chemical.
4. The ants continue the behavior until they become habituated.
5. The ants can only learn by operant conditioning.

1. A wolf will prey on rabbits when they are more abundant than mice and mice when they are more abundant than rabbits. This is due to
2. a search image.
3. an FAP.
4. altruism.
5. classical conditioning

1. Which of the following best illustrates optimal foraging?
2. A robin will repeatedly attack any red object near its territory.
3. Musk oxen will form a circle to fend off a wolf attack.
4. Bats emerge to feed at about the same time each night.
5. A blackbird will warn others in the flock if it senses danger.

1. A frog may at first be startled by tree branches swaying in the wind, but it soon stops responding to these kinds of unimportant changes in its environment. This is an example of
2. a fixed action pattern.c. altruism.
3. imprinting.d. habituation.

1. An aquaculture facility hatched salmon eggs and released young fish into a river leading to the ocean. The fish fed and grew in the ocean, and in a few years they returned to the facility. Because the number of returning fish was low, a scientist suggested that the facility add a chemical to the water draining from the fish ponds into the river. She hoped the chemical would increase the number of returning fish in a few years by
2. decreasing their agonistic behavior.
3. enabling them to imprint on the facility.
4. stimulating habituation in the fish.
5. improving the search image of the salmon.

1. Graylag geese learn to follow their mothers. This is an example of
2. habituation.c. altruism.
3. operant conditioning.d. imprinting

1. Play is a type of
2. operant conditioning.c. cognitive map.
3. habituation.d. behavior with no apparent goal.

1. Each morning a graduate student turns on the light in the lab then feeds the fish in the aquarium. After a couple of weeks of this routine, the graduate student noticed that the fish came to the surface to feed as soon as the lights were turned on, whether or not any food was present. This illustrates
2. habituation.c. classical conditioning.
3. positive phototaxis.d. operant conditioning.

1. In , an animal learns to associate one of its behaviors with reward or punishment.
2. classical conditioningc. fixed-action-pattern learning
3. operant conditioningd. habituation

1. Kineses & taxes are simple, automatic movements in response to stimuli. Movement of a moth toward a light is positive phototaxis. What is the difference between kineses & taxes?
2. Taxes are directed toward a stimulus, kineses away.
3. Kineses are innate, and taxes are learned.
4. Kineses are more random, and taxes are more directed.
5. Kineses are performed much faster than taxes.

1. Scientists think that some birds may find their way during migration by
2. imprinting on faint odors.
3. listening to high-pitched sounds.
4. sensing the magnetism of Earth.
5. seeing wavelengths of light that we cannot see.

1. When animals engage in _____, they often perform displays that make them look as large and dangerous as possible.
2. courtship ritualsc. kineses
3. altruismd. agonistic behavior

1. Chimpanzees maintain their rank in the dominance hierarchy with charging displays. Sometimes actual combat occurs briefly, but usually aggression is ritualized. Why don't chimps fight more?
2. Chimpanzees are not strong enough to inflict much injury.
3. Dominant females keep order and prevent fights from escalating.
4. Natural selection favors avoiding injury and saving energy.
5. Chimpanzees spend most of their time mating; they don’t have time to fight.

1. Jaguars deposit their feces in prominent places and cheetahs urinate to
2. warn the group of danger.c. attract mates.
3. mark their territories.d. attract prey.

1. Which of the following sayings best summarizes the idea of reciprocal altruism?
2. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
3. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.
4. A penny saved is a penny earned.
5. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
6. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

1. The energy for nearly every organism in nearly every ecosystem ultimately comes from
2. minerals in the soil.c. respiration.
3. the sun.d. decomposition.

1. The relationship between biomass nd primary productivity is that
2. biomass is the rate of primary productivity.
3. biomass is the inverse of primary productivity.
4. primary productivity is the inverse of biomass.
5. primary productivity is the rate at which biomass is produced.

1. When you eat an apple, you are a
2. primary consumer.c. secondary consumer.
3. tertiary consumer.d. primary producer.
4. Why is a diagram of energy flow from trophic level to trophic level shaped like a pyramid?
5. Organisms at each level store most of the energy and pass little on.
6. Organisms eventually die as they get older.
7. Most energy at each level is lost, leaving little for the next.
8. Secondary consumers are larger than primary consumers, and so on.

1. In an ecosystem the _____ is always greater than the _____ .
2. biomass of secondary consumers . . . biomass of primary producers
3. energy used by primary consumers . . . energy used by secondary consumers
4. biomass of primary producers . . . biomass of primary consumers
5. energy used by primary consumers . . . energy used by primary producers

1. The biggest difference between energy flow of & the flow of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem is
2. the amount of energy is much greater than the amount of nutrients.
3. energy is recycled, but nutrients are not.
4. organisms always need nutrients, but they don't always need energy.
5. nutrients are recycled, but energy is not.

1. Which of the following statements is correct?
2. Over land, evaporation exceeds transpiration and precipitation.
3. Over land, evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation.
4. Over oceans, transpiration exceeds precipitation.
5. Over oceans, evaporation exceeds precipitation.

1. An ecosystem is unlikely to be limited by the supply of ____ as it is obtained from the air.
2. Waterc. Calcium
3. Carbond. Nitrogen

1. Most endangered species are victims of
2. global warming.c. competition with introduced species.
3. habitat destruction.d. pesticide pollution.

1. Which of the following biomes is correctly paired with the description of its climate?

1. savanna: cool temperature, precipitation uniform during the year
2. tundra: long summers, mild winters
3. temperate deciduous forest: relatively short growing season, mild winters
4. tropical forests: nearly constant photoperiod and temperature

1. The oceans affect the biosphere in all of the following ways except
2. producing most of the biosphere’s O2 removing CO2 from the atmosphere
3. moderating the climate of terrestrial biomes
4. regulating the pH of freshwater biomes and terrestrial groundwater
5. being the source of most terrestrial rainfall due to evaporation

1. Which sea creature might be described as a pelagic animal of the aphotic zone?
   a. a coral reef fishc. an intertidal snail
   b. a giant clam near a deep-sea vent.d. a deep-sea squid
   
2. Which of the following might eat phytoplankton?

a. great white sharkc. shrimp
b. seald. seagull

1. Pat was a passenger on a plane that flew over temperate deciduous forest, then grassland & desert, finally landing at an airport in chaparral. The route of Pat's flight was between
   a. New York and Denver.c. Denver and Los Angeles.
   b. Philadelphia and Los Angeles.d. Washington, D.C. and Phoenix.
   

1. A graduate student read out loud from a newspaper, “More people are burned out of their homes in Southern California than in other parts of the U.S.” The graduate student's major professor looked up replied, “That's a shame, but I guess you have to expect a fire once in a while if you live in the______.”
   a. temperate grasslandc. coniferous forest.
   b. tundrad. chaparral

1. Which of these biomes has been most altered by human activities in North America?
   a. tundrac. temperate deciduous forest
   b. coniferous forestd. desert.
   
2. Which is dominated by plants that drop their leaves yearly to conserve water?
   a. desertc. temperate deciduous forest
   b. coniferous forestd. tropical rain forest
   
3. Which of the following describes the climatic conditions characteristic of the chaparral?
   a. cold with little rainfall.c. hot or cold but always rainy
   b. hot and dryd. mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers
   
4. The primary ecological factor determining the distribution of deserts is
   a. windiness.c. temperature.
   b. elevation.d. moisture.
   
5. Which of these biomes generally is bordered on one side by tundra and temperate deciduous forest on the other side?
   a. savannac. coniferous forest (taiga)
   b. desertd. tropical forest
   
6. Which of the following is not an abiotic factor that shapes ecosystems?
   a. soil mineralsc. rainfall
   b. predatorsd. volcanic eruptions
   
7. Which shows how biotic environmental factors can affect an organism?
   a. Mice have the highest reproductive rate of any common mammal.
   b. Maple trees will not grow in waterlogged soil.
   c. Some shrubs grow only where forest fires scorch their seeds.
   d. Monarch butterflies live only where there are milkweed plants for food.

1. Which lists only abiotic environmental factors that may impact upon animals?
   a. food, temperature, fire, wind
   b. food, parasites, predators, competitors
   c. wind, temperature, soil minerals, light.
   d. light, rainfall, food, temperature

1. Which of the following is the most complex?
   a. communityc. species
   b. individuald. ecosystem
   
2. Which of the following would you expect to find in a rainshadow?
   a. a desertc. a rain forest
   b. an oceand. tundra.

1. Changes in the seasons are caused by
   a. the tilt of Earth's axis toward or away from the sun.
   b. annual cycles of temperature and rainfall.
   c. variation in the distance between Earth and the sun.
   e. the periodic buildup of heat energy at the equator.

1. What makes the Gobi Desert of Asia a desert?
   a. It is dry.c. The growing season is very short.
   c. It is hot.d. Temperatures vary little from summer to winter.

1. Which of the following do all terrestrial biomes have in common?

1. a distribution predicted almost entirely by rock and soil patterns
2. clear, distinct boundaries between adjacent biomes
3. vegetation demonstrating specific type, growing size and shape based on climate
4. a biodiversity pattern directly proportional to latitude only

1. Hummingbirds living at elevations above 4500 meters enter torpor (sleep) when the sun sets & they are unable to forage. This reaction to environmental variation illustrates

1. a morphological responsec. an endothermic response
2. an ectothermic responsed. a physiological response

1. The growing season would generally be shortest in which biome?

1. tropical rain forestc. taiga
2. savannad. temperate deciduous forest

1. The growing season would generally be longest in which biome?

1. tropical rain forestc. taiga
2. savannad. temperate deciduous forest

1. Imagine some cosmic catastrophe that jolts earth so that it is no longer tilted, instead its axis is perpendicular to the line between the sun and earth. The most predictable effect of this change would be

1. no more night and day
2. a big change in the length of the year
3. a cooling of the equator
4. a loss of seasonal variation at northern and southern latitudes

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