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Ch 4 APES
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Monarch butterflies are threatened by the loss of _____ that they need to feed on along their migration path.
a. corn plants
b. soybeans
c. apple blossoms
d. clover
e. milkweed
2. In the old practice of taking a pet canary into a coal mine to detect the presence of carbon monoxide, the canary
represents a(n) ____ species.
a. generalist
b. native
c. indicator
d. specialist
e. keystone
3. The American crow is a large passerine bird of the family Corvidae and is a common bird found throughout much of
North America. It is most likely to be a _____ species.
a. nonnative
b. keystone
c. invasive
d. generalist
e. indicator
4. Which of the following would be the least likely cause for the decline of amphibians?
a. habitat destruction
b. prolonged rainy periods
c. pollution
d. increases in UV radiation
e. parasites
5. What are amphibians?
a. invertebrates that live part of their lives in water and part on land
b. invertebrates that live on land, near water
c. vertebrates with secretory skin glands that makes them slimy
d. vertebrates that live part of their lives in water and part on land
e. vertebrates that live on land, near water
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6. Which of the following is true of specialist species?
a. They can live in many different places.
b. They can eat a wide variety of foods.
c. They can tolerate a narrow range of climatic conditions.
d. They can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions.
e. They are less prone to extinction.
7. Changes in the DNA sequence of a gene in a cell that can be inherited by offspring are called ____.
a. adaptations
b. mutagens
c. mutations
d. variable traits
e. selected traits
8. In some habitats, the extinction of certain amphibian species could lead to the ____ of certain species of other
amphibians, aquatic insects, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals.
a. natural selection
b. speciation
c. coevolution
d. proliferation
e. extinction
9. Research performed by Edward O. Wilson on ____ has been applied to the study and understanding of other social
organisms, including humans.
a. ants
b. worms
c. bees
d. chimpanzees
e. elephants
10. Nonnative species can spread rapidly if they find a new location with favorable conditions, often because they do not
face the same ____ that they face in their native niches.
a. temperatures
b. precipitation ranges
c. pollinators
d. predators
e. soil nutrients
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11. The four components of biodiversity increase the ____ of ecosystems and increase the resistance of ecosystems to
harmful invasive species.
a. evenness
b. function
c. strength
d. stability
e. fitness
12. Which of the following does not describe an element of an ecological niche?
a. the place where the species lives
b. how much water the species needs
c. how much sunlight the species needs
d. how much space the species needs
e. temperatures the species can tolerate
13. Scientists are now able to produce desirable traits in some organisms by adding, deleting, or changing segments of its
DNA. This process is known as ____.
a. genetic modification
b. genetic engineering
c. genetic drift
d. mutation
e. speciation
14. What is the variety of processes, including matter cycling and energy flow within ecosystems, which result from
species interacting with one another in food webs?
a. functional diversity
b. genetic diversity
c. intellectual diversity
d. ecosystem diversity
e. species diversity
15. Why do species such as humans take a much longer time (thousands to millions of years) to adapt through natural
selection than species such as bacteria and insects?
a. Species such as humans are limited geographically.
b. Species such as humans are much larger in size.
c. Species such as humans are limited by reproductive capacity.
d. Species such as humans are limited by biological fitness.
e. Species such as humans are limited by natural selection.
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16. The loss of a(n) ____ species can lead to population crashes and extinctions of other species in a community that
depends on them for certain ecosystem services.
a. foundation
b. indicator
c. native
d. keystone
e. specialist
17. Compounds found in the ____ of certain amphibians have been isolated and used in pharmaceutical products.
a. skin secretions
b. gut contents
c. fatty tissue
d. brain matter
e. saliva
18. What term refers to a measure of the relative abundance, or the comparative numbers of individuals, of each species
present?
a. species richness
b. species abundance
c. species diversity
d. species evenness
e. species counts
19. Biological evolution by natural selection is when genes ____, individuals ____, and populations ____.
a. evolve; mutate; are selected
b. are selected; mutate; evolve
c. mutate; evolve; are selected
d. evolve; are selected; mutate
e. mutate; are selected; evolve
20. Under certain circumstances, natural selection can lead to an entirely new species, a process called ____.
a. genetic drift
b. genetic isolation
c. diversification
d. speciation
e. mutation
21. According to some scientists, the more diverse an ecosystem is, the ____ it will be.
a. less productive
b. less abundant
c. less even
d. more productive
e. more even
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22. What is another term for a nonnative species?
a. native
b. invasive
c. keystone
d. indicator
e. foundation
23. The earth’s biodiversity is determined by the balance between ____.
a. geographic isolation and reproductive isolation
b. speciation and extinction
c. mass extinction and background extinction
d. speciation and genetic engineering
e. reproductive isolation and extinction
24. Which of the following is true?
a. the higher the species richness, the lower the productivity
b. the higher the species richness, the lower the sustainability
c. the lower the species richness, the greater the productivity
d. the lower the species richness, the greater the sustainability
e. the higher the species richness, the greater the sustainability
25. What adaptation has allowed humans to increase their chances of survival and reproduction through gripping and
using tools?
a. walking upright on two legs
b. physical strength
c. complex brain
d. opposable thumbs
e. five digits on each hand
26. Who was responsible for providing a convincing explanation of how organisms change over time and are descended
from a single common ancestor through the mechanism of natural selection?
a. Charles Darwin
b. Alfred Russel Wallace
c. Edward O. Wilson
d. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace
e. Charles Darwin and Edward O. Wilson
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27. The role a species plays in its ecosystem is its ____.
a. function
b. habitat
c. ecological niche
d. geographical location
e. ecological job
28. The variety in the genetic makeup of individuals in a population is known as ____.
a. heritability
b. gene flow
c. genetic variability
d. genetic differences
e. genetic drift
29. Before conservation efforts facilitated their comeback, the American alligator population was nearly completely wiped
out primarily because of ____.
a. parasites
b. diseases
c. hunters
d. land developers
e. pollution
30. Almost half of the world’s identified species are _____.
a. worms
b. amphibians
c. reptiles
d. insects
e. birds
31. The drift of tectonic plates influences evolution by ____.
a. increasing the level of carbon dioxide
b. changing the earth’s climate
c. changing the spin of the earth
d. decreasing soil nutrient richness
e. changing magnetic fields and disrupting migration patterns
32. Speciation, especially among sexually reproducing species, happens in two phases: first geographic isolation, and then
_____.
a. mutation
b. artificial selection
c. interbreeding
d. extinction
e. reproductive isolation
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33. Research indicates that the largest cause of the rising rate of species extinctions is _____.
a. habitat loss
b. overhunting
c. disease
d. pollution
e. geological events
34. The process in which individuals with certain traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a particular set of
environmental conditions than are those without the trait is called ____.
a. natural selection
b. adaptability
c. genetic drift
d. mutation
e. scientific theory
35. The earth has sustained life for ____ years.
a. 1.5 million
b. 3.8 million
c. 1.5 billion
d. 3.8 billion
e. 1.5 trillion
36. The process whereby the earth’s life changes over time through changes in genes of populations of organisms in
succeeding generations is called ____.
a. emigration
b. mutation
c. natural selection
d. evolution
e. genetic drift
37. From a scientific point of view, which of the following is true?
a. Evolution leads to survival of the strongest.
b. Evolution leads to survival of the most valuable.
c. Organisms develop traits because they need them.
d. Fitness is a matter of reproductive success.
e. Evolution follows a plan of nature.
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38. The variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the earth is called ____ diversity.
a. species
b. ecological
c. functional
d. geological
e. genetic
39. What is the ability of one or more organisms in a population to tolerate a chemical designed to kill it, such as when
bacteria tolerate antibiotics?
a. genetic adaptation
b. genetic strength
c. genetic mutation
d. genetic resistance
e. genetic tolerance
40. A species with a broad niche is considered a(n) ____ species.
a. endemic
b. endangered
c. specialist
d. native
e. generalist
41. One contributing factor of the declines in many frog species is that frog eggs have ____.
a. shells that prevent frog embryos from hatching easily
b. shells that are permeable to water pollutants
c. no shells to protect from embryos from predation
d. no shells to protect frog embryos from dehydration
e. no shells to protect frog embryos from water pollutants
42. Which statement is least associated with biological evolution through natural selection?
a. evolution by natural selection is not important because it is just a theory
b. evolution explains the origin of life
c. humans, apes, and monkeys evolved from a common ancestor
d. evolution by natural selection is part of a grand plan
e. survival of the fittest means survival of the strongest
43. Which type of diversity enables life on the earth to adapt and survive environmental changes?
a. functional
b. genetic
c. cognitive
d. ecosystem
e. species
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44. Species that provide early warnings of damage to a community or an ecosystem are called ____ species.
a. foundation
b. indicator
c. keystone
d. endemic
e. endangered
45. What term describes the number of different species in a given area?
a. speciation
b. species evenness
c. species niche
d. species richness
e. habitat
46. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), about ____% of all known amphibian
species are threatened with extinction.
a. 15
b. 24
c. 33
d. 49
e. 67
47. For natural selection to occur, an adaptive trait ____.
a. must be physical
b. must be physiological
c. must be psychological
d. must be heritable
e. cannot be heritable
48. What human adaptation may enable us to live more sustainably by understanding and copying the ways in which
nature has sustained itself for billions of years, despite major changes in environmental conditions?
a. our ability to use tools
b. our genes can change over time
c. our physical strength
d. our complex brain
e. our biological fitness is superior to other animals
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49. Fossil and geological evidence indicates that there have been _____ mass extinctions during the past 500 million
years.
a. 2
b. 5
c. 8
d. 12
e. 20
50. Many of the earth’s plant species depend on ____ to pollinate their flowers.
a. small rodents
b. large mammals
c. amphibians
d. insects
e. humans
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Answer Key
1. e
2. c
3. d
4. b
5. d
6. c
7. c
8. e
9. a
10. d
11. d
12. a
13. b
14. a
15. c
16. d
17. a
18. d
19. e
20. d
21. d
22. b
23. b
24. e
25. d
26. d
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Ch 4 APES
27. c
28. c
29. c
30. d
31. b
32. e
33. a
34. a
35. d
36. d
37. d
38. b
39. d
40. e
41. e
42. c
43. b
44. b
45. d
46. c
47. d
48. d
49. b
50. d
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