Leader: Kirsten Karkow
Course: Biol 211 - Wilsey
Date: 4/17/2012
Practice Exam 5
Supplemental Instruction
Iowa State University
1. Which branch of ecology studies the interaction between different species and their
environment?
a. Physiological Ecology
b. Community Ecology
c. Ecosystem Ecology
d. Population Ecology
2. You are in an unknown location and take shelter under a tree with a very flat, broad canopy.
What can you conclude from this observation?
a. This area has limited photosynthetic opportunities.
b. You are located close to the equator.
c. The sunlight is very direct in this area.
d. All of the above
e. Two of the above
3. People in living in the center of Russia likely experience…
a. Extended periods of sunlight at times
b. Extended periods without sunlight at times
c. Constant and cold temperatures
d. Dramatic summers and winters
e. All of the above
f. A, B and C
g. A, B and D
4. Assume wind constantly blows from west to east on the western coast of America. What likely
describes the climate around the Rocky Mountains?
a. Abundant precipitation on both the west and east sides.
b. Abundant precipitation on the east side, dry on the west.
c. Arid climates surrounding the mountains, abundant precipitation west and close to sea
level.
d. Abundant precipitation on the west side, dry on the east.
5. Ames, Iowa and Medford, Oregon are both located approximately 42°N. Assuming no
abnormalities, how would the climates likely compare?
a. Both climates are essentially the same.
b. Medford will be cooler on average than Ames.
c. Medford likely gets more rainfall than Ames.
d. Ames likely has more dramatic summers and winters.
e. B and C
f. C and D
6. You are transported to an unknown location. Locals tell you the climate is very hot and dry with
occasional fires. What biome can you conclude you are in?
a. Desert – hot, no fires
b. Chaparral – cold with fires
c. Savanna
d. Prairie – moderate with fires
Supplemental Instruction
1060 Hixson-Lied Student Success Center  294-6624  www.si.iastate.edu
7. Your aunt sends you a picture of her recent vacation. In the background, you notice CAM plants.
Where did your aunt go?
a. Tundra
b. Chaparral
c. Desert – CAM= acid metabolism. Close stomata during day to prevent drying out.
d. Rainforest
8. What type of flora and fauna would you find in the tundra?
a. Lichens, mosses, caribou, wolves
b. Dense evergreen shrubs, foxes, rodents - chaparral
c. Evergreen trees, moose, hare – coniferous forest
d. Various grasses, elk, pronghorn – prairie
9. Which terrestrial biome is the most diverse?
a. Prairie
b. Rainforest
c. Temperate Forest
d. Savanna
10. Which of the following describes a brackish biome?
a. A biome occurring at the deepest ocean depths. - abyssal
b. An estuary.
c. Where salt water and fresh water mix.
d. The most diverse marine biome. – coral reef
e. B and C
f. C and D
11. You notice that mockingbirds are very territorial during nesting season. What distribution do
they likely have during this time?
a. Clumped
b. Uniform
c. Random
12. If you were to base all of your knowledge off of Finding Nemo (in which a barracuda came and
ate all of the clownfish eggs, save one), what survivorship curve would you assume clownfish to
display?
a. Type I
b. Type II
c. Type III
d. Type IV
13. You love llamas. In order to estimate the population size roaming around in the grasslands
behind your house, you decide to run up to as many as you can and spray paint a large yellow
dot on their backs. You manage to do this to 20 llamas. A week later, you count up all the
marked and unmarked llamas and count as follows: 10 marked, 40 unmarked. What is the
estimated population size of this herd?
a. 80
b. 100 = (20·50)/10
c. 120
d. 140
14. Which of the following can affect the growth rate of a population?
a. Death rates
b. Migration rates
c. Sex ratio
d. Ratio of adults to senior citizens
e. All of the above
f. B and D
15. Why do mice have greater reproductive rates than humans?
a. They produce more offspring per litter.
b. They have a higher frequency of reproduction.
c. They reach reproductive age after only a few weeks.
d. They have extremely low juvenile death rates.
e. A, B and C
f. A, B and D
16. If you are told that the growth rate of a mob of emus is .2 per capita, what can you conclude
about the population?
a. The population is declining.
b. The population is at equilibrium.
c. The population is growing.
d. Not enough information. Need to know the time scale.
17. You are told that a population of 1000 has a constant growth rate of .5 per capita, per year.
What will the population size be after two years?
a. 500
b. 750
c. 2000
d. 2250 = 1000 + 1000 x .5 + 1500 x .5
18. A population has a carrying capacity of 5,000. If there are 1000 individuals currently in the
population and the growth rate is given as .2 per capita per year, what will the population size
be after one year?
a. 160
b. 800
c. 1160 = (.2)(1000)(4000/5000)
d. 1200
19. You are told that the net reproductive rate of a pod of dolphins is 2.5 per individual. If this is
true, how many dolphins would there be in the second generation if there were 100 dolphins to
start with?
a. 150
b. 250 = (2.5)(100)
c. 350
d. 450
20. If you are told that the net reproductive rate of tower of giraffes is .2, what can you conclude
about the population?
a. The population is declining.
b. The population is at equilibrium.
c. The population is growing.
d. Not enough information. Need to know the time scale.
21. You are told that the birth rate per capita is 1 per individual per year, while the death rate is .5
∆𝑁
per individual per year. What is ∆𝑡 after the first year in a population of 1000?
a. 500 = (1-.5)(1000)
b. 1000
c. 1500
d. 2000
22. You’re smart and realize that annual plants (such as dandelions) commonly go through
population booms and crashes. How would you describe these species?
a. Density-independent
b. R-selected
c. K-selected
d. Awesome
23. Which of the following impose major limits on the growth of density-independent populations?
a. Depletion of resources
b. Waste build-up
c. Increased predation
d. Increased incidence of disease
e. More than one of the above
f. None of the above
24. Which of the following statements best describe(s) humans?
a. We have not reached K.
b. We are in the exponential growth phase.
c. Agricultural and medical revolutions led to an increase in growth rates.
d. Overall, our reproductive rates have declined in the past century.
e. All of the above.
25. Which of the following lists interactions that result in either mutually beneficial or mutually
harmful effects for the organisms involved?
a. Competition, predation (+,-)
b. Commensalism (+,0), herbivory (+,-/0)
c. Parasitism (+,-), mutualism
d. Competition (-,-), mutualism (+,+)
26. The inability of two different species to occupy the exact same niche is an example of
a. Resource partitioning – differentiation of niches (eating at diff times/places)
b. Fundamental niches – where they would live if not affected by other species
c. The Pauli Exclusion Principle – chemical principle
d. Competitive Exclusion
27. Which of the following helps similar species be able to live in the same area?
a. Keystone predators – keep certain prey in check
b. Disturbances – knocks back the most competitive species (K-selected)
c. Spatial variation in an environment – divvying of resources
d. All of the above
28. _________________ occurs when a harmless species mimics a harmful one.
_________________ occurs when harmful species mimic each other.
a. Batesian mimicry; Mullerian mimicry
b. Mullerian mimicry; Batesian mimicry