Chapter 52:
1. If you were to study the interactions between the lynx and the hairs it preys upon,
you would be doing what kind of ecology?
A. Ecosystem
B. Organismal
C. Population
D. Community
2. Briefly explain the main principles studied in organismal, population, community,
ecosystem, and global ecology
Organismal: physical/behavioral adaptations
Population: population frequency over time, know equations!
Community: interactions between species
Ecosystem: biotic and abiotic factors
Global: the entire biosphere, and how humans impact the biosphere
3. Which regions on Earth receives the most solar radiation per unit over a year?
A. North Pole
B. 30-degrees N and 30-degrees S latitude
C. South Pole
D. Equator
4. Describe Hadley cells and how they work
5. Which of the following is an indicator of net primary productivity (NPP)
A. The average yearly temperature in a region
B. The ability of an exotic species to become invasive
C. The amount of sunlight a biome receives
D. The aboveground plant biomass
6. Indicators such as NPP can be used to identify biomes, determine 2 defining
factors of the following biomes:
Tropical wet forests: Species diversity, little seasonal variation in
temperature, high annual precipitation as well as variation in precipitation.
Subtropical deserts: 30-degrees N/S latitude, high annual temps with
moderate variation, low precipitation
Temperate grasslands: Grasses are dominant life-form, fertile soils,
moderate average temperature and temperature variation, moderate
precipitation and precipitation variation
Temperate forests: Deciduous plants dominant, moderate average temp
and temp variation, moderate average precipitation and low variation.
Boreal forests: Subarctic land, low productivity, high aboveground biomass,
low average temperature and high variation, low average precipitation and
low variation.
Arctic tundra: Arctic regions, frozen soils (permafrost), small woody shrubs
and lichens, short growing season, low average temperature and high
variation, low average precipitation and low variation.
7. Which zone is found only in freshwater environments?
A. Benthic zone
B. Aphotic zone
C. Nertic zone
D. Littoral zone
8. What key physical factors affect the distribution and abundance of organisms in
an aquatic biome?
Chapter 53:
9. Which of the following statements is true of learned behaviors rather than fixed
action patterns?
A. Different individuals perform the behavior differently
B. Once it begins, the sequence of actions continues to completion *FAP
C. They are set responses to a specific stimulus
D. There is little variation in how they are performed
10. Explain a behavior of your favorite animal and give the proximate and ultimate
causes of that behavior
*proximate-how it occurs (genes that encode the behavior)
*ultimate-why it occurs (fitness advantage)
11. A gerbil is more likely to forage on a field that includes a predator’s presence,
when a certain amount of food is available; this is an example of what?
A. Cost-benefit analysis
B. Flexible condition
C. Optimal foraging
D. All of the above
12. Give proximate and ultimate causes for navigation
13. Which of the following statements about the coefficient of relatedness is true?
A. A mammalian mother has a coefficient of relatedness of .25 with her
offspring
B. Fraternal twins have a relatedness of .5
C. If the coefficient of relatedness is less than the cost divided by the benefit
of the act, then the genetic material will be spread to the population
D. Identical twins have a coefficient of relatedness of .5
14. Explain altruism and how it relates to kin selection
Altruism is a behavior with a fitness cost that an individual exhibits in order
to help another, where as kin selection indicates that this behavior is
exhibited when the individuals share alleles (closely related)
Chapter 54:
15. Which of the following statements is true of a metapopulation?
A. Localized extinctions in subpopulation lower the population of the
metapopulation
B. They are made up of isolated habitats
C. The subpopulations are connected by migration
D. The overall number of individuals in a metapopulaiton undergoes major
fluctuations
16. What are population dynamics and how what is the pattern in exponential
population growth vs. logistic population growth?
17. Which of the following leads to growth of a population
A. Lack of immigration
B. Deaths
C. Births
D. Emigration
18. Explain the logistic growth equation and the variables it encompasses
N=population t=time.
Population ecology measures the population size over time and how it
fluctuates.
rmax=highest birth rate and lowest death rate combined
K=carrying capacity
Chapter 55:
19. Which of the following is not an example of consumption
A. Predation
B. Herbivory
C. Parasitism
D. Commensalism
20. Give your own definition for the following species interactions
Competition: -/Consumption: -/+
Commensalism: +/0
Mutualism: +/+
Pollination: +/+
Parasitism: -/21. The combination of conditions that a species can tolerate in the presence of
competitors is defined as what?
A. Fundamental niche
B. Niche overlap
C. Realized niche
D. Niche differentiation
22. Explain how predators and prey coevolve
Coevolutionary arms race-cycle of each other adapting, and forcing the other
to adapt to continue in their relationship.
23. Which island is expected to have the highest species richness
A. Recently established island after a catastrophic event
B. The smallest island
C. The island farthest from the mainland
D. The island closest to the tropics
24. Explain the concept of latitude gradient that has been observed by ecologists
The farther you are from the tropics N/S the less species richness/diversity
that is there.