Population Ecology Flashcards

A group of interbreeding individuals occupying the same habitat at the same time is a(n)
A. species.
B. guild.
C. population.
D. equilibrium.
E. quadrat.

What is a tool of population ecology to study populations?
A. iteoparity
B. growth ecology
C. demography
D. exponential growth
E. disease ecology

What is the simplest method to measure population density in a given area?
A. Count the number of organisms.
B. Perform a line transect.
C. Look for random dispersion patterns.
D. Count the number of reproductive adults.
E. Calculate a survivorship curve.

A line transect would probably be the preferred method to quantify the population density of ______.
A. birds
B. lions
C. fishes
D. trees
E. butterflies

In mark-recapture, if number of individuals marked in first catch = 10, number of marked recaptures in second catch = 4, and total number of second catch = 8, what is the total population size?
A. 22
B. 24
C. 42
D. 20
E. 40

A good sampling method for quantifying the density of birds or bats is the use of
A. line transects.
B. quadrats.
C. pitfall traps.
D. baited live traps.
E. mist nets.

Dispersion is
A. the ability to move.
B. the rate of movement.
C. the spatial distribution of reproduction.
D. the spatial distribution of individuals.
E. the timing of reproduction

Many species of birds form large flocks. What dispersion pattern describes this behavior?
A. random
B. uniform
C. rapid
D. social
E. clumped

Why is a random dispersal pattern the rarest in nature?
A. Only aquatic resources are randomly dispersed.
B. Resources in nature are rarely randomly spaced.
C. Most animals have social behavior such as forming flocks.
D. Resources such as most, fertile soil are common and abundant.
E. None of these choices are correct.

Lions, leopards and other large terrestrial predators maintain well-defined territories. What kind of dispersion pattern would this produce?
A. clumped
B. clustered
C. uniform
D. random
E. logistic

Organisms that produce all of their offspring in a single event are
A. always successful.
B. never successful.
C. autogenous.
D. semelparous.
E. iteroparous

Organisms that reproduce repeatedly are said to be
A. semelparous.
B. cohorts.
C. iteroparous.
D. demographic.
E. survivors.

Which of these organisms is NOT iteroparous?
A. humans
B. oak trees
C. bears
D. dogs
E. agave plants

A fisheries biologist tells you she is studying a cohort of salmon returning to their birth river. What does this tell you about these salmon?
A. These salmon are iteroparous.
B. Most of these salmon are one or two years old.
C. All of these salmon are the same age.
D. This group of salmon show a uniform distribution.
E. The salmon are still too young for reproduction.

A life table
A. provides data on the number of individuals alive in a particular age class.
B. more often than not excludes males.
C. typically includes age classes each representing one year.
D. allows predictions to be made on how a population will grow.
E. All of the answers are correct.

In a growing population, the youngest age classes have
A. the highest number of deaths/year.
B. the fewest individuals.
C. the most individuals.
D. the smallest number of deaths/year.
E. the most individuals and the largest number of deaths/year.

A survivorship curve with uniform death rates over time is most likely to be a type _______ curve.
A. I
B. II
C. III
D. IV
E. V

A survivorship curve in which most individuals die late in life is a type _______ curve.
A. IV
B. III
C. II
D. I
E. 0I

Which of the following is not a typical characteristic of K-selected plant species?
A. small size
B. slow growth
C. long life span
D. few large seeds
E. poor seed dispersal

_____ selected species have a low rate of per capita growth.
A. r-
B. p-
C. K-
D. n-1
E. n-

Parasitism is often a ____________ factor affecting populations.
A. density-independent
B. density-dependent
C. inverse density-dependent
D. cyclic
E. random

What information is used to calculate the age-specific fertility rate, m_x?
A. net reproductive rate
B. total number of offspring born to females of reproductive age
C. per capita growth rate
D. proportion of female offspring born to females of reproductive age
E. age at first reproduction

Growth slows down when populations reach carrying capacity because of
A. competition and resource limitation.
B. uniform dispersion patterns.
C. zero population growth.
D. per capita growth rate.
E. resource limitation and lognormality.

A plot of population size vs time that displays a J-shape is indicative of
A. parasitism.
B. exponential growth.
C. logistic growth.
D. K-selection.
E. r-selection.

The intrinsic rate of increase is
A. the rate of population growth under optimal conditions.
B. rarely seen.
C. independent of predation and competition.
D. the unchanging rate of population growth until the carrying capacity is reached.
E. the rate of population growth under optimal conditions and rarely seen.

The per capita growth rate of a population can be defined as
A. N.
B. unchanging for a species.
C. birth minus death.
D. exponential growth.
E. logistic growth.

In the formula, dN/dt = rN(K-N)/K, the rate of population growth approaches zero as
A. carrying capacity approaches zero.
B. the age-specific fertility rate approaches zero.
C. the per capita growth rate declines.
D. the population size approaches the carrying capacity.
E. carrying capacity declines with increasing population size.

In general, the growth pattern of human population through history shows a/an _____ pattern.
A. logistic
B. exponential
C. logistic and exponential
D. sigmoidal
E. declining

World human population in 2009 is approximately
A. 670 million.
B. 1.8 bilion.
C. 4.6 billion.
D. 6.7 billion.
E. 10 billion.

If the age structure of a country's population is balanced, what prediction can be made about the near future?
A. The birth rate will decline.
B. The death rate will decline.
C. The population will not increase rapidly.
D. The population will increase rapidly.
E. The demographic transition will begin.

What percentage of the population are children 4 year old and younger in West Africa?
A. 8.5
B. 12
C. 17
D. 23
E. 50

What percentage of the population are children 4 years old or younger in Western Europe?
A. 2.5
B. 5
C. 10
D. 17
E. 22

What average global total fertility rate is needed for zero population growth?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 2.3
D. 2.59
E. None of the choices are correct

After the demographic transition, birth rates
A. death rates exceed birth rates.
B. equal 2 ´ death rates.
C. outpace death rates.
D. equal death rates.
E. None of these choices are correct.

In a survey of Dall mountain sheep in Denali National Park in Alaska, researchers found that wolves preyed primarily on the most vulnerable members of the population, the young and the old. What conclusion is best supported by this data?
A. A limited program should be established to cull the sheep population.
B. Wolf predation would not be expected to dramatically reduce the sheep population.
C. The wolf population is at its carrying capacity, so it is no threat to the sheep population.
D. A limited program should be established to cull the wolf population.
E. Dall mountain sheep in Denali are an r-selected population.

The United Nations projects a stabilizing world population at
A. two billion.
B. seven billion.
C. ten billion.
D. fourteen billion.
E. None of these choices are correct

. If 100 females produce 50 offspring, the age specific fertility rate is
A. 0.75.
B. 0.5.
C. 2.
D. 50.
E. impossible to calculate with this information.

The ecological footprint of an average Egyptian is greater than that of an average American.

Random dispersion is rare compared to clumped dispersion.

Humans are iteroparous.

Demography is the study of how births and deaths change population sizes over time.

Modern humans show a type I survivorship curve.

If resources are increased, carrying capacity increases.

K-selected populations reproduce quickly.

Exponential growth is rare because resources are usually limiting.

Slow-growing oak trees are r-selected compared to dandelions.

r-selected species tend to have type III survivorship curves.

Drought and floods are considered to be density-dependent factors potentially affecting population size.

<p>In a demographic transition, death rates decline before birth rates.</p> <!--EndFragment-->

Worldwide human population growth has been exponential since the Industrial Revolution.