If all individuals in the last remaining population of a particular bird species were all highly related, which type of diversity would be of greatest concern when planning to keep the species from going extinct?
I ) genetic diversity
II) species diversity
III) ecosystem diversity

A.only I
B.only II
C.only III
D.only II and III

A

What is the biological significance of genetic diversity between populations?

A.Diseases and parasites are not spread between separated populations.
B.Genetic diversity allows for species stability by preventing speciation.
C.Genes for traits conferring an advantage to local conditions make microevolution possible.
D.The population that is most fit would survive by competitive exclusion.

C

With regard to the destruction of tropical forests, the focus is often on biodiversity and the impact to these ecosystems. What is a direct benefit to humans that helps explain why these forests need to be preserved?

A.This diversity could contain undocumented insect species.
B.The plant diversity provides shade, which lowers global warming.
C.Natural and undisturbed areas are important wildlife habitats.
D.The diversity could contain novel drugs for consumers.

D

Ecosystem services include processes that increase the quality of the abiotic environment. Which of the following processes would fall under this category?
I) Keystone predators have a marked effect on species diversity.
II) Green plants produce the oxygen we breathe.
III) The presence of land plants builds soil.
IV) The presence of diverse wetlands helps in flood control.

A.only I, II, and IV
B.only II and IV
C.only II, III, and IV
D.only I and III

C

During the inventory of bacterial genes present in the Sargasso Sea in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a research team concluded that at least 1800 bacterial species were discovered. Based on what you know about this area, what would you expect to see in coral reef waters?

A.slightly greater genetic diversity
B.markedly smaller genetic diversity
C.slightly smaller genetic diversity
D.markedly greater genetic diversity

D

Which of the following statements regarding extinction is (are) correct?
I) Only a small percentage of species is immune from extinction.
II) Extinction occurs whether humans interfere or not.
III) Extinctions can even be caused indirectly by humans.

A.only I
B.only II
C.only III
D.only II and III

D

Which of the following ecological locations has the greatest species diversity?

A.islands
B.tropical rain forest
C.deciduous forests
D.grasslands

B

Which of the following provides the best evidence of a biodiversity crisis?

A.increasing pollution levels
B.the incursion of a non-native species
C.high rate of extinction
D.climate change

C

Which of the following terms includes all of the others?

A.ecosystem diversity
B.genetic diversity
C.species diversity
D.biodiversity

D

To better comprehend the magnitude of current extinctions, it will be necessary to _____.

A.differentiate between plant extinction and animal extinction numbers
B.identify more of the yet unknown species of organisms on Earth
C.use the average extinction rates of vertebrates as a baseline
D.focus on identifying more species of mammals and birds

B

We should care about loss in biodiversity in other species because of _____.
I) potential loss of medicines and other products yet undiscovered from threatened species
II) potential loss of genes, some of which may code for proteins useful to humans
III) the risk to global ecological stability

A.only I
B.only II
C.only II and III
D.I, II, and III

D

Which of the following is the most direct threat to biodiversity?

A.habitat destruction
B.the depletion of the ozone layer
C.overexploitation of selected species
D.increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide

A

Introduced species can have deleterious effects on biological communities by _____.
I) preying on native species
II) competing with native species for food or light
III) displacing native species
IV) competing with native species for space or breeding/nesting habitat

A.I, II, III and IV
B.only I and III
C.only II and IV
D.only II, III, and IV

A

Overharvesting encourages extinction and is most likely to affect _____.

A.animals that occupy a broad ecological niche
B.large animals with low intrinsic reproductive rates
C.most organisms that live in the oceans
D.edge-adapted species

B

Of the following ecosystem types, which have been impacted the most by humans?

A.taiga and second-growth forests
B.tundra and arctic
C.desert and high alpine
D.wetland and riparian

D

Which of the following is a type of work a conservation biologist would be involved?
I) reestablishing whooping cranes in their former breeding grounds in North Dakota
II) studying species diversity and interaction in the Florida Everglades, past and present
III) studying population ecology of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park
IV) determining the effects of hunting white-tailed deer in Vermont

A.I, II, III and IV
B.only II, III, and IV
C.only I and III
D.only II and IV

A

Burning fossil fuels releases oxides of sulfur and nitrogen. These air pollutants can be responsible for _____.
I) the death of fish in lakes
II) precipitation with a pH as low as 3.0
III) eutrophication of lakes

A.only I
B.only II
C.only III
D.only I and II

D

Researchers have been studying a rare population of eighty-seven voles in an isolated area. Ten voles from a larger population were added to this isolated population. Besides having ten additional animals, what benefits are there to importing individuals?

A.Additional animals would increase beneficial genetic drift.
B.Additional animals will bring additional competition and could hurt the population.
C.Additional animals from a distant population will likely bring genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding depression.
D.There is no benefit other than increasing the overall population size.

C

A parasitic fungus, Geomyces destructans, has decimated millions of bats in the United States since it was first observed in upstate New York in 2006. The disease has been named White-nose syndrome because of the white fungal hyphae that cover the bat upon infection. It is believed that this fungus was introduced from Europe by into caves with hibernating bat populations. Which prediction most likely reflects changes that will occur in natural communities as a result of massive bat mortality?

A.Decreased bird populations as the spread of the fungus infects other species
B.Increased animal populations as a result of niche availability.
C.Increased rodent populations as a result of an increase in flying insect populations.
D.Increased flying insect populations and decreased populations of bat-pollinated plants

D

Which of the following is associated with the small-population approach to species conservation?

A.minimum viable population
B.extinction vortex
C.effective population size
D.All of the choices above are associated with the small-population approach to species conservation.
E.None of the choices above is associated with the small-population approach to species conservation.

D

The estimated density or number of individuals needed for a species to maintain or increase its numbers in a region is the _____.

A.metapopulation
B.Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
C.minimum viable population (MVP)
D.endemic population
E.stochastic population

C

On Easter Island, data show that it was once covered by massive palm trees. How can an ecosystem collapse from removal of just one species of large tree?
I) Without large trees, soil erosion increases and reduces productivity.
II) Species of plants needing shade no longer have it.
III) Large trees are habitats for many species.

A.only I
B.only II
C.only III
D.I, II, and III

D

The primary difference between the small-population approach (S-PA) and the declining-population approach (D-PA) to biodiversity recovery is _____.

A.S-PA would investigate and eliminate all of the human impacts on the habitat of the species being studied for recovery
B.D-PA would likely involve bringing together individuals from scattered small populations to interbreed in order to promote genetic diversity
C.S-PA applies for conservation biologists when population numbers fall below 500
D.S-PA is interested in bolstering the genetic diversity of a threatened population rather than the environmental factors that caused the population's decline

D

Managing southeastern forests specifically for the red-cockaded woodpecker _____.

A.caused other species of songbird to decline
B.required the growth of a dense understory of trees and shrubs
C.contributed to greater abundance and diversity of other forest bird species
D.involved strict fire suppression measures

C

True or false? Biologists studied the effects of forest fragmentation by calculating the difference between the amount of plant biomass in the edges of forest fragments and the interiors of unfragmented forest.

A.True
B.False

A

Which size forest fragment would be most affected by habitat fragmentation over a given period of time?

A.1000 hectares.
B.1 hectare.
C.10 hectares.
D.100 hectares.

B

Which of the following statements about the effects of forest fragmentation on plant biomass and species diversity is true?

A.The loss of plant biomass has a domino effect on other species that live in the forest fragment.
B.Small forest fragments lose their species diversity at the same rate as large forest fragments.
C.Large forest fragments (>1000 hectares) are not affected by edge effects and their species diversity is expected to be stable over a long period of time.
D.The loss of plant biomass correlates mostly with the death of understory plants.

A

Brown-headed cowbirds utilize fragmented forests effectively by _____.

A.roosting in forest trees and nesting in grassy fields
B.parasitizing the nests of forest birds and feeding on open-field insects
C.outcompeting other songbird species for access to nesting holes in old-growth trees
D.feeding on the fruits of shrubs that tend to grow at the forest/open-field interface

B

Movement (wildlife) corridors can be harmful to certain species because they _____.

A.increase inbreeding
B.increase genetic diversity
C.allow seasonal migration
D.spread disease and parasites

D

Which of the following is generally true about the current research regarding forest fragmentation?

A.Fragmented forests are the goal of conservation biologists who design wildlife preserves.
B.Fragmented forests promote biodiversity because they result in the combination of forest-edge species and forest-interior species.
C.In fragmented forests, the number of forested-adapted species tend to decline and the number of edge species tend to increase.
D.The disturbance of timber extraction causes the species diversity to increase because of the new habitats created.

C

What is the biggest problem with selecting a site for a preserve?

A.Only lands that are not useful to human activities are available for preserves.
B.Keystone species are difficult to identify in potential preserve sites.
C.Most of the best sites are inaccessible by land transportation, so making roads to them is often prohibitively expensive.
D.Making a proper selection is difficult because currently the environmental conditions of almost any site can change quickly.

D

Which of these would NOT contribute to a global increase in temperature?

A.deforestation
B.increasing the use of gasoline-burning vehicles
C.increasing the industrial release of carbon dioxide
D.planting trees
E.increasing the amount of animal life on Earth

D

Switching from fossil fuels to _____ energy would significantly decrease the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

A.solar
B.nuclear
C.geothermal
D.solar and geothermal
E.solar, nuclear, and geothermal

E

Which of these are the two major sources of nitrate pollution in rivers?

A.the burning of fossil fuels by factories and cars
B.animal wastes and the burning of fossil fuels by cars
C.animal wastes and fertilizers
D.fertilizer runoff and the burning of fossil fuels by cars
E.animal wastes and the burning of fossil fuels by factories

C

Aquatic nitrate pollution can result in _____.

A.algal bloom
B.oxygen depletion
C.fish kills
D.hypoxia
E.an algal bloom that, when the algae die and are decomposed by bacteria, leads to hypoxia and the death of fish

E

Agricultural lands frequently require nutrient augmentation because _____.

A.cultivation of agricultural land inhibits the decomposition of organic matter
B.land that is available for agriculture tends to be nutrient-poor
C.the nutrients that become the biomass of plants are not cycled back to the soil on lands where they are harvested
D.nitrogen-fixing bacteria are not as plentiful in agricultural soils because of the use of pesticides

C

What is a critical load?

A.the amount of added nutrient that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem integrity
B.the amount of nutrient augmentation necessary to bring a depleted habitat back to its former level
C.the level of a given toxin in an ecosystem that is lethal to 50 percent of the species present
D.the number of predators an ecosystem can support that effectively culls prey populations to healthy levels

A

Which of the following statements best describes why ecologists are currently concerned with global warming and the thawing of permafrost in many areas of the tundra biome?

A.Migratory species of birds will likely be less successful finding food in thawed tundra, and their abundance will drop dramatically.
B.The thawing process will likely decrease the abundance and diversity of soil-dwelling organisms in the tundra.
C.Oil and coal deposits will thaw and rise to the surface (due to their lower density) of the tundra, destroying millions of acres of arctic habitat.
D.Populations of humans inhabiting the Arctic will have to move to more southern latitudes, resulting in increased competition for resources in already densely populated areas.
E.The bacterial decomposition of thawed organic materials over the widespread areas of the tundra will produce large quantities of CO2, which will add to greenhouse gases and exacerbate global warming.

E

This causes extremely high levels of toxic chemicals in fish-eating birds.

A.biological magnification
B.acid precipitation
C.greenhouse effect
D.eutrophication

A

The shift in the peak of caterpillar season is most likely due to _____.

A.earlier migration returns of flycatchers
B.acid precipitation in Europe
C.global warming
D.an innate change in the biological clock of the caterpillars

C

Elevated carbon dioxide levels have been shown to contribute to the greenhouse effect, resulting in an increase in mean global temperature. Ecosystems where the largest warming has already occurred include snow-covered northern coniferous forests, tundra, and arctic sea ice habitats. Which statement best explains how the elimination of ice-covered ecosystems affects the rise or fall in global temperature?

A.Melting ice releases dissolved ozone gas, which adds to the greenhouse effect.
B.Large-scale ice melts actually contribute toward lowering global temperatures by decreasing salinity of the oceans.
C.More reflective surfaces of ice are replaced with darker, more absorptive surfaces, thereby contributing to the warming trend.
D.Carbon dioxide levels are lowered as a result of greater volume of water to accommodate greater dissolved gas.

C

Eutrophication is often caused by excess limiting nutrient runoff from agricultural fields into aquatic ecosystems. This results in massive algal blooms, which eventually die and decompose, ultimately depleting the dissolved oxygen and killing large numbers of fish and other aquatic organism. Predict which of the following human actions would best address the problem of eutrophication near agricultural areas?

A.After each eutrophication event, remove the dead fish and invertebrates to place on agricultural fields instead of fertilizer.
B.Determine critical nutrient loads required for certain crops and do not exceed this amount during fertilizer application.
C.Determine which limiting nutrient is responsible for the algal bloom and use other fertilizers to apply to crops.
D.Remove the algae before it dies and decomposes to prevent eutrophication from occurring.

B

Which of the following statements about protected areas that have been established to preserve biodiversity are correct?
I) About 25 percent of Earth's land area is now protected.
II) National parks are one of many types of protected areas.
III) Management of a protected area should be coordinated with management of the land surrounding the area.
IV) It is especially important to protect biodiversity hot spots.

A.only II, III, and IV
B.only I and III
C.only II and IV
D.only I, II, and IV

A

The main goal of sustainable development is to _____.

A.reevaluating and re-implementing management plans over time
B.use only natural resources in the construction of new buildings
C.use natural resources such that they do not decline over time
D.involve more countries in conservation efforts

C

The effort to develop, manage, and conserve Earth's resources to meet the needs of people today without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs is called _____.

A.sustainable development
B.landscape management
C.biophilia
D.bioremediation
E.restoration ecology

A