Buffer zones are designed to:

1. allow housing for people in protected core reserves.
2. prevent wildlife and humans from interacting with, or being exposed to one another.
3. support low-impact human activities that are compatible with wildlife.
4. encourage large-scale agriculture just outside core reserves.
5. provide vehicle access to core reserves.

c

The ability to change phenotype in response to local environmental conditions is called

1. mutation.
2. phenotypic plasticity.
3. alteration of generations.
4. genetic drift.

b

The regeneration of a forest improves the return of water to the hydrologic cycle by:

1. increasing transpiration into the atmosphere.
2. acting as a sponge, absorbing and holding onto storm water for long periods.
3. increased levels of runoff.
4. leakage of water from plant roots into the surrounding soil.
5. water loss from decomposing leaves, branches, and biomass.

a

The severe flooding in New Orleans that followed Hurricane Katrina was due, in large part, to the prior destruction of 1000 square miles of critical ________ habitat.

1. sand dune
2. rain forest
3. wetland
4. pine forest
5. grassland

c

All of the following are examples of unsustainable agriculture EXCEPT:

1. large scale use of synthetic fertilizer.
2. growing a small number of high-profit crops.
3. plowing the crop remains under soil after harvest.
4. alternating between a wide variety of crops.
5. using groundwater for irrigation.

d

In order to better understand how the bushmeat trade is utilized and perpetuated by different African cultural groups, conservation biologists are best aided by:

1. educators.
2. environmental lawyers.
3. social scientists.
4. law-enforcement officials.
5. politicians.

c

The United Nations has established a series of ________ to maintain biodiversity in those areas.

1. bushmeat corridors
2. habitat emulators
3. habitat fragments
4. expendable ecosystems
5. biosphere reserves

e

The greatest challenge facing the zoned reserve systems of Costa Rica is

1. the growing human population.
2. soil erosion.
3. high predation by jaguars.
4. forest fires.

a

Which of the following is NOT a synthetic chemical that can act as a major pollutant?

1. flame retardants
2. mercury
3. plasticizers
4. a broad-spectrum pesticide
5. DDT, a pesticide used to kill insects

b

If wolves were now removed from Yellowstone National Park, we would expect that

1. the vegetation would remain unchanged.
2. deer populations would decrease.
3. elk populations would increase.
4. vegetation would increase, providing shelter for smaller animals.

c

Which of the following is a likely consequence of the thinning of the ozone layer?

1. decreases in flying insect populations
2. increases in skin cancer
3. increases in escape of heat from Earth
4. global warming

b

CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by ________ and converted into biomass.

1. other atmosphere gases
2. large land masses
3. the ozone layer
4. photosynthetic organisms

d

The field of study that assesses the monetary value of ecosystem services is called:

1. biosphere economics.
2. ecofriendly economics.
3. eco-nomics.
4. ecological economics.
5. bioeconomics.

d

The Yukon to Yellowstone Initiative is a plan to

1. create a giant, fenced, private land area between the national parks in the United States to create a protected zone for wildlife.
2. connect parks in the United States and Canada with protected corridors where wildlife can travel safely.
3. connect all of the national parks in the western United States.
4. connect all of the national parks in the United States.

b

The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park has resulted in an increase in ________, because of the wolves' competition with coyotes.

1. willow trees
2. elk
3. rodents
4. eagles
5. wolverines

c

An example of a small-scale wildlife corridor that was designed and implemented in San Diego is:

1. a logging road that allows wolves to hunt within a forested "tunnel."
2. a highway underpass that allows cougars to pass safely.
3. a mountaintop path that encourages bears to travel at high elevation.
4. the series of sidewalks in the suburbs that are frequented by common squirrels.
5. the local hiking trail, which encourages coyotes to enter and leave the city.

b

Mass extinctions occur when:

1. all species are eradicated in a given geographic region.
2. human activities affect ecosystems.
3. many species are eradicated in a short period of time.
4. biodiversity increases to a point that the habitat cannot support all species.
5. many species are eradicated over a lengthy period of time.

c

Most biodiversity hot spots are found in ________ regions.

1. temperate
2. western
3. tropical
4. tundra

c

Second only to habitat destruction, which of the following factors poses the greatest risk to all species on Earth?

1. overexploitation
2. infectious disease
3. rapid climate change
4. pollution
5. invasive species

c

Threatened species are:

1. endangered only.
2. endangered, critically endangered, or vulnerable.
3. critically endangered only.
4. endangered, critically endangered, vulnerable, or extinct.
5. endangered or critically endangered.

b

Biodiversity includes all of the following EXCEPT ________ diversity.

1. ecological
2. species
3. multicultural
4. genetic
5. biological

c

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a healthy ecosystem?

1. renewable sources of energy
2. simple communities made of a few species
3. recycling of nutrients and raw materials
4. complex community interactions
5. relatively stable populations

b

Sand dunes lie behind the beach and protect the inland areas from erosion, flooding, and severe weather events. In order to prevent natural environmental disruption from damaging inland areas:

1. only viable (live) sea turtle eggs should be harvested by humans.
2. carnivorous fish populations need to decrease.
3. pinfish populations need to be protected.
4. more predators that eat sea turtle eggs should be introduced.
5. seagrass beds need to be preserved.

e

Which of the following is NOT linked to the rapid decline of frog populations worldwide?

1. pollution
2. invasive species
3. overexploitation
4. habitat destruction
5. fungal infection

c

When a predatory species has major influence on many of the other populations in its habitat, it is called a ________ predator.

1. supreme
2. peaceful
3. low-impact
4. keystone
5. maximal

d

The term invasive species refers only to:

1. wild animals that can travel over land or through water very quickly.
2. plant species that compete with animal species for available space in an ecosystem.
3. nonendangered species that compete with endangered species.
4. species that are the first to occupy island habitats and then dominate.
5. non-native species that cause great harm to ecosystems.

e

Which of the following is a TRUE statement about Bengal tigers?

1. Invasive species of big cats have presented a major threat to Bengal tigers in the wild.
2. Bengal tigers are now safely protected from habitat destruction.
3. The global population of Bengal tigers has been decimated by infectious feline viruses.
4. The estimated MVP of Bengal tigers does not actually exist in most of India's tiger reserves.
5. There are more Bengal tigers living in zoos today than ever existed in the wild.

d

Greenhouse gases include

1. carbon dioxide and methane.
2. nitrous oxide and oxygen.
3. carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
4. nitrogen and oxygen.

a

The three greatest current threats to biodiversity, in order starting with the greatest, are

1. invasive species, habitat loss, and overharvesting.
2. habitat loss, overharvesting, and invasive species.
3. habitat loss, invasive species, and overharvesting.
4. invasive species, overharvesting, and habitat loss.

c

Why did certain areas along the Missouri River flood so severely in 1993?

1. The natural hilly barriers that protected the region from incoming storms were reduced in elevation by mining operations.
2. In response to climate change, the amount of water transpired by Amazonian rain-forest trees increased and then precipitated suddenly in north central North America.
3. Subsurface springs leaked into the river at an unprecedented rate following a localized earthquake.
4. The conversion of local forests, wetlands, and grasslands into farmland increased runoff and soil erosion.
5. Huge levees that previously provided protection from flooding were breached.

d

Scientists worry that global warming will result in the oceans

1. containing less dissolved carbon dioxide.
2. becoming more acidic.
3. containing less dissolved oxygen.
4. becoming more basic.

b

How much of the water that rains down in the Amazon rain forest originated in evaporation from leaves?

1. 9/10
2. 1/3 to 1/2
3. none
4. all
5. 1/100

b

Currently there are ________ biosphere reserves worldwide.

1. more than 10,000
2. fewer than 10
3. 480
4. 125
5. no existing

c

DDT and mercury

1. contribute to acid precipitation.
2. accumulate in the tissues of organisms.
3. deplete the ozone layer.
4. were once used as an energy source.

b

The current rate of extinction may be as much as ________ times higher than at any other time in the past 100,000 years.

1. 100
2. 10,000
3. 10
4. 1,000

d

In the most general sense, conservation biologists are interested in preserving:

1. tropical rain forests.
2. all mammalian species.
3. endangered birds.
4. the highest quality of life for all human beings.
5. biodiversity.

e

As biodiversity ________, ecosystem services ________.

1. declines; increase
2. declines; decline
3. increases; become less important
4. declines; are eliminated entirely
5. increases; decline

b

If humans overexploit green sea turtles, then:

1. pinfish populations will likely increase.
2. feral hog populations will decrease.
3. brown pelican populations will likely decline.
4. carnivorous fish populations will likely decrease.
5. seagrass will not be eaten.

a

Habitat fragmentation occurs when an ecosystem is:

1. converted into core reserves.
2. irreversibly destroyed by human activities.
3. polluted so severely that species go extinct, locally.
4. split into smaller areas.
5. sold to several different investors for the purpose of conservation.

d

The introduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1991 resulted in

1. ecological changes involving at least 25 species.
2. a general decline in overall habitat as death spread like wildfire.
3. the death of all of the wolves, likely due to an insufficient amount of available prey.
4. the migration of most of these wolves out of the park and back to Canada.

a

Coral reefs, which provide habitat for about ________ of all marine fish species, are suffering severe damage from a combination of human activities.

1. 1/3
2. 1/2
3. 3/4
4. 1/100
5. 9/10

a

Sustainable development

1. will require making difficult decisions regarding travel to other planets.
2. will speed up evolution.
3. will require global, multinational cooperation.
4. will require many people to contribute financially.

c