Living in the Environment Principles Connections and Solutions 16th Edition By G. Tyler Miller – Test Bank

Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Posted Below

 

CHAPTER 5–BIODIVERSITY, SPECIES INTERACTIONS, AND POPULATION CONTROL

Student: ___________________________________________________________________________

1. Which of the following is not a reason we should be concerned about the southern sea otter going extinct?
A. They increase tourism.
B. They have thick, luxurious fur.
C. There are ethical reasons for causing premature extinction of a species.
D. They help maintain kelp beds.
E. They are classified as a keystone species.

 

2. Which of the following is said to occur when an interaction benefits one species but has little, if any, effect on the other?
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

3. Which of the following is said to occur when members of two or more species interact to gain access to the same limited resources?
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

4. Which of the following is said to occur when one organism feeds on the body of, or the energy used by, another organism?
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

5. The concept that two or more species cannot share the exact same ecological niche for an extended period is called
A. law of conservation of mass
B. principle of sustainability
C. interspecific competition
D. competitive exclusion principle
E. commensalism

 

6. Which of the following are not considered predators?
A. omnivores
B. herbivores
C. detritivores
D. carnivores
E. All of these are predators.

 

7. Which of the following is not a method predators use to capture prey?
A. pursuit
B. ambush
C. camouflage
D. chemical warfare
E. protective shells

 

8. Which of the following is not a method prey species use to avoid capture?
A. highly developed sense of sight or smell
B. pines and thorns
C. chemical warfare
D. ambush
E. camouflage

 

9. Parasites
A. rarely kill their hosts
B. are usually larger than their hosts
C. must be internal to their hosts
D. may strengthen their hosts over a long period of time
E. are usually microscopic

 

10. The non-poisonous ____ butterfly gains protection by looking like the bad-tasting ____ butterfly, which is a protective device known as ____.
A. monarch; viceroy; camouflage
B. monarch; zebra swallowtail; camouflage
C. viceroy; zebra swallowtail; mimicry
D. viceroy; monarch; mimicry
E. viceroy; monarch; camouflage

 

11. When populations of two different species interact over long periods of time, changes in the gene pool of one species can lead to changes in the gene pool of the other. This is called
A. competition
B. coevolution
C. coincidence
D. commensalism
E. predation

 

12. The relationship between clownfish and sea anemone is
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

13. Plants such as bromeliads share a commensalism interaction with large trees in tropical and subtropical forests. The bromeliads are an example of
A. parasites
B. opportunistic parasites
C. epiphytes
D. prey
E. herbivores

 

14. All of the following are forms of nondestructive behavior between species except
A. reducing competition by foraging at different times
B. reducing competition by foraging in different places
C. orchids attached to branches of forest trees
D. using the energy or body of another organisms as a food source
E. bacteria breaking down food for a host and having a sheltered habitat

 

15. Kelp forests are a very important ecosystem in marine waters by supporting important biodiversity. These kelp forests are threatened by all of the following except
A. water pollution containing herbicides
B. sea urchins
C. southern sea otters
D. humans
E. water pollution containing fertilizers

 

16. One way that species evolve over time to reduce niche overlap is called
A. competitive exclusion principle
B. resource partitioning
C. population distribution
D. interspecific competition
E. mimicry

 

17. Population dynamics examine changes to a population as a result of changing environmental conditions. Those conditions include all of the following except
A. increasing commensalism
B. temperature
C. presence of disease organisms
D. arrival or disappearance of competing species
E. resource availability

 

18. Population dynamics is the study of the way populations differ from one another in certain characteristics. Which of the following is not one of those characteristics?
A. density
B. age structure
C. numbers
D. distribution
E. viability

 

19. The biotic potential of a population is
A. the maximum reproductive rate of a population
B. the current rate of growth of a population
C. an expression of how many offspring survive to reproduce
D. determined by subtracting immigration minus emigration
E. the future growth rate of a population

 

20. Emigration is
A. the one-way movement of individuals into an established population
B. the one-way movement of individuals out of an uninhabited area
C. the one-way movement of individuals out of a population to another area
D. the repeated movement into and out of an area
E. the lack of immigration into an area

 

21. Which of the following is not one of the age structure categories?
A. postreproductive
B. prereproductive
C. reproductive
D. nonreproductive
E. All of these answers are categories.

 

22. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) is
A. the rate at which a population will reach its carrying capacity
B. the rate at which a population would grow with unlimited resources
C. determined by subtracting deaths from births and emigration from immigration
D. not influenced by environmental resistance
E. highest in large animals such as elephants and humans

 

23. “The maximum population of a given species that a particular habitat can sustain indefinitely without being degraded” is the definition of
A. logistic growth
B. environmental resistance
C. exponential growth
D. carrying capacity
E. biotic potential

 

24. Exponential growth followed by a steady decrease in population growth until the population size levels off is typical of
A. logistic growth
B. environmental resistance
C. exponential growth
D. carrying capacity
E. biotic potential

 

25. When plotting the number of individuals in a population against time the data yield a J-shaped curve, which indicates which of the following?
A. logistic growth
B. environmental resistance
C. exponential growth
D. carrying capacity
E. biotic potential

 

26. Which of the following would cause a population to overshoot its carrying capacity?
A. an increase in predators
B. a decrease in birth rates
C. an increase in emigration
D. a decrease in environmental pressures
E. a reproductive time lag between birth and death rates

 

27. Which of the following is not true of an r-selected species?
A. They have a high rate of population increase.
B. Offspring are large in individual size.
C. They are opportunists.
D. They provide little or no parental care.
E. Offspring are large in number.

 

28. K-strategists
A. have high genetic diversity
B. are more response to environmental changes than r-strategists
C. exhibit fast rates of evolution
D. are generally less adaptable to change than r-strategists
E. reach reproductive age rapidly

 

29. Which of the following is an r-strategist?
A. human
B. cockroach
C. rhinoceros
D. saguaro cactus
E. whale

 

30. Small, isolated populations are vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity because of four of the following genetic factors. Choose the answer that is not one of these factors.
A. inbreeding
B. demographic bottleneck
C. gene flow
D. founder effect
E. genetic drift

 

31. Which of the following is an example of a density-independent population control?
A. infectious disease
B. habitat destruction
C. parasitism
D. predation
E. competition for resources

 

32. Which of the following is an example of a density-dependent population control?
A. habitat destruction
B. fire
C. pollution
D. floods
E. competition for resources

 

33. Some species experience an explosion of population growth to a high peak followed by a crash to a more stable lower level. This is called which of the following?
A. stable
B. irruptive
C. cyclic
D. irregular
E. regular

 

34. Which of the following would exhibit primary succession?
A. a rock exposed by a retreating glacier
B. an abandoned farm
C. a clear-cut forest
D. newly flooded land
E. a recently burned forest

 

35. Soil formation in primary succession is encouraged by all of the following except
A. physical weathering
B. releasing of nutrients from rock
C. arrival of pioneer species
D. trapping of wind-blown soil
E. acid rain

 

36. On a field trip for a university class you observe an area filled with herbs, grasses, and low shrubs. These are examples of which of the following?
A. pioneer species
B. early successional plant species
C. midsuccessional plant species
D. late successional plant species
E. climax plant species

 

37. Which of the following refers to the ability of a living system to be restored after a period of moderate disturbance?
A. stability
B. inertia
C. constancy
D. tipping point
E. resilience

 

38. The ability of a living system to survive moderate disturbances is called
A. stability
B. inertia
C. constancy
D. tipping point
E. resilience

 

39. Late successional plants are largely unaffected by plants at earlier stages of succession, a factor called
A. facilitation
B. imperturbability
C. inhibition
D. tolerance
E. intolerance

 

40. Ecosystems and global systems have limits to the stresses they can take. The level beyond which any additional stress will cause an abrupt and unpredictable change is called
A. stability
B. inertia
C. constancy
D. tipping point
E. resilience

 

41. The southern sea otter is a tool-using mammal.
True    False

 

42. The most common interaction between species is commensalism.
True    False

 

43. Humans compete with many other species for space, food, and other resources.
True    False

 

44. Detritus feeders and decomposers are considered predators.
True    False

 

45. Animal predators tend to kill the sick, weak, aged, and least fit members of a species, therefore increasing the fitness of the prey species.
True    False

 

46. In predator-prey relationships, the predator is seeking food for itself and its offspring, while the prey is seeking not to become food for the predator. As a result, predator and prey populations exert tremendous natural selection pressures on each other.
True    False

 

47. Parasites must always be in physical contact with their host.
True    False

 

48. At the population level parasites are always harmful to the host species.
True    False

 

49. Species whose ecological niches overlap will be in competition for whatever the resource is in the overlap.
True    False

 

50. Hawaiian honeycreepers have evolved into species with specialized niches, which has increased the competition between these species.
True    False

 

51. There are always limits to population growth in nature.
True    False

 

52. Organisms with clumped distribution are fairly rare.
True    False

 

53. No population can grow indefinitely because of limitations on resources.
True    False

 

54. When a population reaches its carrying capacity, the population’s biotic potential gradually declines to a consistent value slightly greater than the original.
True    False

 

55. A population’s growth rate will increase as the population reaches its carrying capacity.
True    False

 

56. The carrying capacity of an area or volume cannot change.
True    False

 

57. An example of top-down population regulation in predator-prey species is predation.
True    False

 

58. Humans are exempt from population overshoot and dieback.
True    False

 

59. Scientists have changed their view about a stable type of climax community as the end product of succession and are now suggesting we can not predict the course of succession.
True    False

 

60. Grasslands have a high resilience and therefore can quickly recover following a fire.
True    False

 

61. Primary and secondary succession tend to increase biodiversity and the sustainability of communities and ecosystems.
True    False

 

62. The southern sea otter has been classified as a(n) ____________________ species.
________________________________________

 

63. ____________________ is a competitive interaction between species for food and/or space.
________________________________________

 

64. ____________________ occurs when a member of one species feeds directly on all or part of a member of another species.
________________________________________

 

65. When two species both benefit from an interaction, that interaction is called ____________________.
________________________________________

 

66. The most common interaction between species is ____________________.
________________________________________

 

67. When two or more species compete with one another their niches are said to ____________________.
________________________________________

 

68. The concept that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche for an extended period of time is known as the ____________________.
________________________________________

 

69. Species that are bad-tasting, bad-smelling, toxic, or stinging-prey species advertise their characteristics using ____________________.
________________________________________

 

70. Some prey species make themselves larger, startle the predator, or mimic a predator, all of which are called ____________________.
________________________________________

 

71. ____________________ is like an arms race between interacting populations of different species.
________________________________________

 

72. Vast armies of ____________________ inhabit the digestive tracts of humans and help break down or digest their food.
________________________________________

 

73. Five warblers in the state of Maine have evolved to share food resources and reduce food competition through ____________________.
________________________________________

 

74. ____________________ is a study of how population characteristics change in response to environmental changes.
________________________________________

 

75. The most common form of population dispersion found in nature is ____________________.
________________________________________

 

76. Individuals in populations with a high intrinsic rate of growth typically reproduce ____________________ and have short ____________________ times.
________________________________________

 

77. A population exceeding its carrying capacity suffers a(n) ____________________ or ____________________, unless the excess individuals can switch to new resources or move to a new area.
________________________________________

 

78. ____________________ is the combination of all factors that act to limit the growth of a population.
________________________________________

 

79. A plot of the number of individuals in a population against time yields a sigmoid or S-shaped curve, typical of ____________________ growth.
________________________________________

 

80. A species whose population size fluctuates slightly above and below its carrying capacity is said to have a fairly ____________________ population size.
________________________________________

 

81. The gradual change in species composition in a given area is called ____________________.
________________________________________

 

82. ____________________ involves the gradual establishment of biotic communities in lifeless areas where there is no soil.
________________________________________

 

83. Systems, such as the global climate, can reach a(n) ____________________, where any additional stress can cause the system to change in an abrupt and usually unpredictable way that often involves collapse.
________________________________________

 

84.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents when resources are not limiting and a population can grow at its intrinsic rate of increase.

 

 

 

 

 

85.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents population size at which a population in a particular environment will stabilize when its supply of resources remains constant.

 

 

 

 

 

86.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents limiting abiotic factors.

 

 

 

 

 

87.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents a population’s capacity for growth.

 

 

 

 

 

88.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the curve that results from reproductive time lag.

 

 

 

 

 

89.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the curve that results from the biotic potential and environmental resistance.

 

 

 

 

 

90.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the graph that can also be called a dieback.

 

 

 

 

 

91.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the graph that represents the number of reindeer that can be sustained indefinitely in a given area.

 

 

 

 

 

92.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the graph that represents the number of reindeer that exceeded the capacity of their environment.

 

 

 

 

 

93. The author relates that some people think humans can keep expanding our environmental footprint indefinitely because of technology. Others think that we will, sooner or later, reach natural limits to our expansion. What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

94. Considering the different types of interactions mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, what kind of relationship do you think we have with most of the natural world?

 

 

 

 

 

95. Using a small rodent, such as a field mouse, and a predator, such as a snake, explain how coevolution works.

 

 

 

 

 

96. Explain coevolution using the interaction between the malaria parasite and humans.

 

 

 

 

 

97.

 Observe the Figure above. Notice that in the upper graph the two species overlap. That region of niche overlap places the species in competition for the shared resource. Explain why this is not useful and how the niches of the two species have come to be separated as shown in the lower graph.

 

 

 

 

 

98. At the present time the global human population approaches 7 billion persons. If we exceed the carrying capacity of the earth, the human population may suffer a substantial collapse. Given the following formula for population change:

Population change = (births + immigration) – (deaths + immigration)

What will be required of humans in order to stabilize or reduce our population?

 

 

 

 

 

99. Basic to the theory of evolution are the concepts of environmental resistance and biotic potential. Explain how these concepts are central to natural selection.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 5–BIODIVERSITY, SPECIES INTERACTIONS, AND POPULATION CONTROL Key
1. Which of the following is not a reason we should be concerned about the southern sea otter going extinct?
A. They increase tourism.
B. They have thick, luxurious fur.
C. There are ethical reasons for causing premature extinction of a species.
D. They help maintain kelp beds.
E. They are classified as a keystone species.

 

2. Which of the following is said to occur when an interaction benefits one species but has little, if any, effect on the other?
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

3. Which of the following is said to occur when members of two or more species interact to gain access to the same limited resources?
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

4. Which of the following is said to occur when one organism feeds on the body of, or the energy used by, another organism?
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

5. The concept that two or more species cannot share the exact same ecological niche for an extended period is called
A. law of conservation of mass
B. principle of sustainability
C. interspecific competition
D. competitive exclusion principle
E. commensalism

 

6. Which of the following are not considered predators?
A. omnivores
B. herbivores
C. detritivores
D. carnivores
E. All of these are predators.

 

7. Which of the following is not a method predators use to capture prey?
A. pursuit
B. ambush
C. camouflage
D. chemical warfare
E. protective shells

 

8. Which of the following is not a method prey species use to avoid capture?
A. highly developed sense of sight or smell
B. pines and thorns
C. chemical warfare
D. ambush
E. camouflage

 

9. Parasites
A. rarely kill their hosts
B. are usually larger than their hosts
C. must be internal to their hosts
D. may strengthen their hosts over a long period of time
E. are usually microscopic

 

10. The non-poisonous ____ butterfly gains protection by looking like the bad-tasting ____ butterfly, which is a protective device known as ____.
A. monarch; viceroy; camouflage
B. monarch; zebra swallowtail; camouflage
C. viceroy; zebra swallowtail; mimicry
D. viceroy; monarch; mimicry
E. viceroy; monarch; camouflage

 

11. When populations of two different species interact over long periods of time, changes in the gene pool of one species can lead to changes in the gene pool of the other. This is called
A. competition
B. coevolution
C. coincidence
D. commensalism
E. predation

 

12. The relationship between clownfish and sea anemone is
A. interspecific competition
B. predation
C. parasitism
D. mutualism
E. commensalism

 

13. Plants such as bromeliads share a commensalism interaction with large trees in tropical and subtropical forests. The bromeliads are an example of
A. parasites
B. opportunistic parasites
C. epiphytes
D. prey
E. herbivores

 

14. All of the following are forms of nondestructive behavior between species except
A. reducing competition by foraging at different times
B. reducing competition by foraging in different places
C. orchids attached to branches of forest trees
D. using the energy or body of another organisms as a food source
E. bacteria breaking down food for a host and having a sheltered habitat

 

15. Kelp forests are a very important ecosystem in marine waters by supporting important biodiversity. These kelp forests are threatened by all of the following except
A. water pollution containing herbicides
B. sea urchins
C. southern sea otters
D. humans
E. water pollution containing fertilizers

 

16. One way that species evolve over time to reduce niche overlap is called
A. competitive exclusion principle
B. resource partitioning
C. population distribution
D. interspecific competition
E. mimicry

 

17. Population dynamics examine changes to a population as a result of changing environmental conditions. Those conditions include all of the following except
A. increasing commensalism
B. temperature
C. presence of disease organisms
D. arrival or disappearance of competing species
E. resource availability

 

18. Population dynamics is the study of the way populations differ from one another in certain characteristics. Which of the following is not one of those characteristics?
A. density
B. age structure
C. numbers
D. distribution
E. viability

 

19. The biotic potential of a population is
A. the maximum reproductive rate of a population
B. the current rate of growth of a population
C. an expression of how many offspring survive to reproduce
D. determined by subtracting immigration minus emigration
E. the future growth rate of a population

 

20. Emigration is
A. the one-way movement of individuals into an established population
B. the one-way movement of individuals out of an uninhabited area
C. the one-way movement of individuals out of a population to another area
D. the repeated movement into and out of an area
E. the lack of immigration into an area

 

21. Which of the following is not one of the age structure categories?
A. postreproductive
B. prereproductive
C. reproductive
D. nonreproductive
E. All of these answers are categories.

 

22. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) is
A. the rate at which a population will reach its carrying capacity
B. the rate at which a population would grow with unlimited resources
C. determined by subtracting deaths from births and emigration from immigration
D. not influenced by environmental resistance
E. highest in large animals such as elephants and humans

 

23. “The maximum population of a given species that a particular habitat can sustain indefinitely without being degraded” is the definition of
A. logistic growth
B. environmental resistance
C. exponential growth
D. carrying capacity
E. biotic potential

 

24. Exponential growth followed by a steady decrease in population growth until the population size levels off is typical of
A. logistic growth
B. environmental resistance
C. exponential growth
D. carrying capacity
E. biotic potential

 

25. When plotting the number of individuals in a population against time the data yield a J-shaped curve, which indicates which of the following?
A. logistic growth
B. environmental resistance
C. exponential growth
D. carrying capacity
E. biotic potential

 

26. Which of the following would cause a population to overshoot its carrying capacity?
A. an increase in predators
B. a decrease in birth rates
C. an increase in emigration
D. a decrease in environmental pressures
E. a reproductive time lag between birth and death rates

 

27. Which of the following is not true of an r-selected species?
A. They have a high rate of population increase.
B. Offspring are large in individual size.
C. They are opportunists.
D. They provide little or no parental care.
E. Offspring are large in number.

 

28. K-strategists
A. have high genetic diversity
B. are more response to environmental changes than r-strategists
C. exhibit fast rates of evolution
D. are generally less adaptable to change than r-strategists
E. reach reproductive age rapidly

 

29. Which of the following is an r-strategist?
A. human
B. cockroach
C. rhinoceros
D. saguaro cactus
E. whale

 

30. Small, isolated populations are vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity because of four of the following genetic factors. Choose the answer that is not one of these factors.
A. inbreeding
B. demographic bottleneck
C. gene flow
D. founder effect
E. genetic drift

 

31. Which of the following is an example of a density-independent population control?
A. infectious disease
B. habitat destruction
C. parasitism
D. predation
E. competition for resources

 

32. Which of the following is an example of a density-dependent population control?
A. habitat destruction
B. fire
C. pollution
D. floods
E. competition for resources

 

33. Some species experience an explosion of population growth to a high peak followed by a crash to a more stable lower level. This is called which of the following?
A. stable
B. irruptive
C. cyclic
D. irregular
E. regular

 

34. Which of the following would exhibit primary succession?
A. a rock exposed by a retreating glacier
B. an abandoned farm
C. a clear-cut forest
D. newly flooded land
E. a recently burned forest

 

35. Soil formation in primary succession is encouraged by all of the following except
A. physical weathering
B. releasing of nutrients from rock
C. arrival of pioneer species
D. trapping of wind-blown soil
E. acid rain

 

36. On a field trip for a university class you observe an area filled with herbs, grasses, and low shrubs. These are examples of which of the following?
A. pioneer species
B. early successional plant species
C. midsuccessional plant species
D. late successional plant species
E. climax plant species

 

37. Which of the following refers to the ability of a living system to be restored after a period of moderate disturbance?
A. stability
B. inertia
C. constancy
D. tipping point
E. resilience

 

38. The ability of a living system to survive moderate disturbances is called
A. stability
B. inertia
C. constancy
D. tipping point
E. resilience

 

39. Late successional plants are largely unaffected by plants at earlier stages of succession, a factor called
A. facilitation
B. imperturbability
C. inhibition
D. tolerance
E. intolerance

 

40. Ecosystems and global systems have limits to the stresses they can take. The level beyond which any additional stress will cause an abrupt and unpredictable change is called
A. stability
B. inertia
C. constancy
D. tipping point
E. resilience

 

41. The southern sea otter is a tool-using mammal.
TRUE

 

42. The most common interaction between species is commensalism.
FALSE

 

43. Humans compete with many other species for space, food, and other resources.
TRUE

 

44. Detritus feeders and decomposers are considered predators.
FALSE

 

45. Animal predators tend to kill the sick, weak, aged, and least fit members of a species, therefore increasing the fitness of the prey species.
TRUE

 

46. In predator-prey relationships, the predator is seeking food for itself and its offspring, while the prey is seeking not to become food for the predator. As a result, predator and prey populations exert tremendous natural selection pressures on each other.
TRUE

 

47. Parasites must always be in physical contact with their host.
FALSE

 

48. At the population level parasites are always harmful to the host species.
FALSE

 

49. Species whose ecological niches overlap will be in competition for whatever the resource is in the overlap.
TRUE

 

50. Hawaiian honeycreepers have evolved into species with specialized niches, which has increased the competition between these species.
FALSE

 

51. There are always limits to population growth in nature.
TRUE

 

52. Organisms with clumped distribution are fairly rare.
FALSE

 

53. No population can grow indefinitely because of limitations on resources.
TRUE

 

54. When a population reaches its carrying capacity, the population’s biotic potential gradually declines to a consistent value slightly greater than the original.
FALSE

 

55. A population’s growth rate will increase as the population reaches its carrying capacity.
FALSE

 

56. The carrying capacity of an area or volume cannot change.
FALSE

 

57. An example of top-down population regulation in predator-prey species is predation.
TRUE

 

58. Humans are exempt from population overshoot and dieback.
FALSE

 

59. Scientists have changed their view about a stable type of climax community as the end product of succession and are now suggesting we can not predict the course of succession.
TRUE

 

60. Grasslands have a high resilience and therefore can quickly recover following a fire.
TRUE

 

61. Primary and secondary succession tend to increase biodiversity and the sustainability of communities and ecosystems.
TRUE

 

62. The southern sea otter has been classified as a(n) ____________________ species.
keystone

 

63. ____________________ is a competitive interaction between species for food and/or space.
Interspecific competition

 

64. ____________________ occurs when a member of one species feeds directly on all or part of a member of another species.
Predation

 

65. When two species both benefit from an interaction, that interaction is called ____________________.
mutualism

 

66. The most common interaction between species is ____________________.
competition

 

67. When two or more species compete with one another their niches are said to ____________________.
overlap

 

68. The concept that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche for an extended period of time is known as the ____________________.
competitive exclusion principle

 

69. Species that are bad-tasting, bad-smelling, toxic, or stinging-prey species advertise their characteristics using ____________________.
warning coloration

 

70. Some prey species make themselves larger, startle the predator, or mimic a predator, all of which are called ____________________.
behavioral strategies

 

71. ____________________ is like an arms race between interacting populations of different species.
Coevolution

 

72. Vast armies of ____________________ inhabit the digestive tracts of humans and help break down or digest their food.
bacteria

 

73. Five warblers in the state of Maine have evolved to share food resources and reduce food competition through ____________________.
resource partitioning

 

74. ____________________ is a study of how population characteristics change in response to environmental changes.
Population dynamics

 

75. The most common form of population dispersion found in nature is ____________________.
clumped

 

76. Individuals in populations with a high intrinsic rate of growth typically reproduce ____________________ and have short ____________________ times.
early in life; generation

 

77. A population exceeding its carrying capacity suffers a(n) ____________________ or ____________________, unless the excess individuals can switch to new resources or move to a new area.
dieback; crash  or  
crash; dieback

 

78. ____________________ is the combination of all factors that act to limit the growth of a population.
Environmental resistance

 

79. A plot of the number of individuals in a population against time yields a sigmoid or S-shaped curve, typical of ____________________ growth.
logistic

 

80. A species whose population size fluctuates slightly above and below its carrying capacity is said to have a fairly ____________________ population size.
stable

 

81. The gradual change in species composition in a given area is called ____________________.
ecological succession

 

82. ____________________ involves the gradual establishment of biotic communities in lifeless areas where there is no soil.
Primary succession

 

83. Systems, such as the global climate, can reach a(n) ____________________, where any additional stress can cause the system to change in an abrupt and usually unpredictable way that often involves collapse.
tipping point

 

84.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents when resources are not limiting and a population can grow at its intrinsic rate of increase.

A

 

85.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents population size at which a population in a particular environment will stabilize when its supply of resources remains constant.

B

 

86.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents limiting abiotic factors.

D

 

87.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the letter that represents a population’s capacity for growth.

C

 

88.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the curve that results from reproductive time lag.

A

 

89.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the curve that results from the biotic potential and environmental resistance.

B

 

90.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the graph that can also be called a dieback.

C

 

91.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the graph that represents the number of reindeer that can be sustained indefinitely in a given area.

B

 

92.

Use the Figure above to answer the following question(s).

 Choose the portion of the graph that represents the number of reindeer that exceeded the capacity of their environment.

B

 

93. The author relates that some people think humans can keep expanding our environmental footprint indefinitely because of technology. Others think that we will, sooner or later, reach natural limits to our expansion. What do you think?

Answers will vary.

 

94. Considering the different types of interactions mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, what kind of relationship do you think we have with most of the natural world?

Answers will vary.

 

95. Using a small rodent, such as a field mouse, and a predator, such as a snake, explain how coevolution works.

The rodent responds to the environmental pressure applied by the snake through changes in behavior, anatomy, or physiology to reduce the predation. The snake, facing reducing predatory success, changes in response to the rodent. The rodent again responds to the specifics of the environmental pressure. This step by step changing is coevolution.

 

96. Explain coevolution using the interaction between the malaria parasite and humans.

(page 105) The malaria parasite seeks to avoid being swept into the spleen of the human where it would be destroyed. It does so by sticking the infected cell to the wall of a blood vessel using a sticky protein. A human’s immune system identifies the protein and sends antibodies to attack the protein. The malaria parasite produces additional sticky proteins and switches to one that is not identified by the immune system.

 

97.

 Observe the Figure above. Notice that in the upper graph the two species overlap. That region of niche overlap places the species in competition for the shared resource. Explain why this is not useful and how the niches of the two species have come to be separated as shown in the lower graph.

Niche overlap places the two species in competition for the limited resource. Competition requires the expenditure of energy and reduces the energy available for other necessities. Over time, natural selection will choose those members of the species who have to expend less of their energy in competition. Eventually the two niches will overlap less.

 

98. At the present time the global human population approaches 7 billion persons. If we exceed the carrying capacity of the earth, the human population may suffer a substantial collapse. Given the following formula for population change:

Population change = (births + immigration) – (deaths + immigration)

What will be required of humans in order to stabilize or reduce our population?

(page 109) Any population, including the human population, increases or decreases according to the formula: Population change = (births + immigration) – (deaths + immigration). Speaking on a global scale, there is no place for us to come from (immigration) or go to (emigration). That means population change is limited to births minus deaths. To put it in the crudest of terms, we must either reduce the number of births or increase the number of deaths in order to stabilize or reduce our population. If we choose not to undertake that change, nature will do so as we exceed our carrying capacity.

 

99. Basic to the theory of evolution are the concepts of environmental resistance and biotic potential. Explain how these concepts are central to natural selection.

Natural selection is based on differential reproduction and variation. As environmental pressures (resistance) increase they push against the ability of the species to reproduce (biotic potential). Those members of the species that are best able to withstand the environmental pressures will most likely be able to reproduce at a higher level.