Biology: A Guide to the Natural World, Chapter 35 An Interactive Living World 2: Communities in Ec

Biology: A Guide to the Natural World, 5e (Krogh)

Chapter 35 An Interactive Living World 2: Communities in Ecology

1) In a typical ecosystem, a species whose removal would have a bigger impact than any other would be a/an:

A) community species.

B) ecological dominants.

C) dominant species.

D) keystone species.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

2) A small number of species that are abundant in a given community are called:

A) community species.

B) ecological dominants.

C) dominant species.

D) keystone species.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

3) Keystone species are:

A) always at the top of the food chain.

B) always the most numerous.

C) never at the top of the food chain.

D) might be of any number, anywhere on the food chain.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

4) An accidental spill of a pesticide locally wiped out the most abundant species of butterfly in coastal California. Most of the bird species in the area had fed on this butterfly, but they switched prey to moths, and thus the birds showed only a small decrease in population size. The butterflies were a/an:

A) keystone species, and thus they were driven to extinction very easily.

B) endangered species.

C) ecological dominant, but they were not a keystone species.

D) pioneer species.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Application/Analysis

5) Biodiversity includes the:

A) genetic diversity within only the keystone species.

B) distribution of species in only one population.

C) diversity of species in a given area.

D) number of individuals in a population.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

6) On a hike along the desert slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, you notice that there is an abundance of pinyon pine and juniper trees. We would identify these two plants as:

A) competitors.

B) mutualistic species.

C) ecological dominants.

D) symbiotic species.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Application/Analysis

7) The coral organisms on a coral reef cannot be replaced by any other organism. For that reason, we identify those species as:

A) ecological dominants.

B) keystone species.

C) mutualistic species.

D) symbiotic species.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Application/Analysis

8) Choose the characteristic associated with a top predator who is also a keystone species.

A) the largest animal in the community

B) the fastest animal in the community

C) a species that can easily cause extinction of the community

D) a species whose loss may alter diversity within the community

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

9) A botanist has found that the giant saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, lives in the Sonoran Desert below the freeze line and in some very dry regions (such as Yuma) to the eastern edge of Arizona. She has described the ________ of saguaro.

A) resource spectrum

B) vital resource

C) resource band

D) habitat

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

10) The "address" where a species lives within a certain area is identified as its:

A) ecosystem.

B) habitat.

C) community.

D) population.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

11) The "occupation" of a species in an area is identified as its:

A) habitat.

B) community.

C) niche.

D) population.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

12) Barnacles live on exposed rocks washed over by waves at the shore. This is a description of the barnacles':

A) community.

B) habitat.

C) niche.

D) ecosystem.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Application/Analysis

13) Barnacles are filter-feeding molluscs that live by filtering plankton from seawater. This is a description of the barnacles':

A) community.

B) habitat.

C) niche.

D) ecosystem.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Application/Analysis

14) In interspecific competition, the competitors are generally competing for:

A) mates.

B) coexistence.

C) social status.

D) resources.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

15) A red-shouldered hawk chases a falcon away from a dead squirrel. This is an example of:

A) interspecific competition.

B) coexistence.

C) mutualism.

D) commensalism.

Answer: A

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Application/Analysis

16) You are doing biology field work studying two species of lizards on a small volcanic island. Although quite hostile to each other when they accidentally meet, the two species usually remain in separate parts of the island. Species A seems to live and hunt insects only in the lower grassland part of the island. Species B seems to live and hunt only in the upper rocky areas. Species A has a short tongue but has longer legs and is a faster runner. Species B is short, squat, runs slower, but has a long tongue. You observe Species A chasing down some pretty large, fast-moving insects, while Species B meanders from rock to rock, using its long tongue to get insects hiding between rocks and in cracks. What principle of ecology do your two lizard species demonstrate?

A) competitive exclusion

B) resource partitioning

C) coexistence

D) convergent evolution

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Application/Analysis

17) When placed in the same habitat, Paramecium aurelia will replace Paramecium caudatum. This is an example of:

A) mutualism.

B) commensalism.

C) parasitism.

D) competitive exclusion.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

18) If two species of woodpeckers eat two different kinds of beetle larvae on pine trees in a forest, we would identify that as:

A) mutualism.

B) resource partitioning.

C) competitive exclusion.

D) commensalism.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Application/Analysis

19) If we find an orange plant that lacks chlorophyll living on a green plant, it is likely that the orange plant is a:

A) parasite.

B) commensal.

C) predator.

D) host.

Answer: A

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

20) The population of a carnivore has doubled this year. Predict what will likely happen to the population of its prey over the next 12 months.

A) It will also increase.

B) It is likely to decrease.

C) It will remain stable, like all predator—prey relationships.

D) It will be erratic but increase slightly.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

21) A harmless moth that resembles a poisonous wasp is an example of:

A) mutualism.

B) commensalism.

C) Batesian mimicry.

D) Müllerian mimicry.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

22) For a parasite living in human skin, the person is the:

A) prey.

B) victim.

C) mimic.

D) host.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

23) When faced with a threat, gopher snakes and bull snakes, who have markings similar to rattlesnakes, will "rattle" their tails in brush to sound like a rattlesnake. In this case, the gopher and bull snakes are mimics, and the rattlesnake is the:

A) predator.

B) prey.

C) model.

D) commensal.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

24) You are doing field work on a small, uninhabited island. You are supplementing your food supply with fish that live in some of the ponds on the island. You catch a brightly colored fish with red and black stripes, filet it, pan fry it, and spit out your first bite because it tastes like it had been soaked in urine. Back at camp, your guide from a nearby island is pan frying fish with red and black stripes he caught in an adjacent pond. When you tell him not to eat those, he smiles and says these are the best-tasting fish in the whole island chain! You look closer and see the pattern of the red and black stripes is just a little different from the fish you caught.What principle of ecology have you just experienced firsthand?

A) commensalism

B) mutualism

C) Müllerian mimicry

D) Batesian mimicry

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

25) The Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant, might be considered a:

A) parasite.

B) predator.

C) mutualistic plant.

D) pioneer.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

26) Two moths with similar markings each produce a chemical that makes their bird predators sick to their stomach if eaten. Which principle of ecology does this demonstrate?

A) commensalism

B) mutualism

C) Müllerian mimicry

D) Batesian mimicry

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Application/Analysis

27) An interaction in which one species benefits and the other is not affected is classified as:

A) commensalism.

B) mutualism.

C) coevolution.

D) competition.

Answer: A

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

28) Which of the following is an example of coevolution?

A) the reliance of flowers and bees on each other

B) the visual acuity of eagles and hawks

C) the development of a watertight seed

D) the ability of plants to use sunlight to make their own fuel

Answer: A

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

29) Many plant species produce flowers of a certain color and shape to attract honeybees. These plants produce nectar, and the bees transport pollen from one plant to another while searching for nectar. This is an example of:

A) succession.

B) predation.

C) commensalism.

D) mutualism.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

30) Many bromeliads are epiphytes on the bark of tropical trees. They do not tap into the vascular system of the trees, but they collect the nutrient-rich water that drips through the canopy of the trees. This is an example of:

A) predation.

B) succession.

C) mutualism.

D) commensalism.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Application/Analysis

31) Generally speaking, the term for the process by which two species drive each other's evolution is:

A) succession.

B) coevolution.

C) competition.

D) mutualism.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

32) A landslide in the Oregon Cascades causes all the soil in a 30-meter by 300-meter section of a mountain to fall away, taking the trees and their roots and all other vegetation with it. Within three years, however, lichens and some small herbaceous plants can be seen on the surface of the remaining rock. This is an example of:

A) secondary succession.

B) primary succession.

C) a climax community.

D) facilitation.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Application/Analysis

33) Many farms in New England were abandoned in the 1800s as settlers reached the more fertile grasslands of the Midwest. These farms had been planted in different crops, but within five to ten years the farms appeared to have similar herbaceous and small tree species on them. This is an example of:

A) convergent evolution.

B) primary succession.

C) coevolution.

D) secondary succession.

Answer: D

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

34) Which of the following happens when a new island arises from the ocean and life begins to colonize the island?

A) competitive exclusion

B) coevolution

C) primary succession

D) secondary succession

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

35) What do we call the first species that invade a new island that has risen from the ocean?

A) pioneer species

B) climax communities

C) commensals

D) invaders

Answer: A

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

36) After succession, a stable group of species that persists over long periods is referred to as a:

A) coevolution group.

B) climax community.

C) population.

D) competitive population.

Answer: B

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

37) The process in succession in which the actions of early-arriving species enable the success of later-arriving species is:

A) coevolution.

B) mutualism.

C) facilitation.

D) mimicry.

Answer: C

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

38) Ecological dominants are typically the top predators in a community.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

39) A community is a more inclusive category than a population.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

40) Communities with the most biodiversity are found in areas with low geographic diversity.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

41) Ecological dominants are always the most abundant members of a community.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

42) Because their absence may have negative repercussions for population control and resource use for the whole community, lions on the African savanna are identified as a keystone species.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

43) To be a keystone species, an organism must be the most numerous species in an environment.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

44) Genetic diversity may be one of the characteristics of a biologically diverse community.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Factual

45) Biodiversity is essential for all communities to survive.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

46) The term "niche" is usually limited to a description of the physical surroundings in which a species is normally found.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

47) Competitive exclusion of native organisms is a frequent result of the introduction, by humans, of non-native organisms to an environment.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

48) Competition among species may lead to resource partitioning in an ecosystem.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

49) Kudzu replacing native plants is a type of predation.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

50) A flea is considered to be a predator on a dog.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

51) The number of prey species is one of several factors determining the number of predators that can live in an area.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

52) Parasites usually kill their hosts.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

53) Batesian mimicry involves several harmful species evolving the same kind of characteristics.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

54) A mutualistic relationship involves two species who both benefit from the relationship.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

55) In a commensal relationship, one species benefits while the other one is harmed.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

56) Commensalism often results in competitive exclusion.

Answer: FALSE

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

57) Organisms in communities may be important factors in the evolution/adaptation of other organisms in the community.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

58) Climax communities in succession are those that persist for long periods of time.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

59) Pioneers are the first invaders of a newly exposed habitat.

Answer: TRUE

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

Match the following.

A) may result in resource partitioning

B) living with or on a host for nourishment

C) a species enables the success of another

D) series of community replacements in a barren area

E) killing/eating prey for nourishment

60) Interspecific competition

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

61) Parasitism

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

62) Predation

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

63) Facilitation

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

64) Primary succession

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

Answers: 60) A 61) B 62) E 63) C 64) D

65) What is the relationship between a biodiversity and geographic diversity?

Answer: The greater the geographic diversity the more biodiversity.

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

66) A species whose absence would bring about major changes in a community is called a ________.

Answer: keystone species

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

67) Low genetic diversity, narrow geographic distribution of species, and few different species in an area would be correlated with low ________.

Answer: biodiversity

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

68) A horseshoe crab walking on the bottom of shallow coastal waters, feeding on algae, invertebrates, and other small life forms, describes the horseshoe crab's ________.

Answer: niche

Topic: Section 35.2

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

69) G. F. Gause's experiments with interaction of Paramecium caudatum and P. aurelia resulted in his describing the principle of ________.

Answer: competitive exclusion

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

70) A chameleon avoiding predation by being colored similarly to its surroundings demonstrates which strategy?

Answer: camouflage

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

71) Two ways that one species obtains its nourishment at the expense of another are predation and ________.

Answer: parasitism

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

72) An interaction between species in which one benefits and the other is essentially unaffected is ________.

Answer: commensalism

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

73) When two species, such as bees and angiosperms, both benefit from their interdependent relationship, this is referred to as ________.

Answer: mutualism

Topic: Section 35.5

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

74) Which form of biological succession occurs in an area where most life has been destroyed, but fertile soil remains?

Answer: secondary succession

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Knowledge/Comprehension

75) Demonstrate why keystone species play a large role in community despite the fact that they may be present in relatively small numbers.

Answer: While the number of keystone species individuals may be low (e.g., sea stars, sea otters), particularly when they are top predators, their influence may be quite large with regard to population control and maintaining species diversity. The sea star, for example, is a top predator that prevents overpopulation and potential depletion of resources. Also, by keeping some of the more prolific competitors for other niches in check (e.g., mussels) sea stars allow less prolific competitors such as barnacles to survive. By preventing competitive exclusion of barnacles and other species, sea stars maintain species diversity in their communities.

Topic: Section 35.1

Skill: Synthesis/Evaluation

76) Throughout the story of the evolution of parasites, we frequently see a shift from parasites that seriously harmed their hosts, to those who evolve benign, nearly commensal relationships with their hosts. Evaluate why parasites are more likely to evolve "live and let live" relationships while predators do not.

Answer: Although both predators and parasites depend on their prey or hosts (respectively) as a food source, the key difference is that parasites often depend on their hosts as their habitat as well. A parasite that kills its host too quickly has literally eaten itself out of house and home. Natural selection would favor parasite species that keep their hosts alive much longer so that the parasites could live long, reproductive lives in their hosts.

Topic: Section 35.4

Skill: Synthesis/Evaluation

77) Explain the differences between a primary succession and a secondary succession. Give an example of each type of succession.

Answer: In primary succession, there is little or no soil or life left, and whatever soil may be left is devoid of nutrients. It is succession from primary bedrock with extremely limited ability to support life. Examples include succession following glacial scouring, a landslide, or exposure of new rock by geologic or volcanic action. Typically, only pioneer species such as lichens can start succession in such areas. Secondary succession occurs after a severe disturbance, but significant soil, small organisms, and nutrients remain, making it far more hospitable to the reemergence of native life forms. Examples include old-field succession and succession after a fire or hurricane. Secondary succession will begin with higher soil fertility and may therefore begin succession at a point further along than the pioneer species that initiate primary succession.

Topic: Section 35.6

Skill: Synthesis/Evaluation

Refer to the figure below, and then answer the following question(s).

78) The graph indicated by a "1" demonstrates which principle of community ecology?

A) biodiversity

B) ecological dominants

C) facilitation

D) resource partitioning

E) competitive exclusion

Answer: E

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Application/Analysis

79) The graph indicated by a "2" demonstrates which principle of community ecology?

A) biodiversity

B) ecological dominants

C) facilitation

D) resource partitioning

E) competitive exclusion

Answer: E

Topic: Section 35.3

Skill: Application/Analysis