BIOL 180 Exam MOD 002 Concepts and Questions
2023 GRADED A+ and VERIFIED
What is the most important difference between species richness and species diversity? correct answers
Species diversity takes species number AND relative frequency into account.
What is the key difference between primary productivity and net primary productivity? correct answers
Net primary productivity represents just the energy used to build biomass.
"Diversity leads to stability." This slogan claims that ecosystems with a large number of species present
are more stable than ecosystems with a low number of species. Which of the following lines of evidence
support this claim? correct answers As the number of plant species increases, resistance and resilience
increases
What is biomass? correct answers total organic matter, usually measured per plant or per square meter
Why would a sampling effect lead to higher productivity in an experimental plot? correct answers If a
few highly productive species are present in a community, biomass production will be a function of
whether or not they are present.
What is a functional group? correct answers Species that use resources or allocate resources in a similar
way
In biological communities, what is "resistance?" correct answers degree of change during and after a
disturbance
In biological communities, what is "resilience?" correct answers ability to "bounce back" after a
disturbance, to the pre-disturbance conditiion
What is a "natural experiment?" correct answers an unplanned/unmanipulated change in environmental
conditions that can be exploited to answer a question
What is the difference between climate and weather? correct answers Climate consists of long-term
conditions; weather consists of short-term conditions.
What causes the Earth's seasons? correct answers The Earth is tilted on its axis; when the northern
hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it warms and we're in summer. When it's tilted away, that's
winter.
When warm air rises and cools, what happens? correct answers The air expands and cools, and water
condenses into droplets and falls. Rain!
Why does it rain so much in the Olympic Peninsula? (This is a peninsula west of Seattle, home of the
Olympic mountains.) correct answers Warm, wet air from the Pacific is pushed up as it passes over the
mountains. The air expands and cools, and the moisture falls as rain.
, Why is it so dry in Eastern Washington, on the other side of the Cascade mountains from Seattle?
correct answers Air coming from over the Pacific Ocean loses its water as it climbs up the Cascades,
casting a rain shadow on the east side of the mountains.
Almost every liquid gets less dense as it warms. Water gets MORE dense as it warms from 0C to 4C. Why
is this bizarre aspect of water so important? correct answers When the frozen (or nearly frozen) surface
of a lake warms, the water sinks, which pushes nutrient-rich water up from the depths.
Deep oceans do not have a high concentration of fish. Why might that be? correct answers Light does
not penetrate down into the deep ocean, so there are very few primary producers (plants), so there's
little for fish to eat.
Why does the highly productive fishery off the coast of Peru occasionally have extremely bad years?
correct answers In El Niño years, the trade winds—which drive an upwelling of nutrients—decrease.
The resource use efficiency hypothesis is an explanation for why productivity increases when plant
species diversity increases. Which of these predictions follows from this hypothesis? correct answers
There should be a strong positive relationship between the number of functional groups in an
experimental plot and biomass.
The sampling effect hypothesis is an explanation for why productivity increases when plant species
diversity increases. Which of these predictions follows from this hypothesis? correct answers If a certain
"big-producer" is present, then biomass in a plot is high. If the big producer is absent, biomass is low.
The presence of nitrogen-fixing plants should benefit nearby individuals of other species, because
nitrogen is a key nutrient--it is usually in very short supply. But nitrogen--fixing bacteria live inside tight
nodules in the host plant's roots, and the host plant has to provide the bacteria with large quantities of
sugar. Which of the following statements is correct? correct answers Nitrogen will only become
available to other, nearby plants when the nodules or the nitrogen-fixing plant itself dies.
Some plants make large seeds (eg coconut palms), while some make numerous seeds (eg sunflowers).
Why isn't there a plant that makes numerous, large seeds? correct answers A plant has limited
resources to invest in seed production. If it makes many seeds, they must be relatively small. If it makes
large seeds, they must be relatively few.
Male crickets produce large spermatophores, with substantial gelatinous masses. Why is a large
gelatinous mass beneficial to the male cricket? correct answers The female takes longer to eat the large
mass, and more sperm can be transferred during that longer time.
Humans are endotherms. If we were ectotherms, how might this generally affect our diet? correct
answers We would eat less food, because we would require less energy.
When you get cold, your body shunts blood to your core rather than your periphery (hands, feet, skin).
Why? correct answers To prevent your blood from losing heat to the cold surroundings.
What key features of the amniotic egg enable tetrapods that lay them to reproduce on land? correct
answers Amniotic eggs have a protective coat that slows the rate of water loss.
Amniotic eggs have a shell.
2023 GRADED A+ and VERIFIED
What is the most important difference between species richness and species diversity? correct answers
Species diversity takes species number AND relative frequency into account.
What is the key difference between primary productivity and net primary productivity? correct answers
Net primary productivity represents just the energy used to build biomass.
"Diversity leads to stability." This slogan claims that ecosystems with a large number of species present
are more stable than ecosystems with a low number of species. Which of the following lines of evidence
support this claim? correct answers As the number of plant species increases, resistance and resilience
increases
What is biomass? correct answers total organic matter, usually measured per plant or per square meter
Why would a sampling effect lead to higher productivity in an experimental plot? correct answers If a
few highly productive species are present in a community, biomass production will be a function of
whether or not they are present.
What is a functional group? correct answers Species that use resources or allocate resources in a similar
way
In biological communities, what is "resistance?" correct answers degree of change during and after a
disturbance
In biological communities, what is "resilience?" correct answers ability to "bounce back" after a
disturbance, to the pre-disturbance conditiion
What is a "natural experiment?" correct answers an unplanned/unmanipulated change in environmental
conditions that can be exploited to answer a question
What is the difference between climate and weather? correct answers Climate consists of long-term
conditions; weather consists of short-term conditions.
What causes the Earth's seasons? correct answers The Earth is tilted on its axis; when the northern
hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it warms and we're in summer. When it's tilted away, that's
winter.
When warm air rises and cools, what happens? correct answers The air expands and cools, and water
condenses into droplets and falls. Rain!
Why does it rain so much in the Olympic Peninsula? (This is a peninsula west of Seattle, home of the
Olympic mountains.) correct answers Warm, wet air from the Pacific is pushed up as it passes over the
mountains. The air expands and cools, and the moisture falls as rain.
, Why is it so dry in Eastern Washington, on the other side of the Cascade mountains from Seattle?
correct answers Air coming from over the Pacific Ocean loses its water as it climbs up the Cascades,
casting a rain shadow on the east side of the mountains.
Almost every liquid gets less dense as it warms. Water gets MORE dense as it warms from 0C to 4C. Why
is this bizarre aspect of water so important? correct answers When the frozen (or nearly frozen) surface
of a lake warms, the water sinks, which pushes nutrient-rich water up from the depths.
Deep oceans do not have a high concentration of fish. Why might that be? correct answers Light does
not penetrate down into the deep ocean, so there are very few primary producers (plants), so there's
little for fish to eat.
Why does the highly productive fishery off the coast of Peru occasionally have extremely bad years?
correct answers In El Niño years, the trade winds—which drive an upwelling of nutrients—decrease.
The resource use efficiency hypothesis is an explanation for why productivity increases when plant
species diversity increases. Which of these predictions follows from this hypothesis? correct answers
There should be a strong positive relationship between the number of functional groups in an
experimental plot and biomass.
The sampling effect hypothesis is an explanation for why productivity increases when plant species
diversity increases. Which of these predictions follows from this hypothesis? correct answers If a certain
"big-producer" is present, then biomass in a plot is high. If the big producer is absent, biomass is low.
The presence of nitrogen-fixing plants should benefit nearby individuals of other species, because
nitrogen is a key nutrient--it is usually in very short supply. But nitrogen--fixing bacteria live inside tight
nodules in the host plant's roots, and the host plant has to provide the bacteria with large quantities of
sugar. Which of the following statements is correct? correct answers Nitrogen will only become
available to other, nearby plants when the nodules or the nitrogen-fixing plant itself dies.
Some plants make large seeds (eg coconut palms), while some make numerous seeds (eg sunflowers).
Why isn't there a plant that makes numerous, large seeds? correct answers A plant has limited
resources to invest in seed production. If it makes many seeds, they must be relatively small. If it makes
large seeds, they must be relatively few.
Male crickets produce large spermatophores, with substantial gelatinous masses. Why is a large
gelatinous mass beneficial to the male cricket? correct answers The female takes longer to eat the large
mass, and more sperm can be transferred during that longer time.
Humans are endotherms. If we were ectotherms, how might this generally affect our diet? correct
answers We would eat less food, because we would require less energy.
When you get cold, your body shunts blood to your core rather than your periphery (hands, feet, skin).
Why? correct answers To prevent your blood from losing heat to the cold surroundings.
What key features of the amniotic egg enable tetrapods that lay them to reproduce on land? correct
answers Amniotic eggs have a protective coat that slows the rate of water loss.
Amniotic eggs have a shell.
