Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Natural selection tends to result in individuals of a species that
a. produce the most offspring.
b. are the largest in size.
c. are the fastest.
d. are the strongest.
ANSWER: a
2. Which would be the most informative about the reliability of data gathered in an experiment?
a. low mean
b. high mean
c. low variance
d. high variance
ANSWER: c
3. Because it is difficult to experiment on large ecological systems, researchers often replicate the essential
features of a system in smaller, simplified laboratory or field settings known as
a. microcosms.
b. approximate systems.
c. natural treatments.
d. experimental units.
ANSWER: a
4. A phenotype is
a. the traits an individual can pass on to its offspring.
b. the expression of an individual’s traits.
c. the genes an individual possesses.
d. a trait caused by interaction with another species.
ANSWER: b
5. In a dynamic steady state
a. there are no inputs or outputs to the system.
b. the second law of thermodynamics does not apply.
c. there is no net change in the system.
d. the system will continue to grow.
ANSWER: c
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6. An ecologist who studies the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) in both Michigan and New York State
would be looking necessarily at individuals of the same
a. community.
b. population.
c. ecosystem.
d. species.
ANSWER: d
7. A moose, a monarch butterfly, and a wolf are all examples of
a. autotrophs.
b. producers.
c. heterotrophs.
d. detritivores.
ANSWER: c
8. Which ecological level would be of most interest to an ecologist studying adaptations?
a. ecosystem
b. population
c. individual
d. community
ANSWER: c
9. What pair of species would you expect to exhibit commensalism?
a. owls and oak trees
b. osprey and herons
c. coyotes and foxes
d. algae and kelp
ANSWER: a
10. Which of the following is NOT a property used in the study of populations?
a. density
b. change in size
c. composition
d. interactions with other populations
ANSWER: d
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11. Cyanobacteria are
a. protists.
b. producers.
c. consumers.
d. mixotrophs.
ANSWER: b
12. An organism that does not itself consume its prey but rather its offspring does is termed a
a. parasite.
b. parasitoid.
c. detritivore.
d. decomposer.
ANSWER: b
13. An ecologist who studies populations would most likely be interested in
a. adaptations that help individual organisms live in their environment.
b. births and deaths of individuals belonging to a particular species in a particular place.
c. the number and relative abundance of species living in a particular place.
d. physical and chemical transformations of energy and materials in the soil, atmosphere, and water.
ANSWER: b
14. How can species interactions increase the rate at which species evolve?
a. Interactions reduce the effects of natural selection.
b. Interactions increase the fitness of all individuals.
c. Interactions make certain traits more useful.
d. Interactions reduce the genetic variety in individuals.
ANSWER: c
15. If you wanted to understand the impact of an introduced species on existing species in an area, what
ecological level should you examine?
a. population
b. individual
c. community
d. biosphere
ANSWER: c
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16. Ecologists using global carbon-balance models were overestimating the rate of increase of atmospheric carbon
dioxide. This discovery led these ecologists to
a. discard their models.
b. switch to modeling other phenomena.
c. conclude that increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is not a serious environmental problem.
d. search for evidence of other carbon dioxide sinks in the global cycle of carbon.
ANSWER: d
17. Which consumes dead organic matter?
a. detritivore
b. herbivore
c. parasite
d. predator
ANSWER: a
18. The relationship between a burdock plant and a fox is
a. competition.
b. herbivory.
c. predation.
d. parasitism.
e. commensalism.
ANSWER: e
19. A group of organisms that interbreeds in nature and produces fertile offspring is called a
a. population.
b. species.
c. community.
d. prokaryote.
ANSWER: b
20. Which of the following is the correct hierarchy of ecological systems, from smallest to largest?
a. ecosystem, biosphere, community, population, individual
b. individual, community, population, ecosystem, biosphere
c. individual, population, ecosystem, biosphere, community
d. individual, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere
ANSWER: d
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