BIO 320 ECOLOGY EXAM 1 CURRENTLY TESTING QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
Which of the following is considered an abiotic component of the ecosystem?
Temperature
An ecologist conducts a greenhouse experiment to study the effect of nitrogen
concentration on the productivity of sunflower seedlings. What is the independent variable
in this experiment?
Concentration of nitrogen
Soil particles are classified on the basis of
Size
The amount of water a soil holds at field capacity is greatest for
Clay
When the amount of water in soil exceeds what the pore space can hold, the soil is
Saturated
Soil that holds the most water
clay loam in a valley
,Aluminum is toxic to plants because it
damages the roots, reducing nutrient uptake
The soil-forming process that occurs naturally in desert basins and along the coast and is a
problem in agricultural areas where irrigation is practiced is
Laterization
The general relationship between available light and leaf area index (LAI) is
described by
Beer's Law
Organisms that derive their energy from sunlight are referred to as
Autotrophs or primary producers
The mechanism of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species is
Natural selection
The specific traits of a particular organism enabling it to survive, grow, and reproduce
within a given environment are called
Adaptations
,The alternate forms of a gene are called
Alleles
An allele that completely masks the effect of another allele is considered
Dominant
If birds with larger beaks are favored by the environment, it is likely that ________
selection will occur
Directional
What is the primary original source of genetic variation in a population?
Mutation
Under which of the following conditions would genetic drift exert the greatest influence?
very small population
The movemnt of genes between populations is referred to as
gene flow
, The effect of positive assortative mating is to
increase the number of homozygotes in the population.
A gradual change in phenotype across an environmental gradient, such as whitetailed
deer changing gradually in size from large in the north to small in the south, is
referred to as
a Cline
Geographic isolates of a particular species that differ from other populations by one or
more characteristics are considered to be
Subspecies
Individual beak size of individual finches of the Galápagos Islands
will greatly influence individual survival.
The Galápagos Islands are inhabited by 13 species of Darwin's finches that evolved from a
single species. This is an example of
adaptive radiation
SOLUTIONS
Which of the following is considered an abiotic component of the ecosystem?
Temperature
An ecologist conducts a greenhouse experiment to study the effect of nitrogen
concentration on the productivity of sunflower seedlings. What is the independent variable
in this experiment?
Concentration of nitrogen
Soil particles are classified on the basis of
Size
The amount of water a soil holds at field capacity is greatest for
Clay
When the amount of water in soil exceeds what the pore space can hold, the soil is
Saturated
Soil that holds the most water
clay loam in a valley
,Aluminum is toxic to plants because it
damages the roots, reducing nutrient uptake
The soil-forming process that occurs naturally in desert basins and along the coast and is a
problem in agricultural areas where irrigation is practiced is
Laterization
The general relationship between available light and leaf area index (LAI) is
described by
Beer's Law
Organisms that derive their energy from sunlight are referred to as
Autotrophs or primary producers
The mechanism of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species is
Natural selection
The specific traits of a particular organism enabling it to survive, grow, and reproduce
within a given environment are called
Adaptations
,The alternate forms of a gene are called
Alleles
An allele that completely masks the effect of another allele is considered
Dominant
If birds with larger beaks are favored by the environment, it is likely that ________
selection will occur
Directional
What is the primary original source of genetic variation in a population?
Mutation
Under which of the following conditions would genetic drift exert the greatest influence?
very small population
The movemnt of genes between populations is referred to as
gene flow
, The effect of positive assortative mating is to
increase the number of homozygotes in the population.
A gradual change in phenotype across an environmental gradient, such as whitetailed
deer changing gradually in size from large in the north to small in the south, is
referred to as
a Cline
Geographic isolates of a particular species that differ from other populations by one or
more characteristics are considered to be
Subspecies
Individual beak size of individual finches of the Galápagos Islands
will greatly influence individual survival.
The Galápagos Islands are inhabited by 13 species of Darwin's finches that evolved from a
single species. This is an example of
adaptive radiation
