Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between living organisms and their environments, encompassing the relationships organisms have with each other and with abiotic factors such as climate, soil, and water. This course explores fundamental ecological concepts including population dynamics, community structure, energy flow, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem function. Students will examine the effects of human activities on ecosystems and learn methods for analyzing ecological data, with the ultimate goal of understanding the processes that govern the distribution and abundance of life on Earth.
Recommended Textbook
Ecology Concepts and Applications 5th Edition by Manuel Molles
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Ecology Historical Foundations and Developing Frontiers
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Sample Questions
Q1) The highest level of ecological organization focuses on A) the gene.
B) the biosphere.
C) warbler use of trees.
D) forests.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Answer: B
Q2) Population ecologists do not study
A) reproductive ecology.
B) distribution and abundance.
C) energy flow.
D) extinction.
E) adaptation.
Answer: C
Q3) Stable isotope analysis uses variation in element masses to better understand ecological phenomena.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Life on Land
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Sample Questions
Q1) The _______________ is a depositional horizon that contains clays,humus,and other materials which may form distinct banding patterns.
A) A horizon
B) B horizon
C) C horizon
D) D horizon
E) O horizon
Answer: B
Q2) All of the following statements are true except:
A) A horizon: mixture of organic and mineral materials.
B) B horizon: deposition of clay and humus.
C) C horizon: weathered parent material.
D) O horizon: organic layer.
E) All of the choices are correct.
Answer: E
Q3) Desert soils are often termed _________________.
Answer: lithosols
Q4) Irrigation of desert soils could lead to the formation of _________________.
Answer: caliches
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Chapter 3: Life in Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following rivers would have the highest salinity?
A) Columbia River
B) Rio Negro
C) Pecos
D) They all have equally low salinity levels.
E) They all have equally high salinity levels.
Answer: C
Q2) The turnover time for atmospheric water is
A) days to weeks.
B) months to years.
C) years to decades.
D) decades to centuries.
E) centuries to millennia.
Answer: A
Q3) Oceanic upwellings bring nutrient rich waters to the west coast of South America.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Population Genetics and Natural Selection
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Sample Questions
Q1) Vila-Aiub and colleagues found that populations of the weed Sorghum halepense that have been persistently exposed to the herbicide,glyphosate,were not resistant to its effects.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Darwin is often considered the father of evolutionary thought.Which of the following terms is/are not part of Darwin's analysis?
A) gene frequencies
B) natural selection
C) adaptation
D) fitness
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q3) The populations of Chihuahua spruce (Picea chihuahuana)have been fragmented due to changing climatic conditions.This has resulted in A) stabilizing selection.
B) large population sizes.
C) an increase in genetic diversity within populations.
D) genetic drift.
E) All of the choices are correct.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Temperature Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Metabolic heat (H<sub>m</sub>)is the heat
A) energy intake an organism must have for movement.
B) released during cellular respiration.
C) energy needed in order to undergo cellular respiration.
D) energy loss due to evaporation.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q2) All of the following are components that influence a microclimate except: A) burrows.
B) vegetation.
C) ground color.
D) topography.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q3) The thermal stability of aquatic environments is a result of the ______.
A) high specific heat of water
B) low latent heat of vaporization of water
C) low latent heat of fusion of water
D) All of the choices are correct.
E) both high specific heat of water and low latent heat of vaporization of water
Q4) An animal will use different ____________________ to maintain an optimum operative temperature range.
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Chapter 6: Water Relations
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Q1) Aquatic organisms whose ionic concentration of their body fluids exceeds that of their surroundings are
A) hyperosmotic.
B) hypoosmotic.
C) isoosmotic.
D) osmotic.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q2) The diffusion of water across a differentially permeable membrane is called _______.
Q3) In general,a plant located in an arid climate will possess all of the following in order to prevent water loss except:
A) waxy coating.
B) decreased root biomass.
C) decreased shoot biomass.
D) increased root length.
E) reduces leaf size.
Q4) Windy days will decrease a plant's evaporative water loss.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Energy and Nutrient Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) A type 1 functional response curve would best represent
A) squirrels.
B) moose.
C) humans.
D) clams.
E) wolves.
Q2) Which kingdom has the higher carbon to nitrogen ratios?
A) Fungi
B) Animalia
C) Monera
D) Plantae
E) Protista
Q3) The longer the wavelength,the more energy they carry.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Photosynthetic response curves examine photosynthetic rates and maximum irradiance.
A)True
B)False
Q5) PAR is an acronym for photosynthetically active ________________________.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Socail Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) How is the organization of a leaf cutter ant colony and a colony of naked mole rats similar?
A) individuals are divided among castes
B) one female and a few males breed
C) large workers specialize in defense
D) individuals share a high degree of relatedness
E) All of the choices are correct.
Q2) Diane Marshall's evidence for nonrandom mating by pollen donors came from variation among donors in
A) percentage of seeds sired.
B) position of seeds sired.
C) weight of seeds sired.
D) All of the choices are correct.
E) both percentage of seeds sired and position of seeds sired.
Q3) Male guppies found in populations exposed to few predators are typically
A) highly camouflaged.
B) the same color as guppies found with many predators.
C) seen mating with brightly colored females.
D) brightly colored.
E) None of the choices are correct.
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Chapter 9: Population Distribution and Abundance
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which statement about organisms' "niches" is false?
A) The niche summarizes environmental factors influencing growth, survival, and reproduction of a species.
B) The niche concept was developed by Joseph Grinnell and Charles Elton.
C) The "fundamental" niche refers to physical, but not biological, aspects of the environment.
D) Interactions such as competition and parasitism may restrict the size of an organism's niche.
E) In the laboratory, two species with identical niches are especially easy to maintain in a mixed culture.
Q2) Donald Phillips and James MacMahon showed that the distribution pattern of creosote bush,Larrea tridentata,changes in the following sequence as they grow:
A) clumped, regular, random
B) regular, random, clumped
C) random, regular, clumped
D) random, clumped, regular
E) clumped, random, regular
Q3) An organism with a narrow habitat tolerance is called a
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Population Dynamics
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Sample Questions
Q1) When using a significance level of 0.05,how often will you reject hypotheses that are actually correct?
A) 5% of the time or less
B) 5% of the time or more
C) 50% of the time or less
D) 50% of the time or more
E) 95% of the time or more
Q2) Which of the following statements regarding 'mean generation time' is false?
A) It is generally calculated only for the females in a population.
B) It is the average time from offspring to offspring.
C) It can be calculated using a fecundity schedule and life table.
D) It can be used to calculate the geometric growth rate.
E) It can be used to calculate the per capita rate of increase.
Q3) Many sedentary organisms have a 'dispersing stage' and rely on vectors such as animals,water,or wind to aid in their spread.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The per capita rate of increase cannot be a negative number.
A)True
B)False
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Population Growth
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Q3) In the most basic terms,a population's growth is a function of births and deaths. A)True
B)False
Q4) Grant and Grants' study on the large cactus finches (Geospiza conirostris)positively correlates ____________________ and egg clutches.
Q5) A population is __________________________ if N>K and the per capita rate of increase is negative.
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Chapter 12: Life Histories
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rates of gene flow can be estimated from similarity in allele frequencies among populations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) __________ show more variation in life history traits than any other group.
A) All of the choices show equal amounts of variation in life history traits.
B) Mammals
C) Birds
D) Reptiles
E) Fish
Q3) Seeds bearing eliasomes are likely to be dispersed by A) ants.
B) wind.
C) water.
D) birds.
E) scatterhoarding mammals.
Q4) In Grime's classification,a plant species adapted to highly disturbed environments is called a ____________ species.
Q5) Bird species whose offspring are born helpless and depending on parental care are said to be _____________.
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Chapter 13: Competition
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the Lotka-Volterra competition equations,if \(\alpha\)<sub>21</sub> > 1,then
A) the population growth rate of species 2 is reduced equally by individuals of either species 1 or species 2.
B) the population growth rate of species 2 is reduced more by each individual of species 2 than by each individual of species 1.
C) the population growth rate of species 2 is reduced more by each individual of species 1 than by each individual of species 2.
D) We would also have to know the value of K<sub>2</sub> to decide which of the above is true.
E) We cannot tell from the parameters of the equation which of the choices is true.
Q2) When the average mass of individual plants in a stand is plotted against stand density (log-transformed),the slope of the relationship is very often around A) -1/2.
B) -1.
C) -3/2.
D) +1/2.
E) +3/2.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Exploitative Interactions Predation,
Disease
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gause's experiments with Paramecium and Didinium showed
A) extinction of the predator, followed by extinction of the prey, in all habitats.
B) coexistence of predator and prey at fairly constant population sizes, in all habitats.
C) coexistence of predator and prey, but with oscillating population sizes, in all habitats.
D) coexistence of predator and prey at fairly constant population sizes, but only in the presence of refuges and predator reservoirs.
E) coexistence of predator and prey with oscillating population sizes, but only in the presence of refuges and predator reservoirs.
Q2) Periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years
A) feeding in tree twigs before emerging as adults.
B) feeding on tree roots before emerging as adults.
C) as adults before laying eggs.
D) in a resistant, resting egg before hatching as larvae.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q3) An organism inducing disease in its host is called a ______________.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Mutualism
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Sample Questions
Q1) An interaction between individuals of different species that benefit both partners is called
A) commensalism.
B) predation.
C) exploitation.
D) mutualism.
E) ammensalism.
Q2) The major benefit obtained by zooxanthellae algal cells from their coral host is A) protection from herbivores.
B) sugars.
C) phosphorus from coral wastes.
D) nitrogen from coral wastes.
E) temperature regulation.
Q3) Mycorrhizal fungi (directly)help their plant partners acquire A) sugars.
B) sunlight.
C) seed dispersal.
D) soil nutrients.
E) pollination.
Q4) The two most common types of mycorrhizal fungi are ___________ and
17
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Chapter 16: Species Abundance and Diversity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Joseph Connell's "intermediate disturbance hypothesis" proposes that
A) species diversity is highest at intermediate frequencies of disturbance.
B) species diversity is lowest at intermediate frequencies of disturbance.
C) population growth rates are highest at intermediate frequencies of disturbance.
D) competitive exclusion is fastest at intermediate levels of disturbance.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q2) A simple tree community consists of 4 maples,3 oaks,and 1 alder.The Shannon-Wiener diversity of this community is
A) 0.42.
B) 0.97.
C) 1.5.
D) 3.
E) not possible to calculate from the data given.
Q3) Robert MacArthur's study of forest warblers suggested that A) fewer warbler species can survive in more complex habitats.
B) warbler species diversity increases with habitat complexity.
C) warbler species diversity decreases with habitat complexity.
D) most warblers have rather similar foraging niches.
E) None of the choices are correct.
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Species Interactions and Community Structure
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Sample Questions
Q1) A Predator and its prey interact __________,but if the predator affects another species through this interaction,ecologists describe it as a(n)___________ interaction.
A) strongly; inefficient
B) directly; variable
C) weakly; diffuse
D) indirectly; keystone
E) directly; indirect
Q2) Removal of Pisaster starfish in the Washington intertidal leads to a decline in diversity of other invertebrate species.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Keystone species
A) appear to be common in terrestrial systems, but not in aquatic ones.
B) appear to be common in both terrestrial and aquatic systems.
C) appear to be common in aquatic systems, but not in terrestrial ones.
D) by definition, cannot occur in aquatic systems.
E) by definition, cannot occur in terrestrial systems.
Q4) Ecologists summarize feeding interactions among species in a community when they compile a _________.
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Chapter 18: Primary Production and Energy Flow
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Q1) The number of trophic levels in an ecosystem is limited by
A) the number of tertiary consumers.
B) the loss of energy with each transfer between trophic levels.
C) the gain of energy with each transfer between trophic levels.
D) the rate at which organisms can recycle energy within the ecosystem.
E) the rate at which secondary consumers consume their prey.
Q2) The low productivity of arctic tundra ecosystems results
A) entirely because tundra has low evapotranspiration.
B) entirely because tundra soils are low in nutrients.
C) entirely because tundra soils retain water poorly.
D) because tundra soils have low nutrients and retain water poorly.
E) because tundra has low evapotranspiration and low-nutrient soils.
Q3) Among lakes,primary productivity seems to be mainly controlled by levels of A) light.
B) pollutants.
C) temperature.
D) nutrients.
E) None of the choices are correct.
Q4) The total amount of energy fixed by autotrophs in an ecosystem is called
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Chapter 19: Nutrient Cycling and Retention
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Sample Questions
Q1) The largest reservoir of phosphorus in most ecosystems is phosphorus
A) in the atmosphere.
B) dissolved in water.
C) in rocks and sediments.
D) bound in animal tissues.
E) bound in plant tissues.
Q2) In stream ecosystems,nutrient retentiveness is
A) not related to spiraling length.
B) positively related to spiraling length.
C) inversely related to spiraling length.
D) a logarithmic function of spiraling length.
E) a power function of spiraling length.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an agent of nitrogen fixation?
A) mycorrhizal fungi
B) cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)
C) bacteria associated with legume roots
D) lightning
E) actinomycete bacteria associated with alder roots
Q4) ________________ is the process of increased nutrient inputs into an ecosystem resulting in increased primary productivity and reduced biodiversity.
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Chapter 20: Succession and Stability
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Q1) On intertidal boulders in California,the climax community is dominated by perennial red algae.
A)True
B)False
Q2) During primary succession at Glacier Bay,species diversity continues to increase throughout succession for which group(s)of plants?
A) tall shrubs and trees
B) low shrubs and herbs
C) mosses
D) lichens
E) all groups of plants
Q3) As Hawaiian lava flows age over 4 million years,
A) total soil phosphorous levels decrease.
B) total soil phosphorous levels increase.
C) total soil phosphorous stays about the same, but more phosphorous becomes refractory.
D) total soil phosphorous stays about the same, but more phosphorous becomes weatherable.
E) phosphorous limitation of primary production becomes less important.
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Page 22
Chapter 21: Landscape Ecology
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Q1) The "Mann-Whitney test"
A) assumes that data from the populations being compared are normally distributed.
B) is identical in calculation to a t-test.
C) is based on ranked data rather than actual measurements.
D) is a procedure for measuring concentrations of dissolved nitrates in freshwater.
E) is a procedure for measuring levels of calcium and potassium in soils.
Q2) Mowing experiments in a Kansas prairie established that,for small mammals,
A) moving individuals travel farther in more fragmented landscapes.
B) moving individuals travel farther in less fragmented landscapes.
C) more individuals move in more fragmented landscapes.
D) fragmentation affects movement distance but not the likelihood of movement.
E) fragmentation affects the likelihood of movement, but not movement distance.
Q3) The recognition that the length of a coastline depends on the scale at which it is measured is a result of the branch of mathematics called ___________.
Q4) More isolated Finnish meadows support higher densities of Glanville fritillaries.
A)True
B)False
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23
Chapter 22: Geographic Ecology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Daniel Simberloff studied recolonization by
A) birds on California islands after defaunation by storms.
B) birds on California islands after defaunation by experimental fumigation.
C) arthropods on Florida mangrove islands after defaunation by storms.
D) arthropods on Florida mangrove islands after defaunation by experimental fumigation.
E) small mammals on desert mountaintops after defaunation by climate change.
Q2) In the American Southwest,forest habitats
A) currently extend unbroken between mountaintops over thousands of km.
B) have never extended unbroken between mountaintops.
C) last extended unbroken between mountaintops in the Cretaceous.
D) last extended unbroken between mountaintops in the Permian.
E) last extended unbroken between mountaintops in the Pleistocene.
Q3) The number of montane mammal species ________ as the ______ of available habitat increases in the mountain ranges of the American Southwest.
A) increases, isolation
B) decreases, area
C) remains constant, area
D) increases, area
E) remains constant, isolation
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Chapter 23: Global Ecology
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Q1) By measuring the CO<sub>2</sub> concentration in the Vostok ice core,scientists were able to show that atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations fluctuated substantially over the last 160,000 years and periods of low atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration correspond with
A) warmer interglacial periods.
B) colder ice age periods.
C) years of above average precipitation.
D) years of below average precipitation.
E) both warmer interglacial periods and years of below average precipitation.
Q2) During the past century,the average global temperature has risen
A) 0.7<sup>\(\circ\)</sup>C
B) 1.5<sup>\(\circ\)</sup>C
C) 3.5<sup>\(\circ\)</sup>C
D) 5.5<sup>\(\circ\)</sup>C
E) 10.5<sup>\(\circ\)</sup>C
Q3) In the "U.S.LTER Network",LTER stands for ________.
Q4) Strongly negative values of the Southern Oscillation Index are associated with La Niña events.
A)True
B)False
Page 25
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