Course Introduction
Population Biology
Pre-Test Questions
Population Biology explores the principles and mechanisms that govern the dynamics of populations in both natural and managed ecosystems. This course examines the factors influencing population size, structure, and distribution, including birth and death rates, competition, predation, and environmental variability. Students will learn to apply mathematical models to analyze population growth, regulation, and interactions among species. Emphasis is placed on real-world examples from plant, animal, and microbial populations, providing a foundation for understanding biodiversity, conservation biology, and resource management.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Ecology 4th Edition by Michael Begon
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Page 2
Chapter
1: Ecology and How to Do It
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Sample Questions
Q1) You compile a model to test how dissolved carbon dioxide levels are affecting calcium deposition in the Pacific Ocean as a result of climate change.Your model indicates that many species relying on carbonate for shell deposition will not be able to survive due to the projected future changes in dissolved carbon dioxide levels as a result of climate change.What is the likely conclusion to draw from this result?
A) All species are doomed and there is nothing that can be done
B) Your model is only a prediction and can be applied cautiously to help land managers and other researchers
C) The result should not be generalized and you should not be cautious; the models right
D) The model is a perfect description of what will happen and you should let land managers know exactly what is going to happen as a result of climate change
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Ecologys Evolutionary Backdrop
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Sample Questions
Q1) A breeder is interested in producing an amelanistic morph of a bird species she breeds.Is this natural selection?
A) Yes, because she is selecting for a beneficial trait
B) No, because natural selection is a process driven by the natural environment, not humans
C) Yes, because the species will experience differential reproductive success
D) None of the above
Answer: B
Q2) Present day distribution patterns of plants and animals are primarily due to:
A) Changes in climate, particularly during the ice ages of the Pleistocene.
B) Reciprocal transplantation
C) Co-evolving relationships
D) Island speciation events
Answer: A
Q3) Which scientist devised an orderly system for naming different organisms?
A) Charles Darwin
B) Ernst Mayr
C) Carl Linnaeus
D) Alfred Russell Wallace
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Physical Conditions and the Availability of Resources
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Q1) You have been studying microorganisms that appear to be capable of oxidizing reduced compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and hypothesize that these organisms are _______________.
A) Thermophilic
B) Chemo-autotrophic
C) Acido-autotrophic
D) Chemo-heterotrophic
Answer: B
Q2) The term _______ refers to the success of individuals in the population to survive,reproduce,and leave descendants in an environment relative to others.
A) Fitness
B) Speciation
C) Evolution
D) Natural selection
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Climate and the Worlds Biomes
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Q1) The ________ cells move heat away from the Equator.
A) Hadley
B) Ferrel
C) Coriolis
D) Polar
Q2) What type of plant grows on other plants and is often rooted on the damp upper branches?
A) Neophyte
B) Saprophyte
C) Epiphyte
D) Mycorrhizae
Q3) You notice a stream that has extremely clear water.Which of the following potential observations might explain the clarity of the stream?
A) There appears to be a large amount of fertilizer runoff from a nearby habitat
B) There is a large canopy of trees that block much of the sunlight
C) The water temperature is very high and dissolved oxygen levels very high
D) You test the water and determine there is a high concentration of nitrogenous compounds.
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6
Chapter 5: Birth, Death and Movement
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Q1) When an individual male leaves a pack in search of its own territory,this is referred to as _________?
A) Migration
B) Dispersal
C) Exodus
D) None of the above
Q2) You find a lake that is 50 meters in diameter while you are exploring part of a very arid environment in the southwest United States.You have surveyed 100's of kilometers of this habitat and found no other lakes.It appears to be fed by some underground seep.In it there are many small fish.Which of the following best describes these fish?
A) These fish are semelparous annual
B) The fish are a population
C) These fish are semelparous perennial
D) The fish are likely modular
Q3) A Type II survivorship curve:
A) Shows that mortality is constant
B) Shows that younger individuals die sooner than older individuals
C) Is typical of seeds
D) Shows that the risk of mortality is the same regardless of age
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Interspecific Competition
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Q1) You observe ten species of trees in a rainforest.You learn that species with similar light requirements tend to differ in terms of preferred soil textures and vice versa.You should recognize this pattern as
A) Niche complementarity.
B) Intraspecific competition.
C) Interspecific competition.
D) Niche differentiation.
Q2) What does the Competitive Exclusion Principle state?
A) The Competitive Exclusion Principle states that if two competing species coexist in a stable environment, then they do so as a result of differentiation of their realized niches.
B) The Competitive Exclusion Principle states that all species within a community coexist in an unstable environment, and that they are structured by competition that leads to realized niches.
C) The Competitive Exclusion Principle states that if a guild of competing species coexist in an stable environment, they do so as a result of differentiation of their fundamental niche.
D) None of the above
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Chapter 7: Predation, Grazing and Disease
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Q1) When a zero isocline is used in a Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model,it will show that
A) Predator and prey populations are independent
B) Predator and prey populations depend on parasites
C) Predator and prey populations are mutually exclusive
D) Predator and prey populations are linked, with predator abundance tracking that of the prey
Q2) The term aPN in the Lotka-Volterra predator prey models denotes _______
A) The consumption rate of prey
B) The overall impact of prey on predators
C) The change in predator numbers
D) The zero isocline for prey
Q3) In which interaction would it be typically be easiest to see the fitness impacts on the negatively affected individual?
A) Predation
B) Parasitism
C) Grazing
D) Symbiosis
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Chapter 8: Molecular and Evolutionary Ecology
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Q1) Bacteria that are found in the root nodules of most leguminous plants and are responsible for fixing nitrogen are known as ______________.
A) Arbuscules
B) Rhizobia
C) Parasitic fungi
D) There is no term to define these bacteria because there are so many of them.
Q2) If genetic differentiation has occurred it could be due to:
A) Genetic drift
B) Adaptive variation
C) Gene flow
D) Microsatellites
Q3) What would it mean if you looked at a locus in a sequence of DNA and found a SNP that was bi-allelic?
A) It would mean that there are four genes for those two alleles.
B) It would mean that there are two nucleic variants at that locus.
C) It would mean that the organism has become a new species
D) All of the above
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10
Chapter 9: From Populations to Communities
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Q1) Key factor analysis has been renamed because?
A) Killing power became a new term
B) It was not really a "factor" analysis as much as a life phase analysis
C) The concept was not all that useful to help understand populations
D) None of the above
Q2) The ___________ of the abundances of individuals is the combination of the effects of all factors and processes that affect population density,whether density-dependent or not.
A) Regulation
B) Determination
C) Maintenance
D) Correlation
Q3) k-values are highest when
A) Reproduction is also high.
B) survivorship is also high.
C) morality is low.
D) mortality is high.
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11
Chapter 10: Patterns in Species Richness
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Q1) The classic study demonstrating that the Pisaster sea star promoted predator-mediated coexistence was conducted by _________?
A) Robert Paine
B) Joseph Connell
C) Jared Diamond
D) David Tilman
Q2) In some tropical mountains,ecologists have noticed bird species diversity declining in recent years despite seeing normally low elevation species beginning to appear in higher elevations.They blame climate change and increasing temperatures.What might be going on?
A) As temperatures increase, upper elevation conditions become increasingly favorable to lower elevation species.
B) Increasing temperatures at high elevations are driving high elevation species lower to seek cooler temperatures.
C) Lower elevation species are moving up the mountain and out competing the species traditionally found there.
D) As temperatures decrease, upper elevation conditions become increasingly favorable to lower elevation species.
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Chapter 11: The Flux of Energy and Matter Through Ecosystems
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Q1) What would be considered a high level of net photosynthetic efficiency for a naturally occurring ecosystem?
A) 30% efficiency
B) 10% efficiency
C) 3% efficiency
D) 0.01% efficiency
Q2) Which of the following is an explanation as to why cyanobacteria blooms are prevented in oceans?
A) High availability of sulfate increases the rate of cyanobacteria growth, but abundance is grazed upon by zooplankton
B) Net primary productivity is low in all ocean zones and that prevents cyanobacteria blooms
C) A low availability of moldybenum in seawater slows the growth of cyanobacteria, which in turn grazing by zooplankton is sufficient to prevent blooms
D) All of the above
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Chapter 12: Global Biogeochemical Cycles and Their Alteration by Humans
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Q1) The rate of phosphorous flow through the global environment is three times faster now than before the industrial and agricultural revolutions.The main problem with this accelerated cycle is that?
A) It results in acidification of the oceans
B) It causes drastica alteration of ocean currents
C) It causes eutrophication of freshwater lakes
D) It initially slows the growth of freshwater vegetation
Q2) Which of the following statements regarding methane as a greenhouse gas are correct?
A) Methane absorbs infrared radiation at a different wavelength than carbon dioxide
B) The wavelength at which methane absorbs radiation makes it a potent greenhouse gas
C) The concentration of methane in the atmosphere is greater than carbon dioxide, which is why global temperatures have risen so drastically over the last 100 years
D) Methane acts as a catalyst to produce ground-level ozone
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14
Chapter 13: Conservation Ecology
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Q1) At what scales can biodiversity be assessed?
A) Genetic diversity within species
B) Using phylogenetic analyses
C) Species within a community
D) Subspecies within a species
Q2) It is often difficult to identify populations at risk because?
A) Populations often fluctuate a great deal over time.
B) Models fail to take into account the life history data of species
C) It is impossible to follow populations over time
D) There are usually few genetic data available to examine genetic diversity
Q3) Which of the following are classifications of risk in conservation biology?
A) Critically threatened
B) Endangered
C) Vulnerable
D) A species of least concern
Q4) In which type of scenario would genetic drift have a more significant effect?
A) A population with 1,0000 individuals and an effective population size of 300
B) A population with 1,0000 individuals and an effective population size of 30
C) A population with 100 individuals and an effective population size of 30
D) A population with 10,000 individuals and an effective population size of 300
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Chapter 14: The Ecology of Human Population Growth,
Disease, and Food Supply
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Q1) Which of the following are examples of emerging infectious diseases?
A) Ebola
B) Human Immunodeficiency Virus
C) Severe acute respiratory syndrome
D) Malaria
Q2) If a population switched from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates,what would this be referred to as?
A) A population regression
B) A demographic transition
C) A demographic reversal
D) A population transition
Q3) Predicting the future global population is difficult because
A) The earth has a fixed carrying capacity
B) Food production capabilities fluctuate
C) North American populations are unpredictable
D) It is difficult to know future fertility rates
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