UP205 : Ecology and its Applications
Spring 2008

Midterm Exam Form A

1. In Florida, an increase in shark attacks on swimmers as the numbers of tourists have increased is an example of a
1. Predator functional response
2. Predator numerical response
3. Interspecific competition
4. density-independent response


2. Which of the following is usually the smallest (most restrictive)?
1. The niche for survival
2. The niche for growth
3. The niche for reproduction
4. There’s no way to tell


3. Competitive exclusion between two species is MOST likely when
1. Their fundamental niches are different
2. Populations of each species are very small
3. Resources are abundant
4. They compete strongly for the same resource


4. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the algal blooms in Lake Mendota, WI?
1. Sewage was diverted from Lake Mendota in the 1950's
2. Urban runoff has increased the phosphorus concentration in lakes
3. Competition only occurs when resources are limiting
4. The human population of Madison has increased greatly


5. Populations of Asterionella (a diatom) in a laboratory culture might increase when their population size is low, and decrease when their population size is high because
1. Synedra (another diatom) is a superior competitor
2. There is abundant silicate in the culture
3. The experimenter periodically dumps out the culture
4. rates of cell division (birth) are density dependent


6. The icky alien organism (facehugger) in the movie Alien
1. Eats many space travelers over the course of its life, and kills them
2. Eats few space travelers over the course of its life, and kills them
3. Eats many space travelers over the course of its life, but doesn’t kill them
4. Eats few space travelers over the course of its life, but doesn’t kill them


7. Applying antibiotics to a population of bacteria
1. Increases the rate of mutation for antibiotic resistance
2. Kills all individuals regardless of their genetic makeup
3. Changes the likelihood of survival, depending on an individual’s genetic makeup
4. Slows down the evolutionary process


8. Maintaining a refuge from pesticide application
1. slows down the rate of evolution of resistance
2. hastens the evolution of resistance
3. increases the selection pressure for resistance
4. leads to insect speciation


9. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of K-selected species?
1. Exhibit parental care
2. Produce few large eggs
3. Have rapid population growth rates
4. Perform well in competition with other species


10. The extinction of native whitefish species in Lake Michigan following the invasion of alewife was due to
1. Predation
2. Parasites
3. Interspecific competition
4. Intraspecific competition


11. This graph is a plot of:

1. Predator switching behavior
2. Effect of learning on predation rate
3. Effect of handling time on predation rate
4. All of the above


12. Global warming will affect the distribution of species because
1. dispersal will not be a problem
2. It will change the location of habitats that provide requirements for growth, survival, or reproduction
3. Carbon dioxide is toxic to plants
4. It will have no effect


13. What would happen to a fishery with harvest H, if fish managers thought the stock size was A when in fact it was really B?

1. The fishery would collapse to zero
2. Fish populations would decline to Point C
3. Harvest rates could be increased to H’ without endangering the stock
4. Stock size would increase to Point A.


14. You can use insects to measure water quality because
1. ecological niches are predictable
2. they are not sensitive to dissolved oxygen concentration
3. predators are larger than their prey
4. You can’t use insects to measure water quality


15. The native range of Cane Toads includes
1. Australia
2. New Zealand
3. Canada
4. Brazil


16. Compared to the sport fishery for walleye, the Chippewa spear fishery is
1. better regulated because there are fewer fishers
2. not as well regulated because each Chippewa fisher can catch more than 5 fish
3. better regulated because harvest rates are better known
4. not as well regulated because it occurs at night


17. At which density is competition LEAST important in regulating population size.

1. Point A
2. Point B
3. Point C
4. Point D


18. In the population shown in the graph below

1. λ (lambda) is greater than one
2. R_o = 1
3. death rates are greater than birth rates
4. intraspecific competition is important in limiting population size


19. The asian longhorned beetle
1. first arrived in the U.S. in the New York area
2. has very narrow niche requirements for tree species hosts
3. has been eradicated from the United States
4. is nothing to worry about


20. In response to crop rotation, western corn rootworm
1. larvae fed primarily on soybeans while adults fed on corn
2. an individual rootworm changed its egg-laying behavior from one year to the next
3. populations changed their gene frequencies
4. all of the above


21. If the catch per unit effort in a population is increasing
1. the population must be increasing
2. the fishing efficiency must be increasing
3. the population must be decreasing
4. there is no way to be certain without other information


22. Increasing the dose of a pesticide to prevent the development of resistance
1. can only work if you are sure that all susceptible genotypes are killed
2. won’t work because you can’t be sure that all insects will receive a high enough dose
3. won’t work because the higher the selection pressure, the slower the evolution
4. is effective because insect populations don’t evolve


23. Which of the following is NOT a method of estimating population size?
1. Catch per unit effort
2. mark-recapture
3. U.S. Census
4. measuring niche dimension


24. Fertilizers are commonly used in agriculture because
1. corn is a K-selected species
2. crop species birth rates are strongly density-dependent
3. the carrying capacity of the environment can’t be changed
4. resources aren’t limiting


25. The Ayuquila River is in
1. New Mexico
2. Brazil
3. Illinois
4. Mexico


26. Which species was introduced into the Great Lakes to control the populations of alewife?
1. Lake Trout
2. Salmon
3. Sea Lamprey
4. Chub


27. Evolution of species has occurred in response to
1. global warming
2. the cane toad invasion
3. use of DDT
4. all of the above


28. Which of the following was NOT one of the species involved in the first use of biological control in the U.S.
1. The fly Cryptochaetum
2. the cottony scale insect
3. the colorado potato beetle
4. the ladybug, vedalia


29. The dead zone occurs in the Gulf of Mexico because
1. secchi depths have increased
2. the corn rootworm has evolved resistance to crop rotation
3. oxygen is always abundant in the Gulf
4. excess nutrients used on crops flow down the Mississippi


30. Populations of Mountain Lions in California are
1. most likely increasing because of the hunting ban
2. most likely increasing because they can use the resources of suburbs
3. most likely decreasing in northern California because of habitat loss
4. none of the above


31. Evolution of pesticide resistance
1. requires mutations in many genes
2. at times requires just a single base substitution
3. does not require genetic variation
4. is extremely unlikely


32. Below is a simplified life table for an insect. It has one generation per year. The egg hatches in the spring, and the adult lays its eggs in the fall and then dies.

Stage x	1x	bx
egg	1	0
larvae I	0.04	0
larvae II	0.03	0
larvae III	0.02	0
adult	0.01	130

1. This population is increasing
2. This population is decreasing
3. This population demonstrates a Type I survivorship curve
4. There is not enough information


33. Which species has been killing a variety of trees in northern California and is spreading throughout the country via shipments of plants from nurseries?
1. Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthera ramorum)
2. West Nile Virus
3. Asian longhorned beetle
4. cottony scale insect


34. Which is NOT a defining characteristic of a population
1. same species
2. potentially interacting
3. same location
4. genetically identical


35. To best manage a fishery, you need which of the following kinds of information?
1. The form of the stock-recruitment relationship
2. The current size of the population
3. The number of individuals harvested
4. All of the above


36. Which of the following can fix nitrogen?
1. Green algae
2. blue-green algae
3. diatoms
4. Chrysophyta


37. Which lake has the deepest Secchi depth
1. Crystal Lake, WI
2. Lake Madison, WI
3. Lake Tahoe, CA
4. Crater Lake, OR


38. Populations of the Sea Lamprey were reduced by
1. introducing a predator
2. overfishing
3. using a pesticide
4. reducing numbers of their prey


39. The Brown Tree Snake
1. was introduced to Guam to control rats
2. came to Guam in shipments of surplus military equipment
3. has had little effect on Guam’s ecosystem
4. is of little threat to other Pacific islands, because they can’t swim


40. In comparison to changes following the last ice age, temperature changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions are predicted to be
1. greater
2. less
3. about the same
4. caused only by changes in Milankovich Cycles


41. Extra Credit. In the experiment on predation rates in class, the “predator” fed on
1. peanuts
2. pistachio nuts
3. walnuts
4. macademia nuts