Term
| Successions occur on volcanic islands, cut-over forested areas, abandoned agricultural fields, sand dunes, and many other disturbed or recently created landscapes. In each case, the sequence of successional communities occupying the site is referred to as the __________. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Comparing succession on spoil islands with succession on cut-over forest lands on the adjacent mainland would be an "apples and oranges" comparison because __________ succession occurs on cut-over forest lands. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Studies by Michael Keough and Wayne Sousa on marine hard surfaces focused on the influence of which variable on the course of succession? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| John Curtis and Robert McIntosh ordered the mature forest communities of southwestern Wisconsin along a continuum index (see Figure 19.8). Which of the following ecologists would have been least satisfied with this approach to the study of succession? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Successions on glacial till and glacial outwash plains in Alaska are dominated in their early stages by various shrubby nitrogen-fixing plants. The accumulation of nitrogen in organic matter of the developing soils then makes it possible for larger nitrogen-demanding species (such as coniferous trees) to become established. Connell and Slatyer would have considered this an example of __________ in their classification of processes governing the course of succession. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Early succession of old-fields in the Piedmont of North Carolina is dominated by colonizing species, such as crabgrass and horseweed, which disperse readily and can tolerate the physical conditions of newly exposed ground. Connell and Slatyer would have considered this an example of __________ in their classification of processes governing the course of succession. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Seeds of early successional plants can remain dormant in the soils of forest and shrub habitats for many years in what are called __________. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| While longevity in a dormant state is common in seeds of early successional species, ability to __________ is more typical of seeds/seedlings of late successional species. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Consider Figure 19.13, illustrating the species composition of a 67-year-old forest near Washington, D.C. Which of the following species seems most likely to disappear from this ecosystem as succession proceeds? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following would be considered a transient climax? |
|
Definition
| The community of plants and animals that develops in a temporary pond. |
|
|
Term
| There are 56 species of breeding birds in Greenland, 105 in the state of New York, and 469 in Guatemala. Approximately how many do you think there are in Colombia? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| One of the most general observations to emerge from measurements of relative abundances of species in different communities (see Figure 20.2) is that: |
|
Definition
| few species are abundant and many are rare. |
|
|
Term
| In which of the following situations would we expect to find steeper slopes of the species-area relationship? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following statements about bird diversity is most accurate? |
|
Definition
| Productive habitats tend to harbor more species than unproductive ones, but habitats with simple vegetation structure harbor fewer species than more complex habitats with similar productivity. |
|
|
Term
| The energy-diversity hypothesis links species richness with __________. |
|
Definition
| potential evapotranspiration (PET) |
|
|
Term
| The process of species sorting determines which species present in the __________ will be members of a particular community. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is likely to have greater breadth? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Given the predictions of the equilibrium theory of island biogeography, which of the following islands would be expected to have the most species? |
|
Definition
| A large island close to the mainland. |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following processes is most directly addressed by Joseph Connell's "intermediate disturbance hypothesis" as an explanation of high diversity of tree species in the tropics? |
|
Definition
| Disturbance and gap dynamics |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following processes is most directly addressed by the "pest pressure” hypothesis as an explanation of high diversity of tree species in the tropics? |
|
Definition
| Herbivore and pathogen pressure |
|
|
Term
| The current fossil record dates back __________ years and encompasses most of the evolution of multicellular organisms. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The Cenozoic era refers to “__________” and is also known as the __________. |
|
Definition
| recent animals, Age of Mammals |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following pairs of zoogeographic regions has the greatest affinity of flora and fauna, the result of a long history of land connection? |
|
Definition
| Indomalaya and Palearctic |
|
|
Term
| __________ is the only one of the six major zoogeographic regions that presently lacks a direct land connection to at least one of the other regions (see Figure 21.6). |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Consider the shifting distributions of five types of trees shown in Figure 21.8 as the most recent glacial ice sheet (in grey) retreated northward in North America. How many years before present would the southern tier of the southeastern U.S. states (especially Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia) have had forests in which both oak and ironwood were abundant? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| __________ is the process whereby unrelated species living under similar ecological conditions evolve to resemble one another more than their ancestors did. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| When local diversity was compared to regional diversity for tropical fish communities in the Ivory Coast and French Guiana (see Figures 21.14 and 21.15), which of the following relationships was supported? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The late Tertiary fossil flora for temperate trees in Europe is over twice as rich as the corresponding North American flora. At present, however, the North American flora is approximately twice as rich as the European flora. Both regions experienced glaciation during the Pleistocene, so why were extinctions much more widespread in Europe? |
|
Definition
| Mountains were more effective barriers to southward migration in Europe. |
|
|
Term
| The following hypothesis has been proposed to explain why there are so many extant tropical species: |
|
Definition
A) Over the Tertiary history of the earth, tropical environments occupied far more area than temperate and boreal environments.
B) Species interactions assume more prominent roles as selective factors in the tropics.
C) Tropical climates favor more sedentary life histories.
D) All of the above. |
|
|
Term
| Local diversity depends on the: |
|
Definition
A) accessibility of the region to colonists.
B) capacity of the region to generate new forms through speciation.
C) ability of the region to sustain taxonomic diversity in the face of environmental variation.
D) All of the above. |
|
|
Term
| Taking full advantage of the ecosystem concept, this American ecologist in the 1950s championed the approach of combining studies of energy flow and nutrient cycling in ecosystems. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| As part of a salt marsh study, you enclose the leaves of a cord grass plant in a transparent chamber equipped with a device called an infrared gas analyzer. This device is capable of detecting minute changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the chamber. The chamber is also equipped with an air conditioning system that keeps the air temperature in the chamber at a constant 25°C. You first expose the leaves to full sunlight and determine that CO2 was declining in the chamber at a rate of 12 mg CO2 per 100 cm2 leaf area per hour. When you cover the chamber with aluminum foil, CO2 increases in the chamber at a rate of 4 mg CO2 per 100 cm2 leaf area per hour. What is the gross productivity of the cord grass leaves? |
|
Definition
| 16 mg CO2 per 100 cm2 leaf area per hour. |
|
|
Term
| In the experiment described in the previous question, what was the net productivity of the cord grass leaves? |
|
Definition
| 12 mg CO2 per 100 cm2 leaf area per hour. |
|
|
Term
| In ecosystems not severely limited by deficiencies of water or nutrients, what is the photosynthetic efficiency (percentage of energy in sunlight converted into net primary production during the growing season)? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Among aquatic ecosystems, where would you expect to find the lowest net primary production? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following diets will lead to the greatest assimilation efficiency in herbivorous animals adapted to consuming such a diet? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following animals has the lowest net production efficiency? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which of the following ecosystems would herbivores consume the greatest proportion of net primary production? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which of the following ecosystems would you expect to find allochthonous energy subsidies constituting the greatest portion of ecosystem energy flux? |
|
Definition
| Small streams and springs under the closed canopies of forests. |
|
|
Term
| . Which of the following biochemical reactions is an example of a dissimilatory process? |
|
Definition
| Oxidation of carbon in carbohydrate during respiration. |
|
|
Term
| Ecosystems are conveniently represented through __________ that might also be termed "box and arrow" models. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is the smallest compartment of the water cycle? |
|
Definition
| Water vapor in the atmosphere |
|
|
Term
| Of the processes that cause carbon to cycle through aquatic and terrestrial systems, which occurs only in aquatic systems? |
|
Definition
| Precipitation of carbonates |
|
|
Term
| The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreased precipitately at the end of the Devonian period, approximately 400 Mya. What was the fate of the carbon removed from the atmosphere? |
|
Definition
| Sequestration in deposits of coal and carbonate rocks. |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following processes (1) results in the transformation of ammonia (NH3) into nitrate (NO3-), (2) is carried out by chemoautotrophic bacteria, and (3) occurs under aerobic conditions? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not true of the phosphorus cycle? |
|
Definition
| Phosphorus is most available to plants in acidic soils. |
|
|
Term
| Sulfides associated with coal and oil deposits are typically formed through the reaction of sulfide ions with ____________. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Chemoautotrophs differ from photoautotrophs in which of the following ways? |
|
Definition
| They utilize energy obtained from the aerobic oxidation of inorganic substrates. |
|
|
Term
| At the base of the food chain of deep-sea hydrothermal vents are: |
|
Definition
| Chemoautotrophic sulfur bacteria |
|
|
Term
| Trees in regions of acid rain die because of ____________. |
|
Definition
| long-term leaching of nutrients from the soil |
|
|
Term
| The soil is the center of activity for nutrient dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Consider the following situation for calcium documented in a small forested watershed at Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire. Atmospheric inputs (to the soil) were 2 kg ha1 yr1 and streamflow losses (from the soil) were 14 kg ha-1 yr1 The growing forest had a net assimilation (from the soil) of 9 kg ha-1 yr-1 If the net loss of calcium from the soil each year was exactly balanced by weathering of calcium from bedrock, how much calcium would have to be supplied by weathering? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Large detritivores (detritus feeders such as millipedes and earthworms) speed the breakdown of plant litter and other organic debris. Which of the following is true of these decomposers? |
|
Definition
| They macerate plant detritus, thus exposing new surfaces to feeding by bacteria and fungi. |
|
|
Term
| Litter on the forest floor constitutes an average of ____% of the total biomass of vegetation (including trunks and branches) and detritus in tropical rain forests? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which of the following settings would you expect to find oligotrophic soils? |
|
Definition
| An old, geologically stable area. |
|
|
Term
| Consider the map (see Figure 24.16) showing primary productivity in the world's oceans. Productivity in aquatic ecosystems is highest where nutrients regenerated in sediments can reach the photic zone. According to this map, where is productivity consistently lowest? |
|
Definition
| In the centers of the major ocean basins |
|
|
Term
| In aquatic ecosystems, the heating of surface water by sunlight, or when fresh water floats over denser salt water, __________ vertical mixing. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Introduction of nutrients can stimulate overproduction of organic matter within a lake or river; this situation is referred to as __________. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Silicon deficiency may limit productivity in certain parts of oceans. What organisms would be particularly affected by silicon deficiency? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In 1993 John Martin and colleagues fertilized a large area off the Pacific coast of South America and demonstrated conclusively that __________ can limit primary production in natural ocean waters. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Of the following statements, choose the one that is incorrect. |
|
Definition
A) Worldwide, fully 35% of the land area is used for crops or permanent pastures, in addition to the countless hectares grazed by livestock.
B) Tropical forests are being felled at the alarming rate of 10 million hectares each year.
C) The 2008 human population of the world is 6.6 billion and increasing at almost 2% per year.
D) None of the above statements are incorrect. |
|
|
Term
| Of the nearly 1,500,000 species that have been described, which represents by far the largest group? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following areas has not been designated as a biodiversity hotspot by Norman Myers and colleagues? (see Figure 26.2) |
|
Definition
| The Scandinavian region of Europe |
|
|
Term
| What do the following have in common: codeine, colchicine, digitalin, L-dopa, morphine, quinine, strychnine, and vinblastine? |
|
Definition
| All are drugs extracted directly from flowering plants. |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is not true of the insecticide DDT? |
|
Definition
| Newer versions of DDT have overcome its earlier environmental problems. |
|
|
Term
| Consider Figure 26.7, illustrating the results of research conducted by David Tilman and colleagues at the University of Minnesota. What do you conclude from these results? |
|
Definition
| Species-rich communities are less severely affected by drought. |
|
|
Term
| What is the "background" rate of species extinction on earth? |
|
Definition
| About one species per year. |
|
|
Term
| Of four causes of population declines for endangered species in the United States, which is involved in about two-thirds of the cases? |
|
Definition
| Habitat reduction and modification (including fragmentation) |
|
|
Term
| . The __________ is the smallest population of the species that can sustain itself in the face of environmental variation. |
|
Definition
| minimum viable population |
|
|
Term
| The design of nature preserves is a complicated process. Common wisdom states that larger preserves are better than smaller preserves, but planners may sometimes choose several smaller areas over a single large area of uniform habitat because: |
|
Definition
| the aggregate of smaller areas will often contain a greater total number of species among them because endemics may be found in one habitat, but not others. |
|
|
