Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet,

7th Edition

Habitat Loss

Habitat loss is a major cause of wildlife extinctions world wide. Habitat loss can result from many factors including human encroachment, global climate changes, or as was shown in the video, intensive agriculture which consumed all of the water resources in the area.

Habitat Loss

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Habitat Loss

1. The number one threat to biodiversity is habitat loss. The habitat described in the clip is a fen, characterized as a wetland fed by groundwater. What activities have changed the habitat, draining that area of water?a) agricultureb) urban developmentc) seasonal changes     

Habitat Loss

2. The clip illustrates the problem of a large loss of beetle species in England. Why should we be concerned with the loss of beetle species?

a) beetles pollinate plants that would otherwise die out.b) beetles help decompose animal and plants to enrich the soilc) each beetle species has its own job to keep the ecosystem healthyd) all of the above.    

Habitat Loss

3. How many species of beetles are missing from this area?a) 20b) 250 c) 500

• 4. People have, and have had in the past, great influence on the biological diversity in their surrounding environment as a result of:

• A. hunting• B. habitat destruction• C. introduction of non-native species• D. pollution of the environment• E. all of these

• 5. Mutation:• A. is exclusively a result of radiation damage

to DNA• B. can result in a new species• C. simply adds variety to inherited

characteristics• D. leads to a new species which cannot

survive the present environment• E. always leads to positive change in DNA

structure

6. Genes:

A. are made of deoxyribonucleic acidB. are made of chromosomesC. are copies of daughter cellsD. can break the DNA apart and can change

inherited informationE. always undergo mutation

• 7. Which of the following best describes “biological evolution”?

• A. genetic drift over time• B. self-reproduction of a population over time• C. the change of inherited characteristics of a

population• D. the preservation of endangered species• E. the origins of life

8. The sentence "two species that have exactly the same requirements cannot coexist in exactly the same habitat" refers to the:

A. relative abundance of all species on EarthB. Cosmopolitan Species RuleC. Competitive Exclusion PrincipleD. evolutionary outcome of competitionE. result of species artificially introduced into a

new habitat

9. The interaction of two species to the benefit of both is called:

A. inhibitionB. symbiosisC. parasitismD. predationE. commensalism

10. “Biological evolution” refers to the change in inherited characteristics of a population from generation to generation.

TrueFalse

11. “Genetic drift” refers to changes in the frequency of a gene in a population as a result of mutation. It is considered to be an especially serious problem as populations become very large.

TrueFalse

12. As of the printing of your Environmental Science text, scientists have essentially the complete DNA code for five species out of the many present on Earth.

TrueFalse

13. The phrase “competitive exclusion” means that two species with different requirements can coexist in exactly the same habitat.

TrueFalse

14. Species that require the same resources can coexist by utilizing those resources under different environmental conditions.

True

False

15. The “habitat” of a species and its “ecological niche” refer to the same thing.

True

False

16. Symbiosis never affects biological diversity.

True

False

17. "Ecological gradient" refers to the:A. Competitive Exclusion PrincipleB. the variation in the number of species from

the equator to the polesC. increasing extinction of species through timeD. interaction of species to benefit one anotherE. change in the relative abundance of a species

over an area

18. An association between two organisms, A and B, in which organism A lives on, in or with organism B and depends on B for existence but makes no useful contribution to B, is called:

A. inhibitionB. symbiosisC. parasitismD. predationE. Commensalism

19. Science and values never affect biological diversity.

True

False

20.What is biological diversity?

a) the relative abundance of all species on Earthb) the adaptation of living things to their

environmentc) the variety of life forms on earthd) the environmental variability of speciese) the complexity of life forms on earth

21.All of the following are examples of the relationship: (1) inhabitant, (2) ecological niche or habitat,(3) activity of the inhabitant in the niche, except:a) surfer, ocean, beachb) flour beetle, flour, eating flourc) bus driver, town, bus drivingd) wolf, northern forest, predating on animalse) squirrel, trees, feeding on seeds

• Ans: a• Difficulty: Medium• Link to: 7.7

22. In the figure below, the event which occurs at Time 3 is an example of:The graph above shows the growth of populations of two different species of wombats in the same ecosystem. Species A is shown by the dashed line; Species B is the solid line. Both species use the same resources.

a) the niche concept b) competitive exclusion principle c) optimal - foraging theory d) stable limit cycles e) Lotka-Volterra equations

1 2 3 4 5

TIME

NU

MB

ER

OF

IN

DIV

IDU

AL

S

23. Processes that lead to changes in gene frequency include all the following except:

a)natural selectionb)mutationc) genetic driftd)self reproductione)migration

24. Mutation:a)is exclusively a result of radiation damage to DNAb)can result in a new speciesc) simply adds variety to inherited characteristicsd)leads to a new species which cannot survive the

present environmente)always leads to positive change in DNA structure

25. An introduced species is found to have a fundamental niche identical to that of a native species. A possible outcome is:

a)one or the other species will go extinctb)evolutionary change will tend to cause their niches to divergec) they will exhibit distinct realized niches and coexistd)if the introduced species has a very low population density it

may go extinct for non-competitive reasonse)all of these•

• Ans: e• Difficulty: Medium• Link to: 7.7

26. Humans have, and have had in the past, great influence on the biological diversity in their surrounding environment as a result of:

a)huntingb)habitat destructionc) introduction of non-native speciesd)pollution of the environmente)all of these

27. The three basic kinds of interaction between species are:

a)competition, symbiosis and predation-parasitismb)competition, parasitism and adaptive radiationc) symbiosis, predation-parasitism and migrationd)migration, symbiosis and adaptive radiatione)there are more than three basic kinds of interaction

• Ans: a• Difficulty: Easy• Link to: 7.7

28. On land, what species live where depends on all of the following factors except:

a)geological substrateb)ecological attitudes of the speciesc) climated)environmental change over timee)it's hard to pick any factor that doesn't affect the distribution of

species

Ans: e• Difficulty: Easy• Link to: 7.2

29. The Norway rat and the black rat were both introduced to this country from Europe. The Norway rat is found only in cities and inhabits most cities in the U.S. The black rat can live in cities and rural areas but in New Jersey is only found in rural areas. Some cities in New Jersey which previously had only black rats, now have only Norway rats. This is an example of:

a) evolution by natural selectionb) carrying capacityc) competitive exclusiond) density-dependent population regulatione) commensualism

• Ans: c• Difficulty: Medium• Link to: 7.6

30. You are asked to design a closed life support system for space travel that provides food, water, and oxygen. Which of the parameters are necessary characteristics or elements of such a system?

(A)energy flow(B)heavy metals in the soil(C) heavy metals in the water(D)recycling of elements(E)constant temperature(F) mutation of micro-organisms(G) carnivores

30.You are asked to design a closed life support system for space travel that provides food, water, and oxygen. Which of the parameters may begin at tolerable conditions, but are most likely to destabilize the system later in time?

(A) energy flow(B) heavy metals in the soil(C) heavy metals in the water(D) recycling of elements(E) constant temperature(F) mutation of micro-organisms(G) carnivores

• Ans: (a) A, D• (b)A, C, F

• 31. In the tropics, two species of mites (small arthropods, relatives of spiders) live in flowers that hummingbirds visit. The hummingbirds feed on flower nectar and spread pollen from flower to flower. The mites feed on the nectar. They travel from flower to flower by riding on the beak of the hummingbirds. No flower contains both species of mites, and experiments have shown that male mites of different species act aggressively toward each other. In the space provided, give the name of the interaction that fits best.

hummingbird and flower

(a)symbiosis(b) competition(c) parasitism(c) competition and parasitism

• the two mite species

(a)symbiosis(b) competition(c) parasitism(c) competition and parasitism

• flower and mites

(a)symbiosis(b) competition(c) parasitism(c) competition and parasitism

• 32. Species interact in a variety of ways. In the reading, several kinds of interactions were discussed. The following are statements of these interactions. In the space provided, give the name of the interaction that best fits the example.

bubonic plague

(a) symbiosis

(b) competition

(c) parasitism

(c) competition and parasitism

• Figs are pollinated only by a particular type of wasp. The wasp lay eggs only in figs and the larva feed on the developing fruit.

(a)symbiosis(b) competition(c) parasitism(d) competition and parasitism

(b) parasitism

• Wood ducks (native) and starlings (introduced) both nest in cavities in tree trunks. Nest sites are usually in limited supply. At a particular pond wood ducks declined after introduction of starlings.

• (a) symbiosis• (b) competition• (c) parasitism• (d) competition and parasitism

• Ans: (c) competition and parasitism