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The current rate of extinction may be as much as ________ times higher than at any
other time in the past 100,000 years.
A) 10
B) 100
C) 1,000
D) 10,000
E) 5,000,000
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C
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You arrive back in the United States after having visited a foreign country located on
another continent. The customs agent stops the person in front of you and confiscates the
fruit basket this person is bringing home. Being the knowledgeable person you are, you
calmly explain to your enraged fellow traveler that the reason for the detainment is that
the fruit basket may be
A) carrying endangered fruit.
B) carrying an exotic species that could damage North American ecosystems.
C) contaminated with CFCs that will damage the ozone layer above North America.
D) contaminated with sufficient DDT to cause serious harm to anyone who eats the
fruit.
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B
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The three greatest current threats to biodiversity, in order starting with the greatest, are
A) habitat loss, overharvesting, and invasive species.
B) habitat loss, invasive species, and overharvesting.
C) invasive species, habitat loss, and overharvesting.
D) invasive species, overharvesting, and habitat loss.
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B
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To decrease pollution from sulfur, your local power plant built very tall smokestacks.
The ultimate consequence of this would most likely be
A) the reaction of the sulfur with ozone, resulting in a breakdown of the ozone.
B) biological magnification.
C) to dilute the sulfur pollutants in the atmosphere and thus reduce their effects on the
environment.
D) to create an environmental problem at a distance from the power plant.
E) a decrease in the pH of local lakes.
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D
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DDT and mercury
A) were once used as an energy source.
B) contribute to acid precipitation.
C) accumulate in the tissues of organisms.
D) deplete the ozone layer.
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C
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Which of the following is a likely consequence of the thinning of the ozone layer?
A) increases in skin cancer
B) increases in escape of heat from Earth
C) global warming
D) decreases in flying insect populations
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A
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You spray your lawn with a pesticide, such that the concentration of the pesticide in the
tissues of the grass on your lawn is 10-6 parts per million (ppm). Grasshoppers eat the
grass and are in turn eaten by rats, which are then eaten by owls. Keeping in mind that
roughly 10% of the energy at a trophic level is transferred to the next highest trophic
level, what do you estimate to be the concentration of the pesticide in the tissues of the
owls?
A) 10-2 ppm
B) 10-3 ppm
C) 10-4 ppm
D) 10-5 ppm
E) 10-6 ppm
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C
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Large coastal dead zones depleted of oxygen are primarily caused by
A) CFCs released into the environment.
B) DDT released into the environment.
C) PCBs released into the environment.
D) nutrient pollution.
E) acid precipitation
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D
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CO2 flooding into the atmosphere is absorbed by ________ and converted into biomass.
A) the ozone layer
B) other atmosphere gases
C) photosynthetic organisms
D) large land masses
E) the sun
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C
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Some populations may avoid extinction as the climate changes, especially those with
high genetic variability and short life spans, through
A) genetic shift.
B) genetic modification.
C) feedback inhibition.
D) distribution of populations.
E) evolutionary adaptation.
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E
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Fragmented populations
A) result from the introduction of endemic species.
B) are composed of endemic species.
C) are at little risk of extinction.
D) are likely to exhibit low levels of genetic diversity.
E) are more vulnerable to the greenhouse effect than are populations that are not
fragmented.
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D
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A proactive conservation strategy
A) is no longer considered valid, as populations are already too small.
B) seeks to merge small populations into larger populations.
C) seeks to detect, diagnose, and halt population declines.
D) tries to boost declining populations through captive breeding.
E) uses bioengineering to increase genetic diversity in populations.
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C
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Average global temperature has risen ________ over the past 100 years.
A) 3°C B) 10°C C) 5°C D) 0.8°C
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D
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One way in which populations and species have been responding to climate change is by
A) changing their coat color.
B) shifting their distribution.
C) changing their metabolism.
D) evolving a flexible mode of reproduction.
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B
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Which of the following is not an observed effect of global warming on organisms?
A) Some species of birds and frogs now begin their breeding seasons later in the year.
B) Corals "bleach" when increased water temperatures cause them to expel their
symbiotic algae.
C) Many butterfly populations have shifted their ranges to the north.
D) Many polar bears show signs of starvation as their hunting grounds melt away.
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A
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The ability to change phenotype in response to local environmental conditions is called
A) genetic drift. B) mutation.
C) alteration of generations. D) phenotypic plasticity.
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D
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Some populations, especially those with high genetic variability and short life spans, may
avoid extinction as the climate changes through
A) genetic shift. B) feedback inhibition.
C) distribution of populations. D) evolutionary adaptation.
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D
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Captive breeding
A) has allowed for the re-introduction of many species to areas from which they had
disappeared.
B) has advanced to the point where biologists believe it can be used to save most
endangered species.
C) can work for animals, but is generally not used for endangered plants.
D) is the main conservation technique used to try to save endangered species from
extinction.
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A
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A regional assemblage of interacting ecosystems is a
A) biome. B) landscape. C) PVA. D) hot spot.
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B
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Movement corridors
A) increase inbreeding.
B) reduce dispersal.
C) can be harmful because they allow for the spread of disease.
D) can be harmful because they allow for gene flow.
E) generally increase the mutation rate of connected populations.
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C
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Which of the following statements about movement corridors is true?
A) Movement corridors can connect otherwise isolated habitat patches.
B) Movement corridors can promote inbreeding in declining populations.
C) Movement corridors are detrimental to species that migrate between habitats
seasonally.
D) Movement corridors can prevent the spread of disease.
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A
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Habitats with many edges
A) are the result of natural disasters.
B) favor animals that prefer large, open ranges.
C) often result from human activities.
D) result in a significant increase in diversity.
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C
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Most biodiversity hot spots are found in ________ regions.
A) western
B) tropical
C) temperate
D) tundra
E) taiga
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B
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Species found in only one place on Earth are called ________ species.
A) hot spot B) native C) exotic D) keystone E) endemic
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E
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About one-third of all animal and plant species are concentrated on ________ of Earth’s
land.
A) 50% B) 20% C) 10% D) 5% E) 1.5%
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E
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The greatest challenge facing the zoned reserve systems of Costa Rica is
A) high predation by jaguars.
B) forest fires.
C) soil erosion.
D) the growing human population.
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D
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One result of Costa Rica’s commitment to conservation is that
A) destructive practices such as massive logging and large scale single-crop agriculture
have been nearly eliminated.
B) both protected park areas and the buffer zones around them have suffered only
negligible deforestation.
C) ecotourism generates many jobs and brings in a significant fraction of the country’s
revenue.
D) about 95% of the country’s land is protected in some way.
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C
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The introduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1991 resulted in
A) nearly 20 human deaths.
B) a general decline in overall habitat as death spread like wildfire.
C) ecological changes involving about 25 species.
D) the migration of most of these wolves out of the park and back to Canada.
E) the death of all of the wolves, likely due to an insufficient amount of available prey.
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C
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The Yukon to Yellowstone Initiative is a plan to
A) connect all of the national parks in the western United States.
B) connect all of the national parks in the United States.
C) connect all of the national parks in the United States to the provincial parks in
Canada.
D) connect parks in the United States and Canada with protected corridors where
wildlife can travel safely.
E) create a giant, fenced, private land area between the national parks in the United
States to create a protected zone for wildlife.
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D
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The aspect of conservation ecology concerned with returning degraded ecosystems (as
nearly as possible) to their predegraded state is
A) ecosystem augmentation ecology.
B) bioremediation.
C) sustainable development.
D) restoration ecology.
E) landscape ecology.
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D
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Using living organisms to clean up polluted ecosystems is known as
A) biological demagnification.
B) PVA.
C) bioremediation.
D) landscaping.
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C
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The Kissimmee River Project is an
A) example of large-scale bioremediation to clean up a mercury spill.
B) example of a dam that interrupted the breeding of salmon and other species.
C) attempt to restore the natural wetlands associated with the Kissimmee River.
D) effort to join two previously unconnected lakes to permit better drainage.
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C
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The Kissimmee River Project is intended to
A) drain natural wetlands in the central Florida region.
B) increase biodiversity of the region.
C) restrict ecotourism and other recreational usage in the impacted region.
D) provide areas for homes and businesses.
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B
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Sustainable development
A) will require making difficult decisions regarding travel to other planets.
B) will require many people to contribute financially.
C) will speed up evolution.
D) will require global, multinational cooperation.
E) cannot be achieved.
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D
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