Download 1. The following

Section I. Multiple Choice. Please select the best answer. Each question is worth 1
mark (total = 30 marks).
1. The following figure is taken from a paper that tests the hypothesis that juveniles of
a species of spider (Argiope versicolor) add decorations to the center of their webs to
attract insects.
This type of study is best described as:
A. a manipulative experiment
B. a mensurative experiment
C. a spatial experiment
D. a temporal experiment
E. a predictive model
2. If the study also found that web decorations were only observed in webs made by
spiders occupying territories where predators were absent, you could infer that web
decoration is an example of:
A. phenotypic plasticity
B. an acclimation response
C. a genetic x environment interaction
D. a compensation response
3. A group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area at a given time is
called a(n):
A. community
B. ecosystem
C. population
D. biome
4. Biomes are characterized primarily by:
A. altitude and latitude
B. geological history
C. climate and dominant vegetation
D. proximity to oceans
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Student #:____________________________
5. Based on the information in the following climate diagram, which type of biome does
it likely represent?
A. a hot desert
B. a tropical rainforest
C. a temperate rainforest
D. a boreal forest
E. tundra
6. Which of the following is not an abiotic factor that may affect a plant’s ecology?
A. soil matric forces
B. competition for light
C. seasonal patterns of precipitation
D. all of the above are abiotic factors affecting a plant’s ecology.
7. Large bodies of water maintain a relatively constant temperature compared to
smaller bodies of water because of water’s high:
A. specific heat
B. surface tension
C. ionic concentration
D. viscosity
E. density
8. Suppose I had a container of soil. Which of the following could I do to increase its
water potential?
A. decrease the pore size
B. increase the concentration of dissolved solutes
C. add water to it
D. all of the above.
9. Why do some large, predatory fish show partial endothermy?
A. They experience relatively constant temperatures, so whole body endothermy is
not necessary.
B. Counter-current heat exchange prevents whole-body endothermy.
C. It is too metabolically costly to maintain whole-body endothermy.
D. All of the above.
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10. Suppose I measured running speed in a species of lizard at 2 temperatures. I kept
one group at 30°C for several weeks and another group at 5°C for several weeks
before I conducted the test. Running speed was not significantly different between
the two groups. Which of the following statements is likely correct?
A. The “cold” lizards were still within their thermoneutral zone.
B. The “cold” lizards had higher metabolic costs associated with thermoregulation.
C. This species of lizard probably experiences large fluctuations in temperature in its
natural environment.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
11. Which of the following would you not expect to see in a desert plant?
A. open growth form
B. leaves off the ground
C. pubescence
D. leaves perpendicular to the angle of the sun
E. All are likely to be observed in desert plants.
12. What is the disadvantage of C3 metabolism in plants?
A. The rate of photosynthesis is low.
B. Photorespiration will occur if CO2 levels in the leaf are too low.
C. It can only occur at night.
D. It results in slow growth rates.
13. Within the thermoneutral zone of an endotherm:
A. body temperature is at its lowest.
B. metabolic rate does not vary with ambient temperature.
C. the animal will enter hibernation.
D. none of the above.
14. Consider a bony fish (not a shark!) in the marine environment. Which of the
following statements is false?
A. The fish gains water through drinking.
B. Specialized cells at the base of the gills secrete Na+ and Cl-.
C. The fish produces copious amounts of dilute urine.
D. All of these statements are true.
15. The maintenance of a relatively constant internal environment in a varying external
environment is called:
A. conformity
B. acclimation (or acclimatization)
C. regulation (homeostasis)
D. thermoregulation
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Student #:____________________________
16. Reproductive effort is:
A. The proportion of the energy budget allocated to reproduction
B. The size and number of offspring
C. The frequency of reproductive events
D. The reproductive lifespan relative to total lifespan
E. All of the above.
17. Within a given bird species, individuals that breed at high latitudes frequently
produce a single, large clutch whereas those at lower latitudes frequently produce
multiple clutches of fewer eggs. This is most likely due to:
A. seasonal patterns of resource availability
B. differences in body size
C. differences in age of the parents
D. costs of migration
E. All of the above.
18. Which of the following plant characteristics is not likely to be associated with
disturbed environments?
A. small seed size
B. good competitive ability
C. many seeds
D. passive seed dispersal
E. all of the above
19. What type of strategy would be favoured in a population where juvenile mortality is
high but adult mortality is low?
A. semelparity
B. early maturation
C. high reproductive effort per reproductive attempt
D. iteroparity
20. In frequency dependent sexual strategies:
A. the most common morph is usually the most successful.
B. the least common morph is usually the most successful.
C. success depends on frequencies of female strategies.
D. success depends on the proportion of males exhibiting phenotypic plasticity.
21. Suppose I go out in early spring and mark as many seedlings as I can of a
particular plant in a forest patch. I go back every year and collect data on the
survival and reproduction of those plants until they die. The data I collect could be
summarized in a:
A. static life table
B. age distribution
C. cohort life table
D. survivorship curve
E. all of the above.
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22. Which of the following is not consistent with an r-selected lifestyle?
A. high intrinsic rate of population increase
B. low competitive ability
C. strong selection against senescence
D. early reproduction
E. small body size
23. Which of the following is not a factor in Grime’s classification of life histories in
plants?
A. stress
B. competition
C. disturbance
D. equilibrium
24. Bottom-heavy age distributions are associated with populations that are:
A. stable or growing
B. stable or declining
C. highly influenced by immigration or emigration
D. experiencing a decline both in birth rate and in death rate.
25. What is the principle advantage of Charnov’s cube in classifying life histories?
A. it allows comparisons of ectotherms and endotherms
B. it accounts for both semelparous and iteroparous organisms
C. the axes are dimensionless, which makes it easy to compare organisms of
different sizes
D. it is especially good for classifying birds and mammals
26. The opportunistic, equilibrium and periodic life history classification system is
particularly suited to distinguishing life history patterns in fish because:
A. Fish are aquatic.
B. Many fish are semelparous.
C. No fish have parental care.
D. In most fish, fecundity is strongly related to body size.
27. The opportunistic life history is characterized by:
A. low juvenile survivorship, low fecundity and early maturation
B. low juvenile survivorship, high fecundity and early maturation
C. low juvenile survivorship, high fecundity and late maturation
D. high juvenile survivorship, high fecundity and late maturation
28. A Type I survivorship curve is characterized by:
A. high juvenile mortality & low adult mortality
B. low juvenile mortality & high adult mortality
C. steady mortality over all age classes
D. lowest mortality in intermediate age classes
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Student #:____________________________
29. A marine mammal such as a seal has a thick layer of blubber. This helps protect it
from:
A. conductive heat loss
B. convective heat loss
C. radiative heat loss
D. specific heat loss
30. Which strategy allows ectotherms to maintain physiological function at sub-optimal
temperatures?
A. avoidance
B. compensation
C. diapause
D. dormancy
36. Suppose you observed tadpoles of a particular species of frog from a number of
ponds. Some of these ponds had predators; some did not. You observe that the
morphology of the tadpoles was different in ponds where a predator was present than in
ponds where the predator was absent. Give 2 possible explanations for this
observation.
1. selection for different morphs has resulted in genetic differences between
the 2 types of populations
2. populations exhibit phenotypic plasticity in response to predator
37. Based on the scenario in Question 31, briefly describe an experiment that would
allow you to choose between these two explanations.
A reciprocal transplant of eggs between populations to see if individuals from one
type of population exhibit the morph in the “new” environment. (could also be
conducted in the lab under controlled conditions).
38. Why would an allele that enhances early fitness but detracts from later fitness be
favoured over an allele that detracts from early fitness but enhances later fitness? What
role does extrinsic mortality play in this scenario?
Individuals that die prematurely due to extrinsic effects will only express the phenotype
that acts early in life; hence, early success will be favoured. This effect will be more
pronounced if extrinsic mortality is high. There is no point in having the late fitness
genes if you die before you reach reproductive age.
39. Suppose you studied a population of birds to see if there was a tradeoff between
number of offspring and survival to the following year. You predicted that birds with the
largest clutches would have a high probability of dying over the winter. Surprisingly,
however, you found the opposite: birds with large clutches were more likely to survive
the winter than those with small clutches! Propose a non-trivial hypothesis (i.e., not a
problem with your experimental design, or sample size etc.) to explain why you failed to
observe the expected trade-off.
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If individuals vary in quality (e.g. the absolute amount of resources they have to devote
to reproduction and maintenance), the trade-off may be obscured (“good” parents
produce lots of offspring and still survive; “poor” parents produce few offspring but still
compromise their survival).
Note that this question is asking about the survival of the parents not the offspring.
40. With the aid of a diagram, show how
water potential gradients allow a plant to
absorb water from the soil and move water
from the roots to the leaves.
Basically: ψsoil > ψroots > ψ stem/leaves > ψair
Water moves from high potential to low
potential.
41. With the aid of a diagram, discuss how
Hadley cells result in the precipitation
patterns found around the equator.
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42. Why are the terms “cold-blooded’ and “warm-blooded” not accurate to describe the
thermal relations organisms have with their environment?
The problem is really with the term “cold-blooded” to describe ectotherms or
poikilotherms -- because the body is not heated internally, or varies with ambient
temperature, the body temp if frequently lower than that of an endotherm or
homeotherm, but not always (e.g., the body temperature of a lizard basking on a hot
rock can be over 40°C).
(They do not need to provide an example.)
43. Describe in words the relationship between reproductive effort and reproductive
success in semelparous and iteroparous organisms.
In semelparous organisms, reproductive effort must be very high in order to realize any
reproductive success. In iteroparous organisms, very high level of reproductive effort do
not contribute further to reproductive success
(based on this diagram:)
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