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EXAM 1 - NRS 223
Multiple Choice (2 points each)
For each question, write the appropriate letter in the blank
1.) ____ Of the following activities, which might involve conservation biologists?
a.) Genetic analysis of different rare species
b.) Real estate purchase of several properties that contain important patches of wildlife
habitat.
c.) Survey and cataloguing of the species in a poorly studied habitat
d.) All of the above.
2.) ____ There are several ways to calculate Beta diversity. Both your book and Ginger
Brown briefly discussed one of these methods. If you used this method, which of the
following choices is the correct estimate of Beta diversity for a region with an average
Alpha diversity of 7 and a Gamma diversity of 14?
a.) 2.0
b.) 98.0
c.) 0.5
d.) 3.14
3.) ____ The origins of genetic variability in a population include:
a.) mutation and flow from other populations
b.) genetic drift and frequency change
c.) isolation
d.) bottlenecking and founder effects
4.) ____ It is believed that at least 5 million species (probably more!) exist worldwide;
however, scientists have only discovered about 1.5 million. A majority of these species
exist in which region of the Earth?
a.) Tropical regions
b.) Temperate regions
c.) Arctic regions
d.) Boreal regions
5.) ____ What are the three measures of diversity that conservation biologists often use
to describe the different aspects of species diversity?
a.) Community, Ecosystem, and Landscape
b.) Delta, Tau, and Chi
c.) Alpha, Beta, and Gamma
d.) Ecological, Economic, and Physical
Points Earned ________
Name _________________________
6.) ____ Stephen Swallow discussed a recent study where Rhode Island citizens were
surveyed and there willingness to pay for open-space protection was assessed. Several
factors were shown to have an impact on willingness to pay for open space protection.
Of the following choices, which ones were factors that Dr. Swallow discussed?
a.) Public access
b.) Expansion of or connection to existing open space
c.) Ecological value
d.) All of the above
7.) ____ The mode, a measure of central tendency, represents the:
a.) arithmetic average of a data set
b.) most frequently occurring value in a data set
c.) middle number of a data set
d.) all of the above
8.) ____ The total array of genes and alleles in a population is known as the :
a.) genepool
b.) genotype
c.) phenotype
d.) none of the above
9.) ____ If an individual's heterozygosity is high, then:
a.) its survivability goes down
b.) the individual's reproduction will likely decline
c.) its overall fitness is higher
d.) harmful alleles from parents are more likely to be expressed
10.) ____ The mutation rate in nature is about:
a.) 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 100,000
b.) 1 in 1 million to 1 in 1 billion
c.) 1 in 500
d.) none of the above
11.) ____ Problems with the reintroduction of ibex in Slovakia is an example of:
a.) inbreeding depression
b.) outbreeding depression
c.) behavioral inhibitions
d.) genetic drift
12.) ____ The origination of Arbor Day is attributed to:
a.) J. Sterling Morton
b.) John Muir
c.) William Temple Hornaday
d.) Theodore Roosevelt
Points Earned ________
Name _________________________
13.) ____ The Hetch Hetchy Dam project:
a.) was halted in time to save this area known as "the second Yosemite."
b.) was considered a major environmental success by John Muir
c.) galvanized the early environmental movement in the U.S.
d.) set a precedent for best management practices
14.) ____ Aldo Leopold is known for:
a.) being the father of wildlife management
b.) writing the Sand County Almanac
c.) first espousing the "evolutionary-ecological Land Ethic"
d.) all of the above
15.) ____ Which of the following conservationists was responsible for preserving the
American Bison?
a.) William Temple Hornaday
b.) Gifford Pinchot
c.) Frederick Law Olmstead
d.) John Muir
Short Answer
16.) Provide a definition of conservation biology (5 points).
Conservation Biology is:
 Multi-disciplinary
 A crisis discipline
 An applied science
 Focuses on saving biodiversity
17.) Provide a definition of biodiversity (5 points).
Biodiversity represents the total diversity of life on Earth and includes species
diversity, genetic diversity, and community diversity
Points Earned ________
Name _________________________
18.) Describe the three measures of diversity that conservation biologists use (see
question 5) and briefly discuss how they differ (5 points).
Alpha diversity - a measure of local species diversity or species richness (i.e.,
species richness within a give habitat patch)
Gamma diversity - a measure of regional diversity (i.e., species richness across
many habitat patches)
Beta diversity - rate of change of diversity in a region - beta = gamma/alpha
19.) In the introductory portion of Excel Exercise 1, you learned about the mean (μ) and
standard deviation (σ) and how these affect the shape and position of the normal
distribution. Assume you have two distributions with different μ and σ. On the graph
below draw and label these two distributions given that distribution 1 has a μ of 25 and a
σ of 10 and distribution 2 has a μ of 40 and a σ of 30 (5 pts).
Distribution # 1
Distribution # 2
25
0
40
100
20.) In question 4, you told me which region of the Earth supports most of our planets
species diversity. Researchers have proposed several theories that describe this
phenomenon. List and briefly describe at least three of these theories (10 points).
There are several theories which describe this phenomenon. They are as follows:
 Greater solar radiation than other regions
 Large Geographic Area
 Greater stability than other regions (i.e., no glaciation)
 Because of warm temps and high humidity, no need for special adaptations
to deal with dry and cold conditions
 Intense species interactions
Points Earned ________
Name _________________________
21.) A local town is concerned with preserving open space; however, they currently have
been faced with pressures from developers. The town leaders are concerned that the
ecological costs of the development to the town are not being adequately accounted for.
The leaders have been told that you are well versed in the area of ecological economics
and they hire you to give them an assessment of the situation. Provide a list of the
factors that should be included in the calculation of total costs (i.e., what do people value
about open space) and suggest a method that the town could use that would pass these
costs onto the developers (hint: think about Stephen Swallow's presentation) (10 points).
Factors that should be included are ecological value, viewsheds/asthetics, and
public access.
One method that the town could use to pass on the costs of these factors to the
developers is a development tax. Lands could be given a dollar value (determined
by a poll of the townspeople) and that dollar value could be used to generate a tax
for lands that are to be developed. For instance, lands that have high ecological
value and are currently used by the public for outdoor recreation would have a
higher development tax than areas with low ecological value and little utility as a
recreation resource.
22.) Briefly list and describe 3 of the 5 ethical principles of conservation biology (10
points).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Diversity of species and biological communities should be preserved
The untimely extinction of populations and species should be prevented
Ecological Complexity should be maintained
Evolution should continue
Biological diversity has intrinsic value.
23.) Briefly discuss the differences between John Muir's preservation ethic versus
Gifford Pinchot's conservation ethic. Does this dichotomy exist today? Name a
conservation agency or organization that reflects each of these ethics (10 points)
John Muir's preservation ethic - Lands should be set aside and impacts from man
should be minimized. Essentially a hands off approach.
Pinchot's Conservation ethic - Lands should be set aside, but man may use them
(i.e., forestry activities, hunting/fishing, and recreation) provided that the natural
resources and ecological value of those resources is not diminished for future
generations
This dichotomy still exists and is represented by several agencies and
organizations.
The Sierra Club is an example of a preservationist organization. The US Forest
Service is an example of a conservationist organization. (I gave credit for many
different organizations and agencies!)
Points Earned ________
Name _________________________
24.) One of the major failings of our economic system is the inability to accurately
account for environmental and ecological costs. These costs can be broken down into
two major categories, direct and indirect use values. Briefly describe each of these
categories. List and briefly discuss at least 4 examples of indirect use values, which are
also known as non-consumptive use values (10 points).
Direct use values are values provided by our natural resources from which
humans either directly consume the natural resource (i.e., fishing, hunting, or
fuelwood) or use the resource to produce something of value (i.e., forestry
products, agriculture, or aquaculture).
Indirect use values are non-consumptive uses of natural resources. Humans do
not directly consume the resources, but rather we indirectly benefit from the
services the natural resources provide. Ecosystem productivity, protection of
water and soil resources, climate regulation, waste treatment and water retention,
species relationships, recreation, ecotourism, educational value, and scientific
value are all examples of indirect use values.
Extra Credit (5 points)
On the first day of class we briefly discussed a defining characteristic of conservation
biology that if left unchanged, could potentially hinder the future effectiveness of
conservation efforts. What is this issue and what changes should conservation
biologists make to account for this?
One of the defining characteristics of Conservation Biology is that it is a crisis
discipline. It has developed in response to the near extinction of several species.
By necessity Conservation Biologists have had to respond, in a crisis mode, to
each subsequent threatened or endangered species. Future efforts would greatly
benefit from a more pro-active stance. It is easier and more feasible to save a
species (or better yet a community or ecosystem) before it has become severely
threatened.
Points Earned ________